How to dye with onion skins

“Don’t stress. Wear a yellow dress”

One of the easiest and most readily available natural dyes can be found in your garden or kitchen. The onion. Onions contain quercetin (3, 5, 7, 3', 4'-pentahydroxyflavone) as a derivative from flavonol, found mainly in the outer layers, they are also rich in tannins making them a great dye source.

Onions were used for dyeing in classical Greece, the Middle East, Indigenous Americans and by primitive tribes of Africa (Grierson 1986). In Persia, onions were used to dye cotton carpet yellow and in central Europe, it was used as a dye for Easter eggs, linen, wool and especially cotton. In Japan right after World War II, the khaki coloured clothes came into fashion whose material was
the cotton textile dyed in onion skin extract and treated with an iron mordant in the name of 'welfare dyeing (厚生染色).'

Due to the onion skins’ high tannin content, they make the perfect dye for beginners because a mordant isn’t required, particularly when working with cellulose fibres like cotton or linen. Because tannins work similarly to a mordant in the sense that they assist dyes to adhere to the fibre. However, if you wish to improve the colour-fastness of the dye a mordant is recommended.

Onion dye Recipe:

Onion skins - 50% WOF (weight of fibre) for deep shades or 30% per WOF for lighter shades.

Place the onion skins into your dye pot and cover with enough water to allow your fabric to move freely.
Bring the dye bath to a simmer and hold at a low simmer for 30 mins, or until you are happy with the strength of colour.
Strain out the skins. You can reuse the skins to create another weaker dye bath if required. When finished with the skins they can be added to your compost.
Add your pre-mordanted, wet fibre to your dye bath and slowly bring the bath back up to a simmer.
Stir the fibre frequently to ensure an even dye on your fibre.
When you are happy with the colour remove the fibre from the dye and gently wring out the excess liquid.
Rinse your fibre in lukewarm water and pH-neutral soap and hang to dry away from direct sunlight.

Other Applications

Onion skins work well in bundle dyeing/eco printing. The skins work best if broken into smaller pieces or cut/punched into shapes.

Over dyeing indigo-dyed fabric with onion skins will create a beautiful green colour.

Dye Garden

Onions are easy to grow from seed and can be sown from mid-April through until early September in cooler areas, or from mid-March to mid-July in warmer regions.

Seedlings can be planted from August to mid-October in cooler regions, or from mid-July to September in warmer regions. Onions planted at the wrong time will bolt to seed and form a flower rather than the edible bulb that is desired.

Onions require full sun and free-draining soil to grow fat bulbs. When the top of your onion begins to wither it is time to harvest. To do this, simply loosen the soil with a fork and lift the bulbs (being careful not to damage the skins). Plait the leaves together and store your onions somewhere dry, away from sunlight. In optimal conditions, your harvested onions can last for up to six months.

Store your skins in a paper bag or cardboard box, making sure you have saved just the dry skins as any fleshy bits will rot and spoil your dye.