Well this project took a good part of the day. I didn't quite get the results I wanted. I started with four almost new white pillow cases. I wanted to dye them using dyes I made with edible products. I went for coffee for brown, green tea for yellow, onion skins for orange and beetroot for red. First I made the dyes by boiling the ingredients, then straining them. Then based on information I read on natural dyes I prepared the material by simmering it in vinegar water for an hour. Then there was rinsing and finally adding the material to each pot to simmer.
I drained them after simmering for an hour then I rung them out and dried them in the dryer to try and set the colour. I liked the orange from the onion skins best. I may re-dye this one to make it darker. I may even consider doing the yellow one over in this same orange. The brown coffee turned out a little muddy. The yellow green tea was very light and subtle, maybe I should have simmered longer or added more tea for a stronger colour. I was really disappointed in the red beet. Usually I am staining everything with beet juice when I cook them but it didn't seem to work on the cotton. I may do a little more research and try beet again.
They really need an iron but here they are from left to right orange onion skins, red beet, yellow green tea and brown coffee.
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