Avocado Pits

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The avocado originated in south-central Mexico between 7,000 and 5,000 B.C.E. The Incan people cultivated avocados, and archaeologists in Peru have found domesticated avocado pits buried with Incan mummies dating to 750 B.C.E., and it appears they were cultivated in Mexico as early as 500 B.C.E.

In 1871, avocado trees were successfully brought to California from Mexico, and the crops flourished in California’s warm environment. California is now the leading producer of domestic avocados.

The avocado held cultural value to indigenous Mexican peoples and was believed to bring strength to those who consumed it. The 14th month of the ancient Maya calendar is even represented by a glyph for the avocado. The avocado is an increasingly popular food in the United States, largely due to its content of healthy, plant-based fats.

Despite its culinary popularity, few are aware that this green fruit produces light pink and peach colored dyes. Saving avocado pits and skins is a great way to sustainably source dyeing material.

This dye will work best on natural fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, and on light colored and undyed fabric.
Wash your fabric in warm water with a gentle soap and leave it to soak overnight. (Avocado dyes do not require mordants, as the tannins in the pits act as a mordant).
You will need 3-5 avocado pits per ½ pound of fabric. The more pits you use, the deeper the pink tone will be. You can collect the avocado pits over time and save them by freezing them until you have enough to use for dyeing.
Open the avocados and remove the pits.
Wash the avocado pits, removing any remaining flesh.
Place the pits in the bottom of a stainless steel pot and fill it with enough water to submerge the amount of fabric you will be dyeing.
Bring the water and avocado pits to a boil, then let simmer for 60 minutes before removing from the heat. (You can also add avocado skins to achieve a brighter tone).
Let the dye sit overnight. This will allow the color to deepen.
When you are ready to dye, remove the avocado pits from the dye, using stainless steel tongs or rubber gloves.
Wring out the pre-soaked fabric and submerge it in the dye bath.
Bring the dye bath to a simmer and use a wooden spoon to stir the fabric, ensuring it is entirely exposed to the dye. Simmer and stir the fabric in the dye for 30 minutes.
Keep in mind that the fabric will be one to two shades lighter after rinsing, so soak it for longer if you desire a deeper pink. For a darker or longer-lasting pink, let the fabric soak off of the heat for a minimum of 4 hours.
Remove the fabric from the dye and rinse under cold water then hang to dry.
Hand-wash or wash alone in cold water to preserve the color.

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