NATURAL DYE / Adventures with Beets

Since the beginning of our Natural Dye series, I've been itching to experiment with beets as a stain. Their outrageously pink pigment always gives me pause when I'm slicing them up for a recipe or sending them through the juicer in the mornings.  So I boiled a bushel to dye a few boring old cotton tea towels that were just begging for a makeover. The beets left the towels such a beautiful shade of blush. I'm tickled....uh, pink about it! Below, find some tips on how to naturally dye textiles with beets.

You need//

A textile, fabric, or article of clothing made from 100% natural fibers (cotton or linen work great)
3 cups of peeled and chopped beets (3 or 4 large beets)
1 cup white vinegarWater
A large pot (large enough to hold your fabric and liquid)

To make the dye //

Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way full with water. Add the beets and bring to a boil. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, bring down to a simmer for an hour on low heat. After an hour, take the pot off heat and add 1 cup of vinegar. This will help the dye adhere to your fabric.Once the liquid is slightly cooled, you're ready to begin dying! I tried a dip dye method and a couple of tie dye methods. Let your fabric soak in the dye for at least two hours. I left my towels in overnight to really absorb the dye. Ring out the excess moisture and let the fabric air dry or tumble dry on low in the dryer by themselves (the heat actually helps set the color)!



{Lauren}

NATURAL DYE: Easter Eggs

When we decided to do a natural dye feature, one of the first things I thought of was Easter eggs.  It's something I have always wanted to try, but have never done.  With Easter just around the corner, Lauren and I decided to give it a go!  We raided our pantries at home to gather ingredients and used this website to find different dye options. This is a great project because there are so many different colors you can make with food/spices you have already.

Once the eggs dried and we saw the final results, we were thrilled!  We love the muted tones and the way color turned out looking uneven/somewhat crackled. 

Supplies:

White eggs (hard boiled)

Deep Bowls (for each different color)
White distilled vinegar

For coloring, we used:
Strong brewed coffee - brown
Blueberries (boil, mash, and let cool) - light blue
Red wine - deep burgundy/purple or dilute for a light violet
Carrots (juiced) - orange
Turmeric - yellow

In a deep bowl, add 1 cup of dye liquid to 1/4 cup of vinegar and stir.  Place an egg or two into each bowl, making sure the entire egg is covered in liquid.  If eggs are not entirely covered, add in more dye liquid (or in a pinch, we found warm water will work as well). For best results, leave eggs in dye for 24 hours.  Take eggs out after a day and let dry.
*This is not an exact science.  Play around with proportions of ingredients and amounts of dye liquid.  We'd love to hear about your results and please, ask away if you have any questions!

NATURAL DYE: Coffee Stained Stationary

Naturals dyes are something we have been wanting to experiment with for a long time.  There are so many different dying techniques and options, we can't wait to try them all.  Looking around our homes, we where amazed at how many foods, drinks, and herbs you can use to make natural dyes with.  It's incredible!

Wanting to pretty much now dye everything we own, we are starting a new series called NATURAL DYES.  Ever looked at coffee and thought "Hey, I can dye paper with that!".  Well you can.  Writing handwritten letters is something I want to do more of this year, so making a coffee stained stationary set was the perfect way to start off the series and test my dye skills.  Making a large stack of paper took no time at all.  I woke up the next morning, had a cup of coffee, and started writing a bunch of friends and family letters on my beautiful new stationary.  This project definitely gave me the confidence to dive head first into all the natural dye designs I want to accomplish.

Look below and find steps to make your own coffee stained stationary.

Supplies:

Brewed Coffee (full pot)

Baking Dish

Paper

Twine (optional)

Pins (optional)

Clothe Pins (optional)

parchment paper (optional)

Pour the cooled brewed coffee into a baking dish.  I used a 9x9 dish, which worked perfectly since the paper was cut to 5.5x8.5.  Next take one sheet of paper at a time and dip them into the coffee for a couple seconds.  Figure out how high you want the stain to be and make your first dip the deepest.  Gently shake off the access water and dry*.  Once dry, repeat at different heights for a layered look.  When all your stationary is completely dry, set under a couple large books for 24 hours to flatten.

*To Dry:  I found that hang drying the sheets of paper work best.  In a doorway, string twine across and pin on each side.  Created multiple lines to dry a bunch of paper at once.  Put parchment paper under the lines to catch coffee drip runoff.  Using clothe pins, hang the recently dipped sheets of paper on the line to dry.  

{Claire}