avocado dyes

So, I found a few references regarding the use of avocado skins and pits to produce peach/mauve/pink on wool and cotton with no mordants (like I need another excuse to eat more avocados) and gave it a try on some of my spun 2 ply Shetland wool and silk (pale cream original color). My first attempt gave me a pale smokey mauve-peach, and the second a deeper peachy russet. I'll upload photos of the whole process when I get the chance....

Now, one thing I noticed about the bath was that it developed a noticeable old rose-violet fragrance. Which got me wondering: some of my dye references mention that one of the signs that orchil lichen dyes are done fermenting and ready for use is that they develop a rose or violet fragrance. And orchil dyes produce a similar color range to avocado skins/pits, but the colors from what I've read are clearer and deeper.

So, I'm tossing this out for a couple of reasons:

First, has anyone else played with avocados for dyeing, and what were your results?

Second, does anyone have any information about the active components in avocado dyes and whether it's the same as or similar to the orcein/orchils from lichens?

I can't help with your questions but I would love to see pics of the colours and a know a bit more about the process. We have a lot of avocados coming through the house and the colours sound lovely.

I'll upload pictures in a bit, though I will warn you they were taken on my phone and I'm not much of a photographer.

Here's how I did it:

Preparing the bath:
1: Collect skins and pits, and clean as much of the flesh off of them as possible for brighter colors (not that I've found the colors to be particularly bright).... I find a quick scrub under the tap works pretty well.
2: Add cleaned skins and pits (either both together or in separate baths for different colors) to a pot and add water plenty of water--not just covering, but enough that they float freely.
3: Add gentle heat to bring the water to barely simmering. This is important as too much heat will brown the dye, so never let it approach boiling. I heat on the lowest burner setting and turn off the heat as soon as the water starts to steam.
4: Allow pot to cool, longer is better (I usually let it sit overnight). Decant cooled liquid into your "official" dyepot (it should be a deep burgundy/claret color), reserving the skins/pits.
5: Repeat process with skins/pits until color is no longer burgundy/claret.

Dyeing the fiber:
1: Soak fiber (I've only tried it with wool and silk) in cool water until thoroughly wetted (I often skimp on this step because I rather like the uneven/heathered colors that results from uneven dye uptake), and add to the cool dyebath.
2: Heat gently to barely simmer/steam (remember that issue about browning the dye--not to mention felting wool).
3: Remove from heat and allow to cool at least overnight.
4: Check color....The color seems to take a while to develop with avocado dyes, so leave the fiber in longer for deeper colors, even for several days. You can gently heat and cool the bath repeatedly with the fiber in it....

Once you're happy with the color, remove from the cooled bath (squeeze out as much of the dye back into the pot as you can), rinse until the water runs clear (wash if you want--I've found that soap and water do no seem to change the color), and hang to dry.

I hope this all makes sense! Let me know if you have questions. And happy dyeing!

Thank you for your precise instructions! 😘 What I've found so far was very generic and did not mention temperatures.

I've also been wondering whether chopping or grating the seeds would result in more intense colour. Have you tried that perhaps? At the moment I can't test avocados myself because avocado season is still a few months away, and the imported ones are still a bit expensive.

Nice to meet someone who also prefers uneven dyeing. 😊 I find the heathered mixes so much more luminous.

As for photo quality, a couple of years ago I participated in a short class by a photo journalist who taught us how to do videos with a phone. Apart from a few basic tricks like how to hold it steady and not film the inside of our nostrils, the big takeaway was that "professional quality" is much less about photographic perfection than about interesting content. Unless the images are so off that they are useless, no one but we ourselves will be bothered. 😉 So: Thank you for taking the time and showing us!

Thank you for your kind words about heathered yarns and photography!

Luminous is a good way to describe heathers, especially those from natural dyestuffs. There's a subtlety and depth to the colors that can't be duplicated with commercial dyes....

I haven't tried chopping the pits yet, but may do so on my pits only batch.

I've attached a picture of my first dyed skeins. They are two ply yarns, one ply of pale grey/cream Shetland wool and the other of tussah silk. The top three skeins in the picture are from the pits and peels dyebath and were only in the cool bath for one day. The bottom skein is from the peels only dyebath, and spent three or four days soaking, including daily gentle heat and overnight cool down cycles.

For comparison, here are the lighter skeins (under indoor lights which darken and yellow the colors) with a skein of the undyed yarn.

Wow, I had no idea that the rose colour could be so strong (the peels only skein), I'll certainly try that! Maybe I will buy some avocados after all, simply because I'm impatient. 😁 Thanks again!

I can't wait to see your results!

I am especially pleased with the darker skein since I used my high mineral content well water and wasn't sure how the calcium and iron dissolved in it would impact the colors.

I finally got an undyed skein of Shetland/tussah silk done and put together a picture of the colors I've gotten from avocado. The picture was taken in indirect light on my shaded porch.

From top to bottom they are: Knit sample (catspaw pattern) Shetland/tussah silk dyed with avocado pits and peels after knitting; undyed Shetland/tussah silk skein; two skeins dyed with avocado pits and peels; one skein dyed with avocado peels only with longer immersion and gentle daily heating and cooling; knit sample (moss stitch pattern) light grey Shetland dyed with avocado pits and peels after knitting.

Wonderful colour harmony! Thanks for showing!

I haven't got any avocados yet, they're still a bit pricey.

Regarding your initial question about lichen, I just noticed this link below the thread, maybe you find something helpful.

on permies

Thank you! I'd seen the mushroom dye thread earlier and loved it. I also have a book on mushroom dyeing, and I've been wanting to try the colors as many are substantive and as colorfast as modern commercial dyes.

The problem is finding and ID'ing the mushrooms as most fungi look at lot alike to me unless they're morels or oysters.

I'm hoping to put together a pits only avocado bath after this weekend and I'll post more pics if there's a noticeable color difference.