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Architextures + Dye

Well Happy New Year’s to you all! Thank you everyone so much for your kind wishes to my previous post about my 2012 rundown…I have the best blog readers and friends ever!! I decided to spend my New Year’s Eve dying some fabric! I got some Architextures in the mail today…I ordered 4 yards of the ‘Scribble Notes in Charcoal’ print, to use as background fabric for Elizabeth’s Lucky Stars Block of the Month. I dyed it using turquoise procion dye from Dharma Trading Co.

My first attempt at fabric dying turned out pretty well, but I knew I could do better. I referenced Jeni’s post on one of her fabric dye outings and altered my previous method a little. Here’s what I did for 4 yards of fabric:

– 2 tablespoons turquoise procion dye
– 6 gallons cold water
– 6 cups salt
– 2/3 cup soda ash
– 4 teaspoons calsolene oil
(all ingredients available on the Dharma site)

The instructions are available on the Dharma website, but here is my cliff note version. I mixed the dye with a tablespoon of warm water until it turned into a paste, then I added 1 cup of warm water to make it slushy. I added this solution to the 6 gallons of water waiting in the bathtub. I then added the salt and stirred, followed by the calsolene oil. I added the fabric to the mix, and left it for 45 minutes, stirring frequently. After the 45 minutes (Dharma suggests 20, but Jeni liked 45 minutes, so that’s what I went with). I dissolved the soda ash in about 2 cups of very warm water, then I slowly added the soda ash to the bath over a gradual 15 minutes. I was careful not to pour the soda ash mixture directly on the fabric (instead, I poured it on the side of the tub then stirred). After the 15 minutes, I let my fabric sit in the tub for an additional 60 minutes (the Dharma site suggests 30-60 minutes for this step), stirring frequently.

After all those steps, I rinsed my fabric until the water ran clean. Then it went into the washing machine on the hot cycle, followed by the dryer.

I’m really happy with how the fabric turned out! As you can see, I laid the fabric I dyed right next to this fabric that I first dyed (which I made into the background for this pillow, which I completely love). You can notice the difference in the colors, in the extra time that I allowed the fabric to be in the dye before adding the soda ash.

And here are my fabric choices for the Lucky Stars Block of the Month…my dyed fabric is the background, and I’ve chosen Kona Clover, Chartreuse, Black, and White as my main fabrics. The first block comes out tomorrow, but of course there is still time (any time throughout the year) to sign up. I’ve heard there’s over 400 people signed up so far. 😉

Happy New Year!

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9 thoughts on “Architextures + Dye

  1. Beautiful fabrics and great decision! 🙂 Have a wonderful New Year Sara!

  2. Penny Barnes says:

    omg…what fun to play with sew much color in the bathtub!

  3. Katy Cameron says:

    Ooh, great tips, thank you! I just bought 9 yards of Annie’s Farm Stand in white just for dying purposes, but I like the idea of this one with the text too, hmmmm…

    Happy new year!

  4. Ooooh, I love it!!! So pretty!!! That is so nifty, I wish I was adventurous enough to try that 🙂

  5. Maria Wallin says:

    Oh the fabric turned out lovely! <3
    Can’t wait to see your stars for the BOM! I’m so tempted to sign up!

    Happy new year! Please keep inspiring us! =)

  6. suemac says:

    Love how it turned out. Turqoise is a pretty color.

  7. Great dying, and so looking forward to these blocks x

  8. vkonnect says:

    I rinsed my fabric until the water ran clean. Then it went into the washing machine on the hot cycle.
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