Agricultural craft expert Tammy Algood of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service revives the age-old tradition of dyeing fabric with the highly pigmented skins of fruits and vegetables. Materials:
Natural-fiber fabric such as cotton or silk
Beets, cherries, red onions, coffee beans or other colorful fruits and vegetables
Cheesecloth
Rubber band
Water
Large pot for the dye
Bowl for soaking fabric in water
Alum
Rubber gloves
Tongs
Note: Once pots, bowls and utensils have been used for mixing dye, they shouldn't be used again for food preparation. - Cut beets into large pieces, and place them in the center of a square of cheesecloth (figure A).
- Bring the corners of the cheesecloth together, and secure them with a rubber band.
- Wet the fabric by submerging it in water, then wring it out to remove excess water.
- Mix 1/2 teaspoon alum with 1/2 gallon boiling water. Drop the cheesecloth bag containing the beets into the water, and boil for 30 minutes (figure B).
- Wearing rubber gloves, use tongs to remove the cheesecloth bag containing the dye source. Place the wet fabric into the dye mixture (figure C).
- Let the fabric remain in the dye for 60 minutes. Squeeze out the water, and place the fabric in a bowl of clear water. Place the fabric on a layer of folded paper towels (figure D).
Tips: - Grind coffee beans slightly, not as fine as you would for making coffee. The color of the dyed fabric will be beige or tan.
- Cherries yield a pinkish-mauve color.
- Red onions will turn fabric brown.
- Wet fabric accepts dye better than dry fabric.
- After the fabric dries, colors will be lighter than they appeared when it was wet.
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