Kitchen Scrap Dye Day

Kitchen scrap dye day. Turn onion skins and avocado pits into natural dye for bandanas.

For a week, save yellow and red onion skins, avocado pits and skins, and the outer leaves of a red cabbage. On dye day, simmer each scrap in its own pot of water (keep the avocado below a boil) and watch the colors come out. Pre-soak plain cotton bandanas, tea towels, or a pillowcase in hot water with a splash of vinegar, then fold, twist, or rubber-band them before they go in. Let them steep, pull them out, and guess which scrap made which color: onion goes golden, avocado goes peachy pink. Hang everything in a row to dry and pick a favorite.

• Date or adventure
• Half day
• Moderate
• Under $20
• Indoors
• Daytime

Photo prompts along the way

1. The week's saved scraps
2. The dye pots on the stove
3. The first piece pulled out
4. Unwrapping a tied pattern
5. Everything drying in a row

Checked November 2026

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