Adventures in Fabric Dying

Ok I might have made that title a bit more interesting than this post really will be. I will try to insert my not-so-there-lately sense of humor for your reading pleasure!

OK so on to fabric dying. I have kind of been terrified of it. I am not sure why? Most likely because of the lack of control I’d have over it and the unpredictability. OK I am definitely sure why I was terrified. Anyway, I really, really had in my head what I wanted my cute little “Freshly Squeezed” Onesie to look like and I really, really could not find the appropriate colored SOLID onesie anywhere. I could locate Big Bird ones, or cute little flowery ones…but not SOLID ones. I didn’t have time to shop online…I wanted to do my project NOW! (anyone else like that?!)

So in the rush of trying to get a few things from Wal-Mart with my less than excited to be in Wal-Mart children with me, I swung through the craft aisle. I couldn’t locate RIT dye (because that is over in the aisle with the laundry detergent I later figured out) and I wasn’t about to do another lap around the store with two Whiney-Wines-A lot(s) in my cart to find it, so I just picked out the ONLY other dye they had in the craft aisle.

I came home, put the little down for a nap, shoved some books in front of the bigger-little and got to work. I followed the directions on the package.

1. Use very hot water – the hotter the water, the deeper the color.

*I knew I wanted this yellow to be more golden than lemon so I actually heated water on the stove until the very first tiny little itsy bitsy bubble formed and then I turned the burner off.

2. Add 1/4 cup of salt to water, stir until dissolved.

3. Mix in powdered dye, stir again.

(Here is what it looked like in my pot – it’s steaming so excuse that from the picture!) Kind of Orange-y looking!

4. Add fabric and stir constantly for 15 minutes. Then let sit for 45 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

* I have never sat at the stove stirring anything for 15 minutes straight, but you can be sure I did it for the darn fabric dying phobia I have/had.

I could tell from the very get go that this was not going to be lemon yellow! (that worked out really well for me in this case!) The onesies (I threw in all 3 from a package) were a vibrant golden yellow. They pretty much stayed the same color start to finish. They didn’t really deepen or change at all and I am assuming my really hot water made it so from the get go.

After the last 45 minutes were up, I rinsed them in my kitchen sink and then ran them through the washing machine.

I might not be apparent from the photo but my colored onesies and the color on the package are NOTHING alike! Package = bright lemon yellow; Onesie = Golden/Orange-ish Yellow (insert my voice saying “unpredictability, unpredictability!!” Good for me—it was what I wanted. I normally don’t luck out like this so I also went out and bought a lottery ticket that day too. That situation, unfortunately, did NOT work out as well as the color did for me!

It turned out to be a really cute little project, and you can read the tutorial for my “Freshly Squeezed Onesie” or you can also find it in my shop.

So there really is no moral of this story except that if you use REALLY, REALLY hot water…you will get a totally different color than the package! And I might be over my phobia and now curious as to what else I can dye and how it will turn out! I’ll keep you posted! *wink*

Tell me…do YOU have an adventure in fabric dying? Did it work out? Was it a flop? Are you a fellow phobic like me or do you dye all day long? I’d love to know! (read: please tell me I am not the only one that has only done tie-dying in Girl Scouts until now…please!)