Looking for a simple way to bring a burst of sunshine into your home? Turmeric is one of the easiest natural dyes to start with and you might already have some sitting in your spice cabinet. This golden spice has been used for centuries to color fabric, paper, and even food. Best of all, you can dye at home using just a few kitchen safe ingredients.
Safety notes:
-
Always keep a set of separate pots, spoons, and tools just for dyeing projects. Even when using food safe ingredients, it’s good practice not to mix them back into your cooking tools.
-
Unless its intentionally part of your dyeing process, wear an apron or old clothes, turmeric definitely stains!
-
Our bodies can be sensitive with powders, especially in larger quantities. Always work in a well ventilated space when simmering dyes.
-
Wash dyed fabrics separately for the first few washes to prevent staining other laundry.
What You will Need
-
100% natural fiber fabric (cotton, silk, wool, or linen works best)
-
2 -3 tablespoons ground turmeric (more if you want a deeper color)
-
1 tablespoon vinegar
-
Boiling water
-
Either:
-
A large stainless steel or enamel pot + spoon, OR
-
A heat safe glass jar (like a quart sized ball jar) with a lid
-
-
Gloves and apron (optional, but helpful)!
Method 1: Overnight Jar Dyeing
Step 1: Prepare Your Fabric
Wash your fabric in warm, soapy water to remove oils and finishes.
Step 2: Mix the Dye Bath
In a heat-safe jar, add 2 -3 tablespoons turmeric. Carefully pour in boiling water and stir to dissolve.
Step 3: Add the Fabric
Submerge damp fabric into the jar, making sure it’s fully covered. Seal loosely with a lid. Let it sit like an overnight tea to steep, 8 -12 hours. Shake the jar gently once or twice to help the color spread evenly.
Step 4: Gentle rinse & soak
Remove the fabric from the jar and soak in the vinegar and water mixture (1:4) for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Second rinse + dry
Rinse in cool water and hang in the shade.
Method 2: Stovetop Dye Bath
Step 1: Prepare Your Fabric
Wash your fabric in warm, soapy water to remove any oils or finishes. This helps the color absorb more evenly.
Step 2: Make the Dye Bath
-
Fill your pot with enough water to fully cover your fabric.
-
Add turmeric powder and stir until dissolved.
-
Bring to a gentle simmer for 10-15 minutes. The water will turn a beautiful golden yellow.
Step 3: Add the Fabric
-
Place your damp fabric into the dye bath.
-
Stir often to make sure the fabric colors evenly.
-
Let it simmer for 15 - 30 minutes, depending on how bright you want the color, if you want more intense color, you can turn let it sit in the dye bath for a few hrs or even overnight after turning the stove off.
Step 4: Set the Color with Vinegar
-
Remove the fabric from the pot and rinse it lightly in cool water.
-
In a separate bowl, mix 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water.
-
Soak your fabric in this mixture for 20 minutes to help the color hold.
Step 5: Rinse and Dry
Rinse your fabric gently in cool water until the water runs mostly clear. Hang it in the shade to dry.
That’s it! With just turmeric, water, and vinegar, you can create a natural, golden dye at home. It’s a fun, low-cost, and food safe way to experiment with color.
Bonus Tips:
-
Turmeric gives a bright, sunny yellow that can fade over time with lots of washing or sun exposure which is part of the natural beauty of plant dyes!
-
If you want to experiment, try tying rubber bands around sections of fabric before dyeing to create simple tie dye patterns.
-
Always wash turmeric dyed items separately the first few times to avoid color transfer.
- This method is one of the simplest entry ways into natural dyes and works for simple materials such as coffee, tea, or other kitchen safe powders, stay tuned for more in- depth natural dye tutorials with different mordants.
If you give this a try, I’d love to see your results! Share your turmeric dyed creations and tag