Overdyeing Linens 101

I've been "dyeing" to try my hand at taking a ho-hum piece of fabric and turning it into something that would make my heart skip a beat.

(Pun intended.)

Many friends in blogland had been overdyeing various items with such amazing success, 

I wanted to experience the surprise and joy of such a transformation.

So, after watching a YouTube video,

asking a multitude of questions from Stephanie (who posted a great tutorial on dyeing here), Tausha, and Birgit

(the Queens of Rit Dye in my book),

I spent Saturday afternoon at my kitchen sink with a bucket, some hot water,

a paint stick, some vintage floral linens,

and various colors of Rit Dye.

[I was also tackling a project in the basement at the same time, 

dealing with sawdust and paint.

Yeah...I'm a multi-tasker. :)]

I started out simply with just using Denim Blue,

experimenting with the right amount of dye to pour into the water.

I'm actually still trying to get a handle on that part,

because I didn't want to see any neon brights screaming back at me from the bucket.

I was going for soft, faded, romantic shades.

I stood there thinking, 

"Do I pour half the bottle in and let the item sit in it for a smaller amount of time,

or

do I pour a wee bit of dye in and let the item sit in it for longer?

Will it even make a difference....?"

So I poured a bit into the hot water, swished it around, submerged the floral linen,

stirred it around,

looked outside,

watched the birds on the birdbath,

glanced at the calender to see what I had going this coming week,

walked around the kitchen,

stirred it again,

took Maizie out for a potty break,

checked on the project in the basement,

answered the phone, 

glanced at the clock on the wall,

and lifted it up out of the water with the paint stick.

It was a beautiful pale blue!

My first thought was, "Well....THAT was easy!"

Pre-dyed fabric is sitting next to the bucket.

I rinsed it out in cold water,

refilled the bucket again with hot water

and tried Petal Pink this time.

This floral pillowcase was originally white,

and it morphed into a soft, sweet pink.

I then channeled my inner-artist

and tried mixing a little Denim with Petal Pink,

then Denim with Wine,

and finally Purple with Petal Pink ~

calling on memories of Art 101 when we mixed two or three colors together to create another. Remember the Color Wheel?

To be honest with you, I wasn't quite sure what color I was making!

(and no...I did not flunk Art 101. I always got an A+, believe it or not.)

Some colors ended up being too deep a shade for my liking.

Others, turned out soft and worn looking. 

Just perfect.

 I hung the linens outside to dry before they headed to the washer and dryer.

You can see how the first piece of linen has a more lavender hue,

while the other two are a pale blue.

I was happy with the soft, gentle shades.

I will be trying this again soon with a couple white ruffled pillow slips,

and I'll let you know how they turn out.

Until then, don't be afraid to dunk a boring sheet, pillow slip, or

lace curtain into a swirl of deep blue or pink to breath new life into it.

Just close your eyes and think back to Art 101.

You can do it.

And you won't even be graded...

Cross my heart.

~ Blessings ~

PS  (Remember to visit Tausha, Stephanie, and Birgit for more inspiration, too.

Their over-dyed linens are just gorgeous!)

Be sure to stop by Doster Emporium and Heaven's Walk while the Autumn Celebration Sale is going on! There are some wonderful Christmas gifts for that special person in your life!

Hurry! The doors will be closing soon for the season...!

Linking to the Linky Parties on the lower right of my sidebar!