Sunday, August 25, 2019

Onion Skin Dyeing

Yesterday, in addition to laundry and cutting grass I did some onion skin dying for a vintage rug I'm working on.  The auction house named it Glazer Antique Hearts, thus the name I've given it.
I've already hooked the top two hearts and used what I had but the colors just aren't the same.  I'll use the newly dyed wool to hook the heart on bottom right first and probably replace some wool on the ones already hooked...will see.

Anyway, I used about 3 cups of both yellow and red squished skins then placed them in a mesh bag.  Three mesh bags for $1 at the Dollar store.
Last onion skin dying was unimpressive as I used 2 cups skins with 1 yard total of fabric.  This time there were 3 cups onion skins with a tad over half yard of varying shades of white... can ya say '50 shades of white'?  Uh, a play on the book and movie "50 Shades of Grey". 

Dear friend Lauren (Rugs and Pugs) always keeps me in check.  Today she asked me how long I simmered the onions and if I kept the bag 
in the pot of wool when doing so.  This was my reply.....

"I simmered about half an hour or so and with 2 cups of onion skins.  When the color was absorbed didn’t think it was dark enough so turned off the stove, removed the wool and went to the grocery store.  Noticed some of the color was concentrated where the bag of onion skins sat.


When I came back I added the 3rd cup of onions to the bag and turned on the water without wool but with the onion skins to leech out more color.  When the color darkened to  my satisfaction removed the bag of onion skins and put the wool back in the pot to absorb more color.  Not sure how long it simmered by then but was happy with the color and color almost gone so glugged with white vinegar."
This rug won't be done in time for Cape May, which is fine with me as it  gives me something to work on until Kris gets to me with my class project.  Two weeks from today I'll be scurrying around anxious to drive to the Cape May Lewes Ferry toward New Jersey shore.

Saundra

8 comments:

  1. Hi Saundra,
    I keep collecting onion skins for that day when I want to dye some wool with them! Thanks for the info on the mesh bags!! Will have to check my local Dollar Store!
    Your rug camp will be here before you know it!!
    Have a great week!
    Heart Hugs~
    Julie xo

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  2. I have been saving yellow onion skins for many years but have done nothing with them. I will have to look for the mesh bags. For how long do you simmer the skins? Do you leave them in the pot with the wool?
    Yes. Camp will be hear in a flash.

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  3. Never heard of onion skin dying, but then again I am not at the point of dying my own wool yet. Good luck with your new batch and so love this rug! Janice

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  4. Your wools turned out great. Perfect for those hearts.

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  5. Used to do that alot,,, it was fun,,,
    Yours looks great,,,
    Its cooler here now,,, feels like fall,,, wow,,,,
    Hope u have a great day,,,
    Take care, saundra!

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  6. That turned out great. Should be perfect for your hearts!!

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  7. I have an old crock with onion skins I have been saving. the last time I got a lot husband helped me by cleaning out the crock and throwing them away. lol he did think he was helping
    I hope you are feeling better
    Cathy

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  8. Hi Saundra! Stopping by from Janice's blog. I remember reading about natural vegetable dying around Easter last year. So exciting to see that it actually works and the results are beautiful. Hope you have great week!

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Thanks for taking the time to visit and I always welcome comments.