Dip dye

I decided to try my hand at dyeing fabric for the first time today. And I wanted to start small. Wooden beads are one thing; somehow fabric seems endless more intimidating.

Martha had a project that I thought would be a great introduction to fabric dyeing: a Dip-Dyed T-Shirt. Not only did it seem simple, but I actually think the resulting shirt looks pretty cool for a dye technique that costs around two dollars.

I picked up a shirt from Urban Outfitters on sale for under five dollars, a total steal. I already had the dye on hand from my previous projects; I decided on a dark teal-blue color, just in time for spring.

The actual dying process was fairly simple. This time, I decided to complete the whole process in the bathtub, making for a much easier clean-up process.


I boiled water on the stove, as the instructions stated. I dumped in plenty of the Teal Rit Dye, making a nice dark teal color. I added in a dash of Royal Blue for good measure to deepen the color a bit. Then, came the dipping. I folded the t-shirt in half and lowered a few inches of it into the dye mixture. I held it there for around two minutes, until the reached a few shades darker than the color I wanted. After I was done, I rinsed the shirt out until the water ran clear. I hung the shirt up in the bathroom to dry.

The process was simple and fun and the resulting shirt is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. I like that it looks uneven and crafty - it looks more homemade and personalized that way. I can't wait to wear this once it actually warms up enough for t-shirt wearing.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Dip-Dyed T-Shirt - Martha Stewart Crafts

Dyeing for summer

Working my way through Martha's various craft techniques, it was time that I try my hand at some dyeing. As per usual, I decided to start small. Instead of dying fabric, I gravitated towards dyeing beads.

Thankfully, I had ordered a ton of wooden beads online, in preparation for just this day. I found an awesome dyeing craft, Dyed Wooden Bead Necklaces, which looked extremely cool. There is something really beachy and summery about these necklaces; this is perfect as I am anticipating the change of seasons with excitement mixed with desperation. It has to start getting warmer sometime... right?

The dying process was actually really fun and cathartic after a particularly stressful week, and a great craft for a lazy three-day weekend. I filled tupperware containers with different levels of boiling water and added in a a range of different powdered Rit dye colors, which I ordered in bulk from Joann's.

I pretty much eye-balled the formulations for different colors but here is what I used:
- The darkest red beads, I made using a mix of Wine and Petal Pink. 
- The light purple beads were mostly Purple with a dash of Petal Pink.
- Teal beads were Teal with a touch of Tan
- Yellow beads were just Golden Yellow
- For the dark blue beads, I used Royal Blue with a dash of Teal
- Light blue beads I made using Teal, Royal Blue, and Tan

I strung the beads on different lengths of nylon beading string. Then, I placed each string of beads into different dye formulations. I kept them in for roughly 4-6 minutes, taking them out when I was satisfied with the color they became.

The result is totally awesome. I am going to restring these beads in different amounts and make some cool, bright necklaces that I can give as gifts or wear myself. I made one necklace using the Wooden-Bib Necklace Craft that I made a few weeks ago, and the dye definitely adds a unique effect. I can't wait to bring out the big guns and dye some fabric next time!



















Craft information, courtesy of Martha Stewart, can be found here.