Re-Used Coffee Grounds Natural Dye

I have a passion for Natural Dyeing.  It’s such a beautiful practice - both asetethically and holistically.  The compounds in leaves, seeds, bark, flowers, insects and other natural dye creating materials are full of anti-oxidents and anti-microbrobial materials.  When it comes to food waste - including Avocado pits and skins and pomegranate skins - sometimes the parts of the food we throw away include even more of these healthy compounds than the part we eat!

So I was SUPER excited with Califia Farms reached out and asked me to lead a coffee dye activity for baristas and coffee fans to kick off LA Coffee Fest.  I'm so excited to share my knowledge on natural dyes with baristas and teach them how to dye with food waste they create daily!  Natural dyeing hasn't had much success in a commercial level for many reasons - so it's especially important to share knowledge around our communities to activate local dyeing initiatives.  So in honor of the coffee community - I wanted to document my process so that any of you can do it in your own homes and communities and coffee shops!  

A couple basics...Coffee gets it’s color from the Melanoidin from the roasting process and Tannins from the beans.  Both of these compounds have anti-bacterial and anti-oxident properties.  So I like to think it it as "infusing" the fabric with health forward compounds.  The Sun and high heat will destroy those quality compounds and at the same time take away color.  So please don't leave your freshly dyed cloth in the sun to dry.  

For our activition at Califia Farms we will be dyeing 100% Cotton Bandanas.  A natural fiber is needed for natural dyes.  Cotton is a cellulose fiber so the insturctions below for mordanting relate only to cellulose fibers.  The dye portion is pretty much the same.   Examples of other cellulose fibers are: Cotton, Rayon, Lyocell, Linen.  Protein fibers come from animals - and actually generally absorb dye more deeply.  Examples of protein fibers are: Silk, Wool, Cashmere.

 Why Dye with Used Coffee Grounds?

1. You're going to throw it away or compost it.  You can still compost it after dye...
2. Coffee Grounds are full of antioxidents and anti bacterial properties - many of which your skin can absorb
3. 

Safety

1. Even though we're using food grade dyes - you never know what dyes, etc are cooked into your cloth.  For this reason - use separate Pots, Jars, Utensils, Tongs, etc than you do for food
2. When handling mordants use a face mask and Gloves

How to Dye with Your Used Coffee Grounds

1.  Prepare the cloth for dye - for today's bandanas we scoured and mordanted them prior to dye.  This will assist the dye to adhere stronger and last longer.  Due to the tannins in the coffee it's not totally necessary to mordant and you can experiment without mordanting - especially with vintage or used items.
2. Tie Cloth into whatever pattern you'd like to make.  At this point you can add in extra natural materials to give imprints in the dye process.  Some ideas are Onion Skins, Flowers, Eucalyptus Leaves.
3. Prepare the Dye:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil
2. Add coffee grounds - either in a mesh bag/pantyhose or mixed in to be strained later if desired
3. The more grounds the darker/richer the color
4. Turn off heat or reduce to a simmer and wait for the color to infuse the water 
5. Once the color of the water is deep brown strain or remove coffee grounds (If you want!  I like to leave them because I like the flecks of color- but it can also be a pain to remove from the fiber)
6. Add your fibers to the dye
7. Let fibers sit in simmer pot for 20-30 minutes minimum up to 24 hours or overnight
8. Remove from dye and rinse
9. Dunk in a very diluted vinegar solution if you'd like ( - and then wash and wear!
10. Scroll down to see tie ideas and RESULTS!
11. Note: We also did Turmeric for this activation... it's the yellow color in the photos below.  The directions for turmeric are esentially the same as above... (We used powdered Turmeric)

Natural Dye Care

1. For Best Results - do not expose to High Heat or The Sun.
2. You can wash your naturally dyed bandana with your other laundry.  It shouldn't "Bleed" into your other clothes but it may make white colors appear a little more dingy.  Wash with colors (or already dingy whites! ;))

Tie Patterns

1. The "Scrunch"...  Scrunch it and then tie it.  Pretty simple!
2. The "Bullseye" - start in the center or wherever you want the center of the circle to be.  Tie down the rest of the way to where you want it to end.
3. 

A HUGE Thank You To Califia Farms for inviting me to share my practice in such a meaningful way!

Below are some photos from our night of Natural Dye on 8/24/24 at the Califia Farms headquarters in the Arts District of Los Angeles...

- Erin Han