Friday, July 1, 2011

the art of dying



I've been meaning to dye for a while and
have finally gotten around to it .

Please note this is not professional tutorial
this is just the way I did it .

I had a very old stained lacy tablecloth
that I washed and cut up .

This is what I used to dye -
6 RIT colour packs , 6 empty honey containers (1.5kg)
6 plastic forks , 6 sachets of salt from Maccas ,
rubber gloves , hot water and a plastic
cloth to cover the table .

I did try and read the instructions on the
inside of the packet but the print was very small
and I really can't be bothered with instructions
so I ignored them because I couldn't
find my glasses anyway .

I scooped out 2 teaspoons of dye from each packet
and put it into a plastic pot with a sachet of salt .



I then poured some boiling water over to dissolve it all.
Then I filled the pots up to about 2/3 with hot water.



Then I put in the doilies and sloshed them around
with the plastic fork.



When the water had cooled and I had become
really impatient I tipped the dye outside .

(I tipped the full strength dye behind the shed ssshhh)
I don't think anything like this belongs in
our waterways , stepping off soapbox.

Then I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed the fabric
until the water ran clear .
My rinsing photo I took inside but
it is a good idea to do it outside on the grass
because you do use a bit of water and
you may as well water the yard .
PS One day later my grass is still alive .



Spread the dyed pieces out to dry .
I waited until mine were dry and then poured
hot water over a couple of them to see if they ran
but they didn't .



Just in case you were wondering these are
the colours I used .



I enjoyed dying and hope to dye again soon !




19 comments:

Gillian R said...

Great colours Clare... but that last line, 'I enjoyed dying....' Was that weird to type??!

Kate said...

Very cool :-)

Unknown said...

Love them!

Shay said...

What are you going to do with this pile of loveliness?

Melody said...

I've got to give this a try - just fabulous.

Barb said...

Your colors are simply amazing!!!

OP SHOP MAMA said...

Lovely colours! I've been meaning to do this too.. I will one day! Want to make some bunting with it..
Ah! More ideas than time!

Catherine said...

Love the colours! I am never brave enough to try dying...maybe I should! Cx

Allie said...

What a gorgeous rainbow - Clare, you crack me up, you're my kind of crafter!

Anonymous said...

oh wow Clare they look absolutely gorgeous, what fun!!!!

Mistea said...

the colours are beautiful - Looks like a lot of fun to had dyeing€.

Jodie - Haby G said...

I love the colours Clare, can't wait to see what you create from them now :)

Jacinta said...

These are fantastic! I love using RIT Dye but only have used them for clothes (jeans, cardi etc) and using the whole packet in the sink, so this is great to see how to do it for smaller items. :)

Unknown said...

They look amazing!

Kathy MacKie said...

I always see doilies for sale at thrift stores at such giveaway prices and hand done ones too and now I know that I will buy them so that I can dye them. What an excellent idea and guess where I will be going tomorrow?

RG said...

Wow, aren't they fantastic Clare?!!
So pretty! :-)

Abby said...

Very colorful!

your newest follower,
abby
i---create.blogspot.com
(come check out my blog?)

Ineke Original said...

Fantastic!
I added you to my blog favorites!

Stitchbird said...

Wow I love these colours. I must see whether we can get Rit dyes here.