A New Field
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Recipe

Avocado skin dye

A soft rose-pink from avocado skin and stone. Surprising to first-timers.

Every A New Field recipe has been run in a domestic kitchen or community hall. Read the safety notes before you start and adapt for your venue.

What you’ll make

Pink to dusky rose on wool; lighter on cotton.

Flexible slots (flex around your material)

  • Pigment

    Natural pigment / dyeSkins of 4 avocados

    Coloured plant, mineral or animal matter. Yields colour in water or alcohol.

    Examples Avocado skin and pit

  • pH shifter (optional)

    Alkali1 tsp

    Mild household alkalis. Raises pH, makes milk glue, fixes some dyes.

    Examples Baking soda

    Note — Intensifies pink.

Fixed ingredients

  • Water · 3L

Equipment

  • Large pan
  • sieve
  • stirring stick.

Refinements and variations

  • A pinch of baking soda intensifies the pink.

Source notes

Popularised by natural-dye guides in the 2010s.