When I worked at Anthropologie I dyed EVERYTHING!!! I never kept anything the color it was made by the manufacturer. Hand-dyeing things gives them these soft, warm undertones and wonderful antique qualities. Yesterday (on my third day off for Sukkot) I wanted to make some more "birds of a feather" headbands, but I was not loving the colors in my feather bag. I only had one color of dye, but I thought I would give it a try (now I'm a poet). After dyeing a few feathers, my old addiction came back. The next thing I knew there was ribbon, felt, silk, feathers, and satin leaves in the dye bucket! I really do love dye (I even dyed the top part of my wedding dress slate blue after my wedding, so I could wear it again).
Want to dye some things, but scared? Here are a few tips:
1. start with small things. get used to how things dye before you try a big project (and if you go big use the washing machine method on the box/bottle)
2. splurge on the liquid dye. unless you are doing a big project, you probably won't use all of it and the liquid dye has a cap. the powder stuff gets everywhere once you open it. and you get colored boogers from inhaling it!
3. to do a small project like ribbon, etc just put the dye in a large tupperware or small bucket.
4. make sure the water is very hot. if you can't get it hot enough in the faucet, microwave it!
5. the items should be completely immersed in the dye water. don't forget to stir.
6. once you are done dyeing the items rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear.
If you have anymore questions, let me know!
