Natural Dye Day Dress / Avocado Seed

A bespoke piece, hand-dyed by botanical dye artist, Phoebe Hunter. This one-of-a-kind 100% hemp Day Dress has been dyed with avocado seeds.

Size: 14

Natural Dye: Avocado seeds

Both the skin and the seed of the avocado fruit (Persea americana) are rich in tannins and have been used for thousands of years as fabric dye and ink. With origins in central Mexico, the avocado has been cultivated for its fruit since 5,000 BC. Traces of alpaca and llama wool dyed with avocado seeds has been found in archaeological sites in the Andean highlands where the indigenous Aymara and Quechua people lived.

Artist Notes: Collected over years and donated by friends and family. Often when I visit a friend, they will greet me with a handful of avocado seeds they have kept for me. Meaning I now have a large bucket almost always full of them ready to dye with. They produce a muted pink/rose colour that has some texture to it from the soy mordant reaction. The process is similar to steeping tea, where you boil them for a period of time and strain the seeds, leaving behind a beautiful pinkish dye bath.

Fabric: 100% hemp

Style: Day Dress

Care: Gentle cold machine or hand wash with natural detergent. Dry in shade to extend colour life. Do not tumble dry. Store out of direct sunlight. Some fading and colour loss can occur with naturally dyed pieces.

Due to the nature of the natural dye process, garments may have some dye imperfections. These are not deemed as faults or defects. Each item is unique and a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art.

Sizing: Fits true to size; relaxed fit. View Day Dress product page for garment measurements.