Natural Dye — Colour from Plants
Boil onion skins, beetroot, or berries to make a natural dye, then dye fabric or paper. Teaches chemistry (colour pigments), history (pre-industrial dyeing), and creates beautiful earthy tones.
Nature Crafts
Ages 7–1190 minsHarderSmall group
Watch on YouTube
Search: "natural dyeing with plants fabric kids tutorial onion skins" — video tutorials from popular craft channels
What you'll need
- Natural dyestuffs: onion skins (yellow), beetroot (pink/purple), avocado stones (peach), blueberries
- Plain cotton fabric or paper (pre-soaked in alum mordant if available)
- Saucepan (dedicated to craft use)
- Rubber gloves
- Aprons
How to do it
- Collect dyestuffs — yellow onion skins give the most reliable results for beginners.
- Place in a saucepan with water (4x the volume of material) and simmer for 1 hour.
- Strain out the plant material. The dye bath is ready.
- Wet the fabric with water first. Add to the dye bath.
- Simmer gently for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove and rinse in cool water. Hang to dry.
💡 Tips
A mordant (alum from a dye supplier) helps colour fix — without it, natural dyes fade faster. Yellow onion skins are the most reliable starter dye. The colour is very different when wet vs dry — warn children the final result may be subtler than expected.
Books and materials
Convenience links for everything mentioned above. We link to Amazon — LessonKind may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.