Clipped by Sandra from Maggie Chaplin's article "To Dye For" in Country Life magazine, Feb. 2021
Antique Rose from Avocado Stones
Save avocado stones, clean and freeze until the weight of the stones is equal to the weight of the material you want to dye. Avocado stones will yield an antique rose dye.
Smash the stones in pieces.
Place pieces in a large pot of water and soak overnight.
Gently heat the pot and simmer 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash the material to be dyed in mild detergent, leave wet.
Strain the avocado pieces from the dye bath, saving the water.
Reheat the dye bath to simmering, add the wet items to be dyed.
Remove the dye pot from the heat.
Leave items overnight to soak.
Rinse and hang the items to dry.
For tan and brown shades, use tea, coffee and walnut shells.
For lemon yellow, use pomegranate skins.
For shades of tan, rust and orange use sumac bark (peel with a vegetable peeler) and leaves from the suckers that grow around the bush.
Dye is also made from tree bark but to use twigs, soak them for two weeks first to extract pigment. Elm bark and twigs produce a coral pink dye.
Bramble bush leaves, twigs, shoots can be chopped, simmered 45 minutes to produce a yellow-green dye.
Gold Dye from Rhubarb
Wash and chop rhubarb root and use as for avocado stones, except that the roots do not need to be soaked overnight.
Use rhubarb leaves for a greeny-yellow colour. Rhubarb leaf can be poisonous so use on items that are not to be worn or accidentally placed in the mouth.
