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Natural Dyes
Fabric dyes can be made naturally by extracting colour from plants, fruits, vegetables and other foods. Bring out the creativity in your kids while having lots of fun dying t-shirts, bandanas or other fabrics. We put together a step-by-step guide on how to make natural dyes using common ingredients.
Many fruits and vegetables were once used as the base for fabric dyes. We’ve tested a few natural dyes using common foods to give you a start but try making your own with other kitchen scraps. You can also try to make your colours more intense by adding more produce.
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Natural Dyes -
Ingredients:
- 100% cotton fabric, t-shirt or tote bag
- Dye material (see chart below)
- 1 tbsp commercial dye setter*
- Disposable rubber gloves
- Large non-reactive container
Directions:
- Wash fabric to remove any dirt, wax or residues; do not dry. The material will take colour better if wet.
- Combine water and dye material in a non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes; strain to remove solids. Place dye into a non-reactive container, add dye setter.
- Wearing gloves, submerge the damp fabric in desired dye and soak in dye bath for at least one hour or overnight. If desired, fabric can be submerged in 2 or more colours side-by-side.
- Take the fabric out of the dye and wring out as much dye as possible.
- In colour groups (yellow with other yellows, blue with other blues), dry on high heat cycle of the dryer to set dye.
- To prevent colour bleeding, wash each colour group separately before washing with other laundry.
| Final Colour** | Water | Solids | Total Dye Made | |
| Turmeric |
Yellow |
4 cups |
1 tbsp |
4 cups |
| Blueberries |
Blue |
2 cups |
4 cups |
2 cups |
| Purple Cabbage |
Teal |
4 cups |
2 cups |
4 cups |
*We used Rit ColorStay Dye Fixactive, available at craft and fabric stores, for this project.
**Final colour is the colour after washing in a washing machine on a medium cycle with detergent. Many food items are naturally acidic and will change colour when a base, such as detergent, is added.