Dying Floss and New Project!

Yes, I said new project. I get the newsletter from Dover Publishing and every week they send free samples and this one was perfect for a candle mat. I wanted to make it as a gift for my daughter, but I didn't get it done in time, so we shall see what I do with it, after I finish it.

I wanted to try brighter colors for her and I do love the way my hand dyed pink, looks in this piece. You can see where the shades go from dark to light on the flowers. The green is a solid, so I need to over dye some green for future projects.

And, here is the floss that I used for the pink that is in the flowers. That is, the floss before I over dyed it. The beauty of using this floss is that it comes in a package and it is cheap. With a coupon, it saves a lot of money and perfect for over dying.

I usually soak it in tea or walnut, but I thought I would wet the floss and then use walnut spray. It was easier and faster, but it didn't saturate into the middle sections, as well. But, it still came out nice, now I have various shades in dark and bright, so it will be fun to see how this would look in a punch needle piece.

The photo is a bit darker than the actual floss, but you can see how it went from bright to prim with a bit of walnut ink. You can soak it overnight in walnut and then sun dry it, now that it is getting warmer.
If you do not have walnut you can use tea or coffee, but remember that the acids in tea can destroy cross stitch pieces, over time.