I had a little fun this winter experimenting with Snow Dyeing (you can also use ice and call it "Ice Dyeing"). (I used this tutorial on the Dharma Trading Company Webpage, for the most part.
My first two finished Ring Slings:
My first two finished Ring Slings:
Let's get to the photos and process:
1. I bought 5 yards of a 55% Linen / 45% Cotton blend and cut it in half (to 2.5 yards long, each). Wash + Dry Fabric as you will after you finish your project.
2. I soaked the fabric in about 3-4 gallons of water (in a utility sink - you could use a bucket or storage bin) with 3/4 cup of Super Washing Soda (you can use Soda Ash, instead)
and 1/4 cup of Salt for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, I got my dyes...
...and my equipment ready. And fully set-up my dye area in a shower. (That's a black garbage bag underneath with a hole cut-out where the drain is, to help prevent the plastic shower base from getting dyed. Then I have a dish-drying rack upside down and a sweater-drying rack on top for more support.)
(I cut the corners off all the packages - I used 4 packets for each 2.5 yard piece. And I'm currently pregnant, so while I wear a mask anytime I use powder dyes, I made sure it was ready this time!)
4. I scrunched-up the fabrics randomly along their 2.5 yard length and separated them slightly so dyes wouldn't cross-contaminate.
Even in a tiny basement bathroom, you can make great things! ;)
(That's snow in the bucket on the floor, with a spoon I use just for dyeing.)
5. Place the snow on top - I did as much as I could and tried to cover all of the fabric completely.
6. (I sprinkled about another tablespoon of salt on to each pile of snow here because I am using Dylon Dyes.) Pour out your dyes directly on to the snow.
(Remember I used 4 packets of Dylon Dye on EACH piece, so that's 8 packets total. And I did have some clumps of dye, but I love how my color turned out.)
7. Now you wait for 24-48 hours.
(I closed our shower doors because we have cats...and a toddler!)
The first round of snow has melted almost completely and now the dye is resting on the fabric and soaking through even more.
8. This is about 6 hours after I put the first batch of snow on, so I added more snow on top (again, as much as I could get to stay on top) and another tablespoon of salt on each pile (again, for Dylon Dyes) right before going to bed. And then (this was definitely overkill), but about 8 hours after that (the next morning), I added more snow on top of that and let that completely melt!
9. This was exactly 24 hours after I put the first batch of snow and dye on. (I could have left it for 48, but I was impatient! I don't know that 48 hours would have made a difference, but I should try it one time to find out.)
10. Rinse the fabric until the water runs clear (or as I did, close enough).
11. Wash and dry as you normally would or will, depending on what you're making. (I washed on cold and then ran it through the dryer on Regular since I was making Ring Slings for babywearing.)
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Here's the one I used Dylon Flamingo Pink + Ocean Blue on:
And lying flat:
And the one I used Dylon Bahama Blue + Sunflower Yellow on:
And lying flat (I love how it looks like a map!):
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Here's a third one I did using Dylon Bahama Blue + Flamingo Pink (same fabric):
Then I cut, ironed, hemmed, and sewed them in to Ring Slings using Jan's directions from Sleeping Baby Productions HERE and HERE (I used the Eesti Shoulder - developed by Karen Hoppis and licensed to Sleeping Baby Productions):
But I used my own fun stitching on my sturdy Kenmore for the hems:
(And, of course, I ordered my rings from Sling Rings!)
Here's my finished Ring Sling for my second little Prince due in mid-July:
And here's the RS I made for my brother and sister-in-law's first baby (a girl) due in May:
I had SO much fun making these. Next on my list is certainly a Galaxy Dye...try googling that! And I certainly want to try using some of Dharma Trading Company's Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes as well as some natural dyes (I just self-birthday-gifted these two beauties to myself:
Happy crafting!!
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