This year I grew onions in the garden and there are all but two left that I finally pulled up just this week. We managed to eat up all the rest rather quickly. They were so good on tomato sandwiches! I now know that for this house, I need to grow lots more onions next year.
We do cook with onions a lot in my house. They are such a versatile ingredient that adds so much to one’s cooking. Leave out onions and you are leaving out a lot of flavor. As tasty as they can be I have yet another reason for loving this simple crop.
Briefly on this blog I have mentioned my love affair with knitting but I have failed to mention yet another passion of fiber I have. This passion happens to combine my love of gardening with my love of knitting very well making it a power packed craft for me. What is this craft? Well, for a few years now I have been using herbs and other various plants from my garden to dye my yarn that I use in my knitting. It has been an incredibly addicting thing for me to do. All I want to do now is fill my garden up with plants that I can dye with.
That brings me back to the humble little onion. Not only is this one handy veggie crop to grow for eating BUT it can also be used for dyeing. The skins from yellow onions make an amazing dye and the colors you achieve from them are very beautiful. The picture below shows yarn that I dyed with onion skins just recently.
Every time I pull out these skeins of yarn I am amazed that I can achieve this range of color just by using simple onion skins. So, the next time an onion starts to bring tears to your eyes as you cut it up keep in mind just how useful they really are!
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I love those colors. So pretty.
Thank you Daphne.
-Cynthia
Wow, that yarn is gorgeous. What vivid colors! I am so impressed that you do all this. Do tell us more on this blog about this combination of yours. You really do use what you have. We could all learn a lot from you!
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
-Cynthia
Thank you so much for this nice comment. I have been wondering what direction I would like to see this blog go in and posting this was sort of like testing the waters. Your feedback has definitely encouraged me.
Wow, those yarn colors are ***stunning***! Impressive. We use onions a lot too but I haven’t really ever grown any but green ones. Do you have to cure them or do you use them fresh out of the ground?
Hi Karen,
Thank you for the kind words.
I know you are suppose to cure onions just like you do garlic but I just pull them out of the ground as when I want to use one! They are really good like that. So good in fact that we ate them all before I could cure a single one. I was hoping to have grown enough to able to cure them and save them over the winter but the wet spring and early summer we had caused a lot of my sets to rot in the ground. Hopefully next spring will be a kinder one! -Cynthia
I envy you, Cynthia! I have two left hands, and knitting/crocheting/piano playing/typing were all things I could never do…yes, I tried! My Mom used to make the perfect colors of ecru by dying fabrics with tea or coffee, and I remember her also using beets and walnut shells for dying.
Granny
Hi Granny,
I do everything backwards! It can be painfully confusing (and crazy making!) but I still manage. I have been wanting to get my hands on some walnut shells as they make such a pretty and strong dye. -Cynthia
Knitting,crocheting, etc. do not come easy to me as I am a good ole southpaw!
That’s awesome. I’ll have to check out your other blog sometime, it sounds interesting. Sadly, the only dying I have done has come straight out of a box. I rarely post to my other blogs too. They seem so lonely when I’m so used to getting all of the comments on my blogger blog.
I want to grow onions, they’re our new favorite addition to anything we make. Do you have a favorite kind of onion?
Hi Cinj,
I did not know you had other blogs as well. I’ll have to visit them one day myself.
As far as the onions go, I just grow what sounds good at the time. The kind I grew this year were called Big Daddy and they did very well and had a great flavor. Next year I would like to grow both red and yellow onions. -Cynthia
What fun! I’ve always wanted to try dyeing yarn, ever since seeing photos of Tasha Tudor dyeing great big skeins of it over a huge old pot out in her garden.
Hi Amy,
It is a lot of fun- too much fun really! I just love how it combines my love for gardening and plants with my love of knitting. A perfect match! 
-Cynthia
I think I know what pictures you are talking about!
Those are just wonderful! I’ve used plant dyes for dying fabric for homeschool projects but have never done yarn. We also use different plants for dying Easter Eggs. Beets are the best for that, but have used onions also.
Thanks for sharing! Oh BTW have your tried blackberries?
Hi Inadvertent Farmer,
I have used plants for Easter egg dyes as well and it was a big hit with my kids. We once used tumeric and had great results with that. 
-Cynthia
Thank you for the compliment.
What amazing colors you were able to create with those onion skins. We eat alot of onions too, I use them in almost everything I make. Something else I would love to grow in my garden next year.
Hi Racquel,
It takes quite a lot of onion skins to dye the amount of yarn shown in that picture! I’m always saving ours to work up enough for more dye! Once again, thankfully I have a very patient husband that does not mind a bit that I stash some rather… let’s just say interesting things! -Cynthia
So you use a lot of onions too?? Hmmm, I might have to ask you to start saving the skins for me.
That is amazing! I had no idea you could die with onion skins much less get all those beautiful colors. Jean
Hi Jean,
-Cynthia
Thank you for your comment. I like thinking that maybe you will now look at onions in a different way since reading this post.
Wonderful colours you have got with your natural dying.
I didn’t know you had another blog – I’m off to check it out.
K
Thank you Karen and thank you taking the time to visit my other blog as it gets lonely.
-Cynthia
Great blog, beautiful photos and articles. Very informative. Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work. Rick
Thank you so much Rick, those comments really do mean a lot. And thank you for visiting my blog today.
-Cynthia
The range of colours you got from the onion skins is beautiful. We use onion skins for colouring our Easter eggs but typically only get variations of one shade.
/krys
Thank you for the comment Krys.
I’m always amazed at what beauty one can get from the most simple of things. -Cynthia
With the first photo, I thought, “What a thing of beauty.” Your composition was great. Then, further down, I’m lucky enough to see your yarns. The colors are lovely and subtle. No wonder you’re addicted.~~Dee
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment Dee. It really has put a smile on my face.
It is easy to be addicting to a hobby that combines two hobbies into one! 
-Cynthia
I’m with Brenda!! I think gardening, dying, spinning, and knitting all go hand in hand quite naturally. Your idea of a dying garden is a lovely thought…I think there may be a book about that out there somewhere.
You are right OAC, there is a book out there and it is called A Dyers Garden by Rita Buchanan. I have owned it for many years now and it always inspires me every time I flip through it. I hope to showcase more of my dye plants next year as I tended to shy away from it this year as I was not sure how interested readers would be. -Cynthia
This is really interesting. It’s the first time I came to know about this. People should know about this beautiful thing. I appreciate your work.
Farah.