Showing posts with label dying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dying. Show all posts

Thursday, March 25, 2010

I'm Not Afraid of Dyeing... Scarves, that is!


Ta daaaa! New Spring Line! Literally.

So this week, I have gone a little nutty with the scarves.

I dont really know if it was a mistake after this week's dyeing fiesta, but I washed a bunch of scarves a long time ago that were cream with black trim, and the trim ran (better to find out early!). What was the result? Dishrags! I washed them a few times. Light coloured dishrags. I tried to tell myself they were ivory. They certainly weren't looking cream. I got them to a point where I thought they weren't so bad, but the truth is, of that particular bunch, I haven't sold one.

Doesn't this look like an octopus stew? Note to self. Don't glue the evil eyes on until you are happy with the colour. One side effect of re-dying these is that I now have to replace all the evil eyes.
It's worth it for the new colours, though!

So I decided to dye them, because as we dwindle out of the other colours, we still had a mountain of these black and "ivory" scarves. In the spirit of spring and the fact that we have a major show coming up at Make It! Vancouver, I decided wanted burnt orange. I like missions. Off I went on my burnt orange mission.

New Cherry Red.

I drove my scooter to the sewing store, run by two sweet little old ladies who like to chat. I told them what I was doing. They showed me to the small selection of dye. Hmmm. No burnt orange. I'd try tangerine with a hint or bordeaux, mix it up. While I was at it, I could re-dye those other scarves that have the purple trim I wasn't crazy about.

I went home, borrowed a large stewing pot off the neighbour (It was in her garage sale pile) and I started cooking scarves. I don't know if you've ever moved home and lived with your parents and started dying things on your mother's shmancy stove. I wouldn't recommend it. Thank you mom, for being a good sport. I didn't dye anything any colour it wasn't supposed to be. Promise.

Tangerine and bordeaux!

I rinsed them out with cold water and hung them on the line to dry. I couldn't really tell what colour they were, because I put them out there at night. In the morning, I woke up to spring colours on my mother's clothes line. Ooooh! Like Easter eggs!

The new olive green and a mix of the hot shades.

So then I scootered the fourteen km to the next town and went back to the little sewing store. The old ladies were pretty intrigued when I bought "Old Gold" "Cherry Red" and "Olive Green." I got home and had most the scarves cooked before Mom and Dad came back from eating Chinese food. Phew!

Printed!

This morning, I did so much ironing, I felt like someone's wife. Or someone's maid. Good thing no one was home because I just turned up the music and sang while I did it. The dog didn't seem to mind.

Scarf tentacles.

Anyway, I have twenty dishrags left. They were supposed to be burnt orange but I forgot them on the counter. But it's okay, because I have decided I need more blue. It's a bit chilly for scooting today so I'll leave that project till tomorrow though I am really impatient when I get something in my head.

Scooters. In honour of my trek to the Sewing Store!

I think the old ladies will have the just colour I need!

XXMelanie