Dye Clothes Using Danny Seo's Earth-Friendly Hack

Entertainment & Celebs

All you need is an avocado!

The green-guru himself, Danny Seo, is showed us how to dye clothing using only avocado peels. For more amazing hacks and crafts, visit Danny's website here

 

GATHER

  • A large stainless steel pot
  • Water
  • Five to six avocado pits (cleaned of any oils)
  • Measuring cup
  • One half to one pound of natural fabric (cotton, linen, wool, silk)
  • A large bowl
  • Metal tongs
  • PH neutral soap (like Ecover laundry detergent)

MAKE IT

1. Fill the pot three-quarters of the way up with water and place your avocado pits inside. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer the pits for forty-five minutes or more, the pits may crack open. Watch the water turn from yellowy, peach to peach to orange to pink to red. Turn off the heat. After you’ve extracted the color you can let the pits steep, the longer it sits, the stronger the color. Use a measuring cup to check the color—it should be an almost Kool-Aid red for the brightest pink. Remove the pits with a stainless steel hand strainer.

2. In a separate bowl, pre-soak your fabric in water until it’s completely saturated. If your fabrics are new, prewash them to remove any residues before you soak them. The water helps prepare the fibers to bond to the dye.

3. Gently wring out the fabric so it’s wet but not dripping. Place the fabric in the dye pot and simmer on low for at least 20 but up to 40 minutes. Move the fabric in the pot as it heats for more even dyeing. Turn off the heat and let the fabric soak, making sure it’s completely submerged, overnight is best for deeper, lasting color.

4. Once you’re happy with the color, using tongs, remove the pieces of fabric from the pot and place them in the sink. Rinse them thoroughly water, matching the temperature of the water of the dye bath, and then adjusting it to cooler water so you don’t shock the fibers. Gently hand wash with a PH neutral soap. Gently wring and hang or lay to dry out of direct sunlight.


GOOD TO KNOW

When dyeing fabric, you always want the color (when wet) to look two shades darker than you want it to be. It will dry lighter (especially cotton). The exception to this rule is dyeing with silk or wool; the color you see is only a shade darker than what it will look like when it’s dry.