Fabric Dyeing Sunday

Sundays seem to be my dyeing days, don't they? I decided to show you how it's done after all the amazed comments received the last time I dyed. This is sooo easy, anyone can do it!

First up, gather your supplies. You will need:

*Boiling water

*Rubber gloves

*Spoon

*Dye packets

*Fabric-duh!

*Laundry powder

*Salt~Any salt will do...I used Margarita salt only because I didn't like this salt on my beer glass. Rather than waste it I'm using it for something I'm not going to taste.

*Not shown here, you will also need towels (ones you don't mind accidentally turning a different color) and an iron to dry the fabric.

Dump some dye powder, salt and laundry soap into the sink. Use a plastic tub if you think the dye might stain your sink! My sink is stainless steel so a little scrub takes the dye out. Note how carefully I measure the ingredients out...not!

Add boiling water and stir with your spoon. No splashing or stuff gets stained!

After you are sure the dye has completely dissolved, you can add your fabric. If you want the fabric mottled and streaked wad it up and soak. If you want even color lay it flat and move it around. Gloves, please, or you'll have Easter Egg Fingers On Steroids.

I want mottled fabric so I wadded.

When you think you might have the color you want remove the fabric and rinse it well. I even wash with laundry soap. The color right now is much darker than it will be when it is dry. If the color isn't as dark as you'd like you can put it back into the dye again.

Here it is the fabric after being ironed until it is nearly dry.




And here are all the fabrics I dyed today. I used blue and purple dyes as I was planning on fabrics for Just Nan's When Barnabee Met Bella Biscornu.

Wasn't that easy? It is fun and every piece you come up with is beautiful and unique.

I'll have a stitchy update soon. My four day weekend is half over but I've gotten a nice stitchy fix. I've completed the backstitch on the Wisteria biscornu and gotten a nice start on May's Crabby block. I don't feel quite as stitch deprived today!

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Edited to add answers to some questions, Tammy wanted to know how colorfast the fabric is. I usually wash my fabric again in hot water before I stitch, to make sure. Then I wash in cold water after stitching. I haven't had any problems with bleeding but with very fabric dark colors, I'd be really careful. Jo wanted to know my favorite brand of dye. We have RIT and Dylon here, haven't tried any others. I use both, no preference, they are just the same to me.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox