SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 56: Learn How to Make a Dye with Natural Materials

Long before modern synthetic dyes became widely available, people used plants and other natural materials to colour cloth, yarn and everyday objects. Different materials can produce surprising colours, from soft yellows and browns to pinks and purples, depending on the material, the fibre and how the dye is prepared.

Making a natural dye is a practical way to explore traditional craft skills and notice the colours hidden in familiar materials. For this challenge, you will prepare a simple dye using readily available ingredients, test it on a suitable piece of fabric and record the result.

Your Challenge

Your challenge is to make a small batch of natural dye and use it to colour a piece of natural-fibre fabric or yarn.

You will choose a suitable material, prepare a dye bath and observe how the colour develops. You will also learn why natural dyes can produce different results and how to gather materials responsibly.

What You’ll Need

• A small quantity of natural dye material, such as brown or red onion skins.
• A small piece of plain, undyed cotton fabric or natural-fibre yarn.
• Water.
• A dedicated heat-safe pot that will not be used for food preparation afterwards.
• A heat source and suitable adult supervision where needed.
• A spoon or tongs for handling the fabric.
• A strainer and a heat-resistant container.
• Gloves and an apron if appropriate.
• A notebook or phone to record the colour.

Use familiar, safely identified materials. Do not collect unknown plants, fungi or berries for dyeing, and avoid poisonous plants or materials that may cause skin irritation. You do not need to forage in woodland to complete this challenge.

Take the Challenge

1. Choose your dye material

Start with a material that is easy to identify and obtain safely. Onion skins are a good beginner option because they are readily available and can produce yellow, orange or brown tones, depending on the quantity used and the preparation.

Other materials can also produce colour, including some berries, leaves and bark, but results vary considerably. Some plants contain compounds that irritate the skin or are toxic, so do not experiment with unidentified materials or assume that a plant is safe simply because it grows naturally.

For your first attempt, collect a small quantity of clean onion skins from your kitchen. This lets you focus on the dyeing process without damaging woodland plants or taking material from a habitat.

Record the material you have chosen and predict what colour you think it might produce.

2. Prepare the dye bath

Place the onion skins in your dedicated pot and cover them with water. Heat the mixture gently until it simmers, allowing the colour to transfer into the water. The exact time and colour will depend on the quantity of skins and the concentration of the mixture, so treat this as an experiment rather than following a fixed colour formula.

Keep the pot attended while it is heating, and take care around hot water and steam. Do not use cooking equipment or utensils that may later be used to prepare food.

Once the water has taken on colour, turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool enough to handle safely. Strain out the skins using a suitable strainer. You should now have a coloured liquid that can be used as your dye bath.

Take a photograph of the prepared dye and note its colour before you add any fabric.

3. Prepare your fabric

Choose a small piece of plain, undyed cotton fabric or natural-fibre yarn. Wash it first if necessary to remove dirt, oils or finishes that could interfere with the dye.

Natural fibres such as cotton, linen and wool can take up dyes differently. Wool and other animal fibres may respond differently from plant fibres, so your result will depend partly on what you choose.

Wet the fabric with clean water before placing it in the dye bath. This can help it absorb the dye more evenly.

For this challenge, use only a small sample. You are testing the process rather than trying to dye a complete garment.

4. Colour the fabric

Place the damp fabric into the prepared dye bath. If the liquid is still warm, make sure it is at a safe temperature before handling the fabric, and use tongs or another suitable tool if needed.

Allow the fabric to soak, checking the colour periodically. A longer soak may produce a deeper shade, but the outcome depends on the material, the fabric and the dye concentration.

Do not add unfamiliar chemicals or improvised mordants to intensify the colour. Some dyeing chemicals can be hazardous, and certain traditional methods require careful handling. For this beginner challenge, concentrate on the natural dye itself.

When you are satisfied with the colour, remove the fabric safely and allow excess liquid to drain back into the container.

5. Rinse and dry your sample

Rinse the fabric gently with clean water to remove excess dye. Some colour may wash out, particularly with a simple beginner method that does not use a mordant or other fixative.

Hang the sample somewhere suitable to dry. Avoid placing it where dripping dye could stain surfaces or contaminate watercourses.

Once dry, examine the colour in natural light. Record whether it matches your original prediction and whether the colour appears even across the fabric.

Natural dyes can fade with washing and sunlight, so do not assume the first result will remain unchanged indefinitely.

6. Compare and record the results

Record the material you used, the approximate quantity, how you prepared it and the colour you achieved. Photograph the dry sample against a plain background so the result is easy to see.

If you want to experiment further, repeat the process with a second small batch using a different quantity of onion skins or a different soaking time. Change one factor at a time so you can compare the results more clearly.

Dispose of the cooled dye liquid and plant material responsibly. Do not pour concentrated dye mixtures or unknown plant extracts into a stream, pond or other natural water source.

Check Your Results

Before completing the challenge, make sure you can answer these questions:

• Which natural material did you use to make your dye?
• How did you transfer colour from the material into water?
• Why can different fibres produce different results?
• Why might some colour wash out after rinsing?
• Why should you avoid using unknown plants or improvised dyeing chemicals?

If your sample is paler than expected, that does not mean the challenge has failed. The purpose is to learn how natural materials behave and to record what your experiment shows.

Complete the Challenge

To complete Challenge 56, make a small batch of natural dye and use it to colour a fabric or yarn sample.

Your evidence should include:

• A photograph of the natural material you used.
• A photograph of your prepared dye bath.
• A photograph of the finished, dried fabric or yarn.
• A short explanation of how you made the dye and what colour you achieved.
• One observation about what you would change if you repeated the experiment.

Use safe, familiar materials and do not collect plants or other materials from protected sites or places where gathering is prohibited.

How to Submit Your Challenge

Submit your evidence

Once you have completed the challenge, share your evidence on your SGUK member profile so it can be checked.

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open Social Activity.
3. Upload a photograph of your evidence to the activity wall.
4. Add the hashtag #SGUKChallenge56.
5. Share it for verification.

Include your explanation alongside the photographs so it is clear which material you used and how you prepared the dye.

Challenge 56 Checklist

Want to Push Yourself?

Try a second experiment using a different quantity of onion skins or a different soaking time. Compare the finished samples and see whether the colour changes.

You could also research traditional plant dyes used in different parts of the world and find out how people obtained particular colours before synthetic dyes were widely available. Look into how fibre type, preparation and mordants influence the final result, taking care to distinguish historical methods from procedures that are safe to try at home.

Keep a record of each experiment. Over time, you can build your own small reference collection showing which materials you used and the colours they produced.

What’s Next?

If you have not completed the previous challenge, try SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 55: Run a Table-Top Drill for a Head Injury on a Scramble. Practise planning a response to a serious head injury in difficult terrain, including scene safety, emergency communication and casualty care.

You can complete the SGUK Challenges in any order, so choose the skills that interest you and continue developing your practical outdoor knowledge.

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 56 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Learn. Practise. Master.

That’s what the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is all about.