$1 per yard for a stretch cotton waffle weave!

At that price, how could I resist picking up a couple of yards?  No, I didn’t buy the whole bolt – I restrained myself to two yards, thank you for asking

There was a reason why it was marked down so cheap… there are some odd stains running through the fabric.  They don’t smell and didn’t really change with washing.  It almost looks like someone dropped some dye solution on the fabric.

While I don’t normally recommend trying to cover stains on fabric with dyes – these ones are so light, and the fabric was so cheap that I’m going to try.  I figure, even if it doesn’t turn out the way I’m hoping – it’s still a good learning experience, right?

I’m going to break out my favorite cold water dyes and dye half of the fabric a bright turquoise and the other half orange.  I’ll share the results after I’m finished.

Unless of course, they’re so dreadful that I will never mention it again…

image: C Findlay-Harder

Post from: Blisstree

Wordy Wednesdays

I’ve blogged about my various experiments with dyeing and painting fabric before, using everything from traditional fabric dye, onion skins and acrylic paint.  Cyndi has been running a great series on creating your own surface design fabric.

image: C Findlay-Harder

But have you ever thought about using Kool-Aid to dye fabric?

Snow Angels has created some gorgeous yarn using the drink powder.  You’ll never believe some of the colors she’s come up with – they’re so vivid.

I wonder if they would work on wool fabric too…

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Adventures With Fiber & Drink Powder

The only difference between these fabrics, and the much more subtle gauze that I dyed is the amount of water you use in the dye bath.

I used a low water immersion technique (LWI) to create the more mottled prints.  The fabric is damped down with water, crumpled up and then placed in a large ziploc baggy.   You then pour the dye concentrate (just the hot water mix, without adding any extra cold water) over the fabric.  Close the bag and squish the fabric a few times to make sure the dye is penetrating all the way through.  Knead the bag a couple more times during the hour-long dyeing process.  Rinse, wash and presto!  Beautiful cotton prints for a lots less than the $20 per meter that quilting shops charge

I’ve also used microwaves to dye fabric, but I don’t any more.  I don’t like using dyes anywhere that food is prepared.  Of course… you could always snag another microwave for your studio!

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more hand-dyed fabrics

It’s a softer, slightly mottled shade of coral – much more flattering now!  It’s almost impossible to create a totally solid shade, you can end up with anything from a dramatic marbled tie-dye to soft waves of color.

Generally, the more you stir, the more even the fabric will turn out

I think this particular piece of fabric is going to end up as a shirt.   It’s  a lovely lightweight cotton and should be great when it finally warms up around here!

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de-stash ideas – dyeing your own fabric, part two

While I like pink, I think it’s just a little too pink… But it’s a lovely fabric and I don’t really want to give it away if there’s another option.

I think this is a worthwhile fabric to try dyeing. It’s 100% cotton (it’s easiest to dye natural fibers) and a small enough length to easily fit into a bucket.

I’m using a Dylon cold water dye kit for this project – it comes with a dye fixative included in the package, but you still need salt as well:

Each dye has different requirements, so read your instructions carefully! I also needed a large bucket to dye the fabric in and a smaller non-metallic container to mix the dye in.

A word of caution – most dyes are toxic chemicals and you should protect yourself appropriately. That includes using a respirator, rubber gloves, old clothes (it’s messy and you don’t want to trash your good pair of jeans!) If you have concerns, don’t use dye! I’ve used it for years and have never had any issues, but pay attention and read the instructions carefully.

Now that I’ve got that over, to use Dylon dyes, you need to thoroughly wet the fabric first in a bucket of cold water:

Yikes – you can see how bright that pink is!

I mixed up the dye concentrate, which includes the dye powder, fixative and salt with some very hot tap water. It gets poured over the fabric – which you then need to stir for ten minutes.

Yes, that’s right – you need to stir the fabric for ten minutes.

Now that your arm feels like it’s going to fall off you can take a break and let the fabric sit, according to the package directions. This batch needs to sit for another fifty minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so.

It now looks like a lab experiment gone terribly wrong:

Haul the fabric out and rinse, rinse, rinse! Toss it into the washing machine (by itself please, you don’t want to dye the rest of your laundry

Post from: Blisstree

de-stash ideas – dyeing your own fabric