GrannieAnnie

I love these colors. Do you do the dying sort of like tie-dye?

melodyr

Some of my denim bags. The patches were purchased from the Tambani Project.

yolanda

Very Cool! Will you teach us?

I have some denim that was donated to me - it's kind of expensive to ship but I will post it in the donations section (if i can find it)

GrannieAnnie

Your dog is so neat and clean and spiffy he almost looks like a stuffed toy. A real cutie!

melodyr

Yes, it is the same dye as you'd use on cotton tee shirts. I cram the piece of denim in a fruit jar. (packed tight) and pour the dye in. I let them sit for a day or two and give them a shake whenever I walk by them. Rinse, and there you have it. I've got bunches of old jeans saved to cut up and dye.

GrannieAnnie

I think that placemats would be great! I would carefully remove the back pockets and place them to hold the napkin.[/quote]


Curious, how many jeans pockets have you removed? Those suckers are sewn to STAY!

GrannieAnnie

I make shopping bags from pants. First I rip the legs apart on the inseam. Lay the pants sideways front on the left, back on the right . Then I cut across 20" from the waist. I then square up the front and back leg seams--------not completely square but I do take out most of the crotch curve. Resew the center seam, lay back on back, and front froward. Cut the two bottom corners to make inside bottom gusset. Cut the straps from the legs.

I keep white and navy webbing for straps if I use shorts.
Once you delvelop a rythm you can complete a bag in under an hour

melodyr

Dyeing fabric is easy...more folks ought to try it...gives you a whole new palette. (my avatar is a silk scarf done with acid dye)

For the denim, you'll need fiber-reactive dyes. Dharma Trading or Pro Dye are both great companies. You'll need soda ash, salt and urea. (all sold by these vendors)

Mix your dye..(wear a dust mask..it is toxic) I use warm water and mix in fruit jars. About a teaspoon in 3/4 pint of warm water. Mix well...add 1/2 teaspoon of salt (non iodized) and 1/2 teaspoon of urea. Mix till dissolved.

Soak your denim pieces in soda ash water. I use 1/2 cup to a half sink full of warm water. Pile the denim in and let it soak for about 20 minutes. You can wring the denim out and use it damp, or let it dry...either way is fine...reuse the soda ash water as long as you can...if it gets dingy looking, I generally pull the plug.

Cram the denim into a container...plastic is ok...even ziplocks. Pour dye in and let it sit overnight. Rinse well...I generally run them through 3 wash cycles. Hot wash/cold rinse. First time, nothing in the water. Second time, a cup of white vinegar. Third time a small drizzle of Dawn dishwashing liquid. That's all there is to it! There's a little learning curve, but you'll get the hang of it quickly.

GrannieAnnie

I love this! LOVE IT!

GrannieAnnie

Thanks you. I take it for a successful look "cram" is the operative word?