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Earth Cloth: Avocado Pits

Feb. 29, 2016.

Experiment #1 (using Sasha Duerr recommendations)

Materials

• 5 avocado pits (which had been sitting on my windowsill for a few weeks, so... on the dry side)
• 2 white silk scarves
• rubber bands, pot, mason jar
• 1 tsp. alum, dissolved in about a 1/2 c. hot water

Process

• Layered 2 dry silk scarves
• Tied in 5 avocado pits along their center, secured with rubber bands
• Dropped them in a pot of water. Brought the water to a boil, let the fabric steep for a few hours, brought to a boil again, and steeped overnight.
• Put the scarves in a mason jar with enough broth to cover it. (Saved the rest of the broth for another day.)

It took a long while for a pleasing russet color to start developing in the water, but the cloth was pale. Decided to let it "ripen" in a mason jar. I inquired about mordants in the Printing Botanicals group on Facebook. The consensus seemed to be alum. I added about a teaspoon to my mason jar, but it might have been too little too late, since it didn't have a noticeable effect. The cloth stayed in the jar for a couple days before I got impatient.

Results

The results were a peachy pink -- what might be called "nude" in a line of underwear.. Nice, but not the expected "russet." The photo above shows them, rinsed (after 5 days) and ironed. A sweet shibori effect was produced by the rubberband-secured pits.

Experiment #2

Materials

• Pits and skins from 3 avocados (freshly liberated from flesh, pits sliced about 1/8" thick with a mandoline, skin chopped with knife)
• About 2 c. of the leftover avocado pit broth from above
• 1 - 2 c. shredded red cabbage
• 1/2 yard Pimatex cotton (prepared by steeping in tannin solution overnight, then steeping in alum/washing soda solution overnight)
• 1 Flour-sack towel (28" x 28")
• Steamer pot

Process

• Laid out the Pimatex (wet from its alum soak)
• Spread lengthwise over half the Pimatex: sliced avocado pits, chopped avocado skin, shredded red cabbage
• Folded the other half up to cover the botanicals
• Heated the avocado broth and poured it over the flour-sack towel; let it steep about 10 min.
• Sprinkled red cabbage on the towel, folded it in half and laid it across the Pimatex. I thought this "avocado blanket" might "do something extra" for the process. (Spoiler alert: it didn't, though it took on a little color of its own)
• Folded all the layers in half again lengthwise and wrapped them tightly around a stick; tied the bundle with string
• Steamed the bundle for about 1-1/2 hours, turning it every 15 min., then let it steep overnight.

I had some red onion skins to sprinkle on, too, but I forgot them.

Results

If you are into subtlety, this is for you. The red cabbage did it's thing with soft blues and violets. The avocado contributed mauve at best. The oval slices themselves seemed to add a resist rather than a color. The avocado skins left unattractive dotted areas (not visible on the reverse, which is the image below, shown in its best light).

I will let the fabric "cure" for a while before I wash it and take note of any changes. Maybe I will treat it to the onion bath then to darken it. (Mar. 1, 2016 addendum: I dipped half my cloth in a red onion skin broth... lost much of the subtle coloration. Turned everything beige. Blah. We learn...)

Meanwhile, I think I've gotten avocados out of my system.

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