Thursday, July 10, 2008

*~*How I over~dye cotton floss*~*

I thought I would share with you how I sometimes over~dye my cotton floss. When Wal~Mart closed out their floss at a reduced rate...I started buying it up. At most stores I bought it all. I have boxes of it stored and Jenny came over and helped me to sort it by colors. Anyways, some of the colors were what I call "dog~ugly" and some are just too bright for my liking so with a little help from some rit dye it turned out perfectly prim!
Sometimes I dye with walnut crystals, tea, and cushing dyes for wools. Today though I chose some tan rit liquid dye.


Here's what I gather together:
An old crock~pot(I only use it for dyeing purposes)
gloves, rit dye( I mostly use tan), water, a plastic bowl, floss, old towels, or a cheap plastic tablecloth, an old apron if your messy like me (it might just save your clothes)





I remove all those little labels and then gently tie the floss into loose knots. It will help to give the floss a variegated type look. With darks and lights throughout the floss.








While you are working at getting your floss ready. Take your old crock pot outside and heat you some water. I don't fill it full...just about 1/2 way. It just depends on how much floss you plan to dye. Today I did several hundred and about 1/2 full was plenty. I add a couple of tablespoons of tan dye...I don't measure I just pour. I add a little more dye as I go along because the floss will soak up the color. You will notice that the water will lighten as you go and when it does just pour in some dye and your good to go again.





Once the water is good and heated I then put on my gloves and add the tied floss to the dye bath. It doesn't take long at all so keep a close eye on it.



You can see how it changes right in the crock pot. No more bright colors...perfectly prim!




You will want to remove it from the crock pot and place it in a bowl of water and vinegar. I just pour in a little vinegar into the clean water to help set the color. I also have used some salt to set the color.

I then rinse it 2 to 3 times to remove any vinegar smell or salt.


I then start untying the floss and laying it out on an old towel or cheap tablecloth. Today I used a tablecloth and used the cotton side of the tablecloth to lay the floss on. I leave it there until it air dries.




So if you like primitive needle punch or even primitive embroidery...this is a great way to dye a lot of floss at once.

Happy Trails to You.....Ginger

20 comments:

primitivebettys said...

Wonderful instructions! I'm going to have to try this! Thank you for the lesson. :)

Smiles,
Betty

Cotton Eyed Jo said...

Your finished work is always so wonderful, thanks for sharing one of your secrets! Will have to try this for sure...

Winter said...

Oh my gosh,I love this Ginger.I am a floss addict and can't wait to try this,great job.I love your instructions and pics.Francie

Anonymous said...

You can also just dye or tea stain your finished project and get pretty much the same effect.

AJ
www.trash2treasure.wordpress.com

Tammy Burks said...

You took those from butt ugly to beautiful!!!
YAY!

kornkribprimitives said...

Hi Ginger,

Thank you so much for such an awesome tutorial with pictures. You are super nice to share this with everyone. God bless you!
Blessings~Linda

BeFRuiTFuL KReaTioNS said...

Ginger thank you so much for this great tutorial. I posted about this great tutorial on my blog. So maybe some more people will find your great blog.

JoEllen

Whimsical Works by Shug said...

Ginger.... This was great help.... How long have you been useing a crock. Lately, alot of ladies are teaching with them. What is the real advantage.... I am dying(PUN) to know!
Thanks for sharing.....
Kim

Primitives By The Light of The Moon said...

I like using a crock because it stays nice and warm and can be used outside without having to use a burner. No real advantage just what I have on hand to use.

Doris said...

Thanks again for these instructions. They have taught me how to dye floss and now I dye all my own floss. You are so nice to share this with everyone.

saltbox said...

Loved your dying and you did a great job with directions.
Thanks for sharing
Patty
Saltbox Primitive Woolens

kathyinozarks said...

Thank you for sharing this technique-and I loved the results-Kathy

Anonymous said...

Thanks again, when I am asked questions about dyeing floss, I usually try to answer them but end up referring them to this site. Thanks Ginger, so nice of you to pass this along.

Anonymous said...

How very gracious of you to share your method for over dyeing cotton floss. I have tried it twice and I had GREAT results. I'm using my dyed floss on a punch needle project now, and I LOVE IT. Thank you!!!!!

Karen said...

Am just getting into punch needle but don't want to spend too much $ on floss. DMC is readily available so this makes perfect sense to dye it. Great pics and directions!

Doris said...

So glad this is still available. It is really great and I refer others to it from time to time. This is where I learned to dye floss and now I use hand dyed floss almost exclusively. Thank you!

My Colonial Home said...

Fantastic tut!
Thanks so much...I love the more muted colors for my work and the DMC is kind of bright...GREAT! THANKS SO MUCH.
Karen

Faye said...

Perfect!!!!! Thanks for the information..... I will definitely try this~~~ Faye

Deb said...

This looks like a great idea. I think that I'm going to have to try this. I have a sampler that I want to do where the colors are too bright, and I think that this would be the perfect solution. I still want the same colors, just dulled up a little bit. Thanks for posting this.

Annelein said...

Thanx for sharing. It sounds great!!!