I bought some white cotton voile a while back in the hopes of someday (and I use 'someday' loosely) dyeing it to the color of my choice. So, on Sunday as I was moseying about trying to figure out what to do with myself I took out my yellow Rit dye that I got just for such a day. After carefully reading the instructions 5 times (it really is not that hard) I was finally ready! I wanted to create a dimensional look and try a technique with the dyeing so the fabric wouldn't look so flat. After folding the fabric the long way and then the short way, I ended up with a cube of fabric that I kept held in place with string. It was in this way that I thought I could make a sort of plaid with stripes going across and down with more dye being on the ends of the cube where the most dye would end up. Well... it didn't exactly turn out that way but I am still happy with the results. I will definitely keep experimenting with different ways and who knows, maybe I'll even go back to my roots and rock a tie dye effect soon!
It should be mentioned here that my interest in textiles, fibers, and dyeing have taken me all the way to
Joybilee Farm in B.C. Canada to learn new skills in this area while staying at the farm as a
wwoofer. Here I learned knitting, spinning, carding wool, weaving, and some dyeing techniques.
Tonight as I was cleaning up the remains of my Valentine's Day flowers I had a vision. Surely, I can't let these beautiful flowers go to waste! So, I looked up how to make a dye with the flowers and sure enough there is an easy way that I currently have simmering on the stove right now. I am uncertain of the success of this experiment but it was fun none the less. I pulled out the roses from the bouquet and sprinkled them into a large pot with water and brought them to boil.
Now I am letting them simmer for an hour until the petals lose mostly all their color. The petals will get strained and then I will add some lemon juice which I read will make a more vibrant pink. I will add my fabric that has been sitting in cold water mixed with alum to help hold the dye even after washing. I think I will let it sit in the dye pot overnight (off the heat of course) and see how it turns out in the morning!
It should be mentioned here that my interest in textiles, fibers, and dyeing have taken me all the way to Joybilee Farm in B.C. Canada to learn new skills in this area while staying at the farm as a wwoofer. Here I learned knitting, spinning, carding wool, weaving, and some dyeing techniques.
Tonight as I was cleaning up the remains of my Valentine's Day flowers I had a vision. Surely, I can't let these beautiful flowers go to waste! So, I looked up how to make a dye with the flowers and sure enough there is an easy way that I currently have simmering on the stove right now. I am uncertain of the success of this experiment but it was fun none the less. I pulled out the roses from the bouquet and sprinkled them into a large pot with water and brought them to boil.
Now I am letting them simmer for an hour until the petals lose mostly all their color. The petals will get strained and then I will add some lemon juice which I read will make a more vibrant pink. I will add my fabric that has been sitting in cold water mixed with alum to help hold the dye even after washing. I think I will let it sit in the dye pot overnight (off the heat of course) and see how it turns out in the morning!
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