Ombré Avocado Dyed Macaramé Cord

The Zaitleys
by The Zaitleys
4 Materials
$10
24 Hours
Easy

When my good friend over at Backyard bedding (@backyardbedding on instagram) gave me 2 large jars of avocado dye, I had to take some deep breaths and slow down before I avocado dyed everything in my house!


I’ve vowed to do one project at a time before my entire house turns millennial pink.


Here is the first of most likely many avocado dye projects:


It’s been a year since we put up our Industrial Copper Macramé Plant Hangers. With the new gallery wall behind it, it was looking a bit monotone and crowded. So I decided to take down 2 of the hanging plants and dip dye every other fringe to add a little color.

I will do a separate post breaking down how Backyard Bedding prepared the Avocado Dye for me. You can use any fabric or natural dye for this project.  Honestly I feel a bit silly even writing a blog post about this as it’s so very simple, but here it is!! 


What you will need for this project:


-       Macramé cord

-       Avocado dye

-       Tall water containers – I used pint glasses

-       Paper towel

I wanted a bit of an ombre affect to mine so I dyed my cord twice in order to intensify the color in certain areas. It takes a bit longer but I wanted a softer line where the dye started. 


1.     Filling a pint glass with avocado dye I fashioned a sturdy base so I could place the pint glass under the cord and have the cord bath in the dye overnight. 


         *If your cord is not attached to anything you can simply place it into an avocado dye bath. No need for these elaborate structures. 


2.     In the morning I transferred the cord from the dye bath to a cold water bath for about 5 minutes so the excess dye could leak out. I then scrunched the cord with a paper towel to get the excess water out so it wouldn’t drip on my counter and stain anything. You can use a towel is you like, just make sure it’s a towel you don’t care about or a darker color as it will stain. 

·      This project works for macramé hangings, or ornamental fabrics as they do not need to be washed regularly. If you were using avocado dye for clothing you would need to pre-treat the fabric so it wouldn’t fade in the wash.



This made a beautiful light rusty pink on the cord. So Beautiful!


3.     I then unbraided the cord to a couple inches under where the dye stopped. This created an interesting tie dye look as the dye wasn’t able to get into the centre of the cord. You can leave it like this if you like that look, but for this project I wanted an ombre look. Once the cords were unbraided I dunked them back into the avocado dye bath overnight. This time only up to where I had unbraided to.

4.     In the morning I repeated the cold water bath again. This time after I scrunched the water out of them with the paper towel, I gave the bottom of the cord a scrunch with my hand. This helped bring back some of the wave from the braid and made it look less stringy. 


5.     Let dry! And Bravocado (couldn’t help myself), it’s so easy and so pretty. 


We love the pop of color, its subtle and so pretty! Would love to see if you use this technique. Tag me on Instagram @talldorkandmatching

Resources for this project:
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The Zaitleys
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  3 questions
  • Liz Liz on May 23, 2020

    I give up what is avacodo dye? How do you make it?

  • Joanie Joanie on May 29, 2020

    Are you a beginner with Macrame' and plants???

  • Dawn Oliphant Dawn Oliphant on Jun 18, 2020

    What kind of pole do you have it hanging from??

Comments
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 4 comments
  • Paige Mull Paige Mull on May 17, 2020

    Hello Abbey and Matt! Beautiful! I love dying with natural material. Recently I’ve used onion skin. Have you ever used it? It’s a gorgeous yellow color. Just gorgeous. So is avocado! Thank you for sharing. It’s so lovely.

    • The Zaitleys The Zaitleys on May 17, 2020

      Thanks so much! I've used red onion skins before! Not yellow. Sounds lovely though!

  • Suzanne Suzanne on May 23, 2020

    Are you using cotton or nylon cord? I dont think polyester will hold the dye.

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