Natural Kitchen Dyes: Make Your Own Dyes from Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs, and Tea, Plus 12 Eco-Friendly Craft Projects

Hall (Seasonal Plant Dyes) digs into kitchen chemistry in this cozy guide to using plants to make dyes. She begins with advice on sourcing materials in low-cost, eco-friendly ways, such as enlisting friends to save food scraps and reaching out to local farmers. Hall then describes various fabric types (natural fibers derived from animals make for the most vibrant colors) and tools (most of which can be found in the kitchen). She shows how to color fabric with avocado skins for a peach tint, carrot tops for green, and turmeric for yellow, and there are tricks for using dyes for printing, too. Then come the projects: there’s an avocado-dyed, upcycled T-shirt bag; home-dyed patchwork jeans; and a sewn floor cushion readers can color-customize. Most are suitable for beginners, but a few, such as the purple and tan raffia basket, may require crafters to seek out extra instruction. Each item is accompanied by vivid photos, and there are lots of tips to keep things moving: cloth dyed with hibiscus tea, for example, will change to a grayish-purple after it’s washed because of its pH sensitivity. This fun collection will be a valuable addition to any DIY library. (June)