For this, I went to Tesco, and just picked the looks skins that had fallen off the loose onions in the cart. I didn’t need the onions so I wasn’t going to buy it, and I was sure they wouldn’t mind me tidying it up a bit! So it’s all good.
You probably don’t have to do this, but I tore the skins up into smaller pieces so they’d be more manageable. And the idea is also that the more surface area there is in touch with boiling water, the faster the dye is extracted.
You need:
Red onion skins
Water
Pot
Strainer / cheesecloth
- Place skins in pot, and fill it a generous amount of water, enough to cover the skins and stir them
- Bring to a boil
- Reduce to a simmer, and simmer for 30-45 minutes
- Leave to cool before straining
- Adjust pH as desired
Like tea, onion skins are really rich in tannins, so you don’t have to use a mordant when dyeing with them. That said, I wanted to keep things consistent and manageable for my project, so as with the other dyeing recipes, I used alum-mordanted wool.
Share what you’ve made on Instagram with #trywonder, I’d love to see what you’re up to!
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on Pinterest, Facebook, and any other platform you use, thank you!