Fun+Activities

Onion Skin Dye
 People have been dyeing materials for over 5,000 years. The earliest dyes all came from natural ingredients. This dye is yellow to brown in color, depending on the type of onion skins you use.

** Materials Needed: **
 * ½ gallon loosely packed, dry skins from yellow, red, or Bermuda onions
 * 1 quart water
 * stove or heating source
 * large enamel or stainless steel (not aluminum) pot
 * study wooden or plastic stirring utensil
 * sieve
 * container to collect dye
 * material to dye

** Directions: **


 * 1) Tear the onion skins into small pieces.
 * 2) Boil in 1 quart of water for 30 minutes.
 * 3) Press the skins while stirring to get out all the color.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Strain the mixture and discard the skins.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Let the solution cool.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Add the material to be colored to the dye.
 * 7) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Let the material soak in the dye until the desired color intensity is reached.