10.17.2011

Something I've Been DYEing to Try

Now that the Halloween costumes are done, I've had some time to work on some more fun projects. As much as I enjoy sewing Halloween costumes, it feels like a lot of work, for one dark, cold night where (at least here in Massachusetts) chances are good you'll have to throw a coat on.

I've been hoarding onesies and fabric dye for a while now and finally got the courage to try it. I mainly followed Dana's instructions with a few modifications along the way.

I used Dylon permanent dye that I bought at Joanns. The only part of the instructions I followed was to add the salt. Here's what I did differently
  • They recommend 4 cups of water, I used about 8-10
  • I used more fabric than they recommend
  • I left the fabric in dye overnight instead of 45 minutes
  • After rinsing in cold water, I washed in the washing machine
  • I dried mine in the dryer. The instructions say to dry "away from heat"
I used a few different brands of onesies and definitely noticed a difference in the color absorption. I didn't pre-wash them though, which I've read can make a difference. I dyed maybe 30 onesies total and found that the Target brand worked the best (without pre-washing)

For whatever reason, I had the most trouble with the pink. By the last batch (the yellow) I felt like using enough salt and mixing a lot is key. The salt is supposed to help the fabric absorb the dye, so for the yellow I added more salt since I was using more water than recommended. I also mixed much more than I did for the previous batches and I felt like the end result was the best.


I also tried some woven fabric. I had a white fabric with white polka dots that you could hardly see. It dyed really well and I like it much better than before.

So fun, and much easier than you'd think!

3 comments:

  1. Wow, they came out great. Love the little aviator plane onesie... all of them really. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. How much salt did you use?

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