Fabric Dying!

This weekend I decided to make a rag wreath for spring and use up some of my old stash. I had yellows and greens and some pink and blue that I could add for a spring touch but I soon realized that the yellows had white backgrounds and too much showed on the wreath. This wreath will be for the front door so I want it to show up and not be too white or grungy.

These are the yellows I am using, as you can see they are bright, but perfect for a front door. The backs are just too white especially since there is white in the prints.

I decided to try yellow rit dye to darken up the backs and hopefully not destroy the prints on the front. I used about a half bottle to about two yards of fabric and the dye took nicely and didn't ruin the print, but it spotted the backs so some areas are lighter than I wanted. I did read on their site that using salt can help to set the colors more evenly, so I will have to try that next time. All in all it is a good way to darken up white backgrounds with fabrics that are too light and perfect for rag wreaths. Rit Dye has some wonderful tutorials and a color chart, that will give you recipes when you click on a color and shade that you like.

This is how it came out, not as dark as I wanted, but it will still work in the wreath.

I also had two greens that had white backgrounds and since the yellow was gone from the pot, I added some green and did these two pieces. They took the color better and got a darker background so they will work nicely in the wreath. If you would like to learn how to make your own rag wreaths you can visit House of Stars for a tutorial and a beautiful nautical wreath that you can make. Rags-n-Rhinestones has another wonderful tutorial for a country wreath that has buttons and yo yo's as an added touch.

It is hard to see how it actually looks with a camera shot, but the back  has a nice dark green and is not such a contrast to the front, in person. I hope the links inspire you to do your own dying with ugly fabrics and try a scrap wreath.