More Onion Dyeing

I am having lots of fun dyeing.

So, what I do is...

when I cook with onions, I make sure to use three onions so I can put the peelings in a saucepan and cover them with water and simmer them on the woodstove and then keep them soaking on the mantle for a day (staying warm).

Then I strain the liquid and put it aside.  Next I soak some yarn - not sure how much - but probably about 25 yards or so - in just enough hot water with 1/2 - 1 t. of alum (mordant).

Next, I put the reserved dye in a saucepan and heat it to hot but not boiling and remove from the woodstove and put on the mantle.

I take the yarn out of the mordant bath and put it directly into the hot dye bath and leave it for a couple of hours and then rinse and dry the yarn.

I am making another granny square pot holder using some of these yarns.

And, just arrived is this book to read with Sarah about Benjamin Franklin - really an inspirational man.   

How wonderful if we instilled in our children the joy of experimentation, curiosity and the desire to be life long learners.

Joining with Ginny today.

Natural Dyeing with Red Onion Skins

The other day when I was chopping up red onions for soup, I saved the skins and put them in a pot, covered them with water and heated them on the wood stove for a couple of hours and then strained the skins and kept the dye.

(This picture made the yarn look lighter than it is.)

In the meantime, I soaked a bit of wool yarn in an alum bath.

Next, the wool yarn was added to the dye bath in a pot and heated to very warm and let sit for several more hours.  Finally, the yarn was rinsed out.

I love the color that resulted - a rusty brown.

Using the red onion dyed yarn in the middle, some natural yarn next, and then finally some yarn I dyed with bracken last summer, I made a granny square.  Next I made a square the same size as the granny square, all in the single crochet stitch.  Finally, I attached the two squares using the red onion dyed yarn with the single crochet stitch around adding a loop for hanging.

I am excited to continue learning and experimenting with natural dyeing.