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Natural dyeing embroidery floss

with

Liz Sofield

In this workshop Liz will show you how to create dyes from waste materials like coffee, tea, onion skins and avocado pips. Get creative and use alternate materials, but just make sure you check if they’re reactive or toxic before using them as a dye.


Step-by-step instruction PDF


Materials

  • DMC 6 strand embroidery floss, colour Blanc White 100% Cotton

  • Stainless steel pots

  • Spoons and or stainless steel tongs

  • Coffee filters

  • Glass jars

  • Rubber gloves

RECIPES

Natural Dyeing

  • 2 avocado pits/seeds chopped
  • 400 ml water
  • 1 tablespoon bi carb soda (baking soda)
  • 10 - 15 tea bags
  • 750 ml water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 - 2 cups red onions skins loose
  • 500ml water or 750 ml
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 ½ cups ground coffee beans
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar

METHOD

Natural Dyeing

Natural dyeing is a beautiful way to use your food scraps from your kitchen and to personalise your embroidery with the uniqueness of natural dyeing.

Preparing: Cleaning the Floss

  1. Knot skeins in four sections. Not too tight but tight enough so it doesn’t come undone and tangle.

  2. Prepare cleaning solution for cotton - 1 teaspoon of washing soda to every 2 litres of water and one drop of washing liquid

  3. Clean the cotton in cleaning solution

  4. Place Skeins in cleaning solution and simmer for 2 hours - don’t boil as the cotton will shrink!

  5. Let floss cool and rinse

  6. Soak wet floss in soy milk solution/mordant - 1 part soy milk to 5 parts water

  7. Leave floss soaking in soy milk solution for about 12 - 24 hours, turn a few times over this period.

  8. Rinse a few times and to remove soy milk solution, wring gently and hang to dry

  9. Don’t forgot to wet floss before dyeing so the dye can absorb evenly

Please note for this video Liz has not mordant the floss as the avocado seeds and red onion skins but not coffee have their own natural tannin

A skein is a unit of yarn, I am referring to it as a unit loosely wound in a oblong length.

If you are planning to dye larger quantities you can purchase cones of DMC floss, and wind skeins at the standard 8 m (8.7 yd.) length. Amazon sell 500 gm cones White 100% cotton which equals 2075 m (2270 yd.) and 100 gm cones White 100% cotton which equals 411 m (450 yd.). Another great alternative is balls of fine crochet cotton.

Fibres are classified into categories such as Animal fibres and Cellulose fibres. Animal fibres and protein fibres are made from silk and wool. Cellulose fibres or plant fibres are made from plants like cotton, linen, bamboo and hemp. Each group needs to be prepared slightly different for dyeing, but we will be dyeing using 100% cotton, it is preferable to use 100% cotton not a polyester blend, as sometimes the polyester may not absorb the natural dye at all and cause uneven colour. It is important to ensure that the floss is wet beforehand, otherwise patchiness may result because different areas of the floss will absorb the mordant or dye liquid at different rates.

Extracting Colour From Your Food Scraps

  1. Prepare food scrap for dyeing - Liz has used avocado pips, tea bags, coffee and red onion skins

  2. If using avocado pips, ensure flesh is wiped off and it has been washed and dried.

  3. Cut up avocado pip

  4. Add food scraps to individual pots and add water, make sure ingredients are covered

  5. Heat pot on stove and keep at a simmer for an hour - don’t let it boil

  6. If the liquid evaporates, add more water

  7. Remove food scraps from the pot carefully and strain

  8. Bring dye bath back to simmer

Dyeing the floss

  1. Add wet embroidery floss to dye bath

  2. Let it simmer on a low heat for about half an hour.

  3. Let it cool

  4. Remove floss from the dye bath and gently squeeze out excess dye and rinse with a drop of washing up liquid.

  5. Rinse a few times, to remove any excess dye or colour and then leave to dry. 

Sunlight and washing cause colours to fade whether they are natural dyes colours or synthetic colours. Just remember that the floss you are creating is not your typical textile where it is constantly washed, but it still needs a bit of extra care taken. As with paper you will need to protect it and keep it out of strong direct sunlight. Framing your artwork in a uv protective glass or museum quality glass can help.

The beauty of creating your own natural dyed embroidery floss is that they are unique, they will be different to mine and everyone else’s because of your geographic region, with the plant conditions of the soil and your local water. Even the amount of time you soak your embroidery floss. These all have an impact on the colour you create, this is what makes it so exciting and very personable, your very own unique range of colours. Have fun and let the colour magic begin.