This is not strictly knitting related, but I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me out:
I have some natural yarn that I want to dye and I want to dye it with old coffee grounds. For the past few weeks I've religiously put the used grounds from my espresso machine into a glass jar, where they usually manage to dry pretty well out before the next batch is added (usually the next day). A few days ago I noticed some mold in the lower reaches of the grounds pile and when I poured it out of the jar I saw that there was quite a lot of mold growing in there.
I'm pretty sure I don't want to dye with moldy grounds, so my question is: What's the best way to store the grounds between brewing and dyeing?? Should they be spread out and allowed to thoroughly dry or should I brew a giant pot of coffee all in one go and use the grounds for dyeing immediately after they've been used for brewing? Or should I do something entirely different??
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2 comments:
I have never dyed with coffee, although I have done lots of other natural dyeing. The mold may not be a problem, but I am not sure. There is a great yahoogroup called Natural Dyes, you may try joining up and looking through their archives. If you can't find the answer, let me know and I can try digging through my dyeing books.
Thanks Rebecca, I'll take a look at the yahoogroup and let you know if they have the answer :)
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