Natural Dyeing at Home with Lucia Alber

Hosted by Tacony LAB Community Arts Center, join Lucia Alber for a class on natural dyes – all with ingredients you already have at home! Through this online class you’ll learn the very basics of creating natural dyes from onion skins to produce warm orange and reddish tones in your fabric! You will need to scour your fabric before the class takes place in order to prepare it to absorb the dye.

How to scour fabric:

Pour about an inch of hot water into the bottom of a very large pot. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap and stir to dissolve. Add enough additional warm water so that the fiber will have some room to move around. Add clean fabric and more warm water to cover if needed. Slowly Over medium heat, bring the pot just to a simmer and do your best to keep it there for about 30 minutes. Stir the fabric every 5 to 10 minutes throughout the process, bringing sections from the bottom to the top, and redistributing any clumps or tight areas that form so the scouring water has a chance to get to every part of it. Take the pot off the heat and let cool until you are able to put your gloved hands in the water comfortably. Next gently rinse the fabric in water similar to the temperature of the cooled off scouring bath. Hang or lay to air dry.

Materials for natural dyeing:

Large stock pot

Skins of about 8 large onions- red onions will produce a brownish-red color, and yellow onions will give a more orange hue

Rubber bands (if you want to do a resist)

Dish soap

Large bowl, tub, or bucket

We are conducting this event live on Zoom! You can join us live and ask questions and participate. You will need to download the Zoom app to join on your phone or computer. Follow the link on your computer.

Register HERE to join this workshop