Have any of you on this forum done any hand dyed fabrics? I took a class but didn't try it on my own soon enough. Now, I've forgotten most of what I learned. If you've done it, do you love the results enough to make it worthwhile?

I have done this, but have found it very time consuming and demands lots of good weather, which is at a premium in the UK.

Having said that, it is wonderful to use your own dyed fabric in a quilt. It makes it very, very special and totally unique.

love hand dyes but the method i was taught required a lot of rinsing --could not bring my self to use so much water when we were in 10 year of drought but now its broken will be doing lots more love the randomness of the colour great for applique

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt hand-dyeing fabric in your recently renovated all-white kitchen.

Just don't. :roll: :roll:

That said, there are some fabulous folks willing to muck up their own homes and are all set up for the process so you don't have to.

My favorite is:

http://www.textileart.com/

She's got these great packs in all sizes, even down to 16th of a yard (9"x11") cuts. Works out to around $14/yard or less.

Also, , Janet can even do custom dyeing. I once needed a gradation of yellow. I got it within a couple of weeks.

And your kitchen will still be sparkly white.

I was so tempted to hand dye a piece of fabric. I went to the Lancaster quilt show this weekend. There is a fabulous vender there that has gorgeous hand dyes. But...Being the bargain person that I am..I was not paying 25.00 a yard. Now that you tell me about the mess..I think I can find another alternative. Thank you for the tip.
Peace and Blessings,

Yep done it ... too messy/risky/not cost effective , I do have white counter tops. I was a wreck the entire process , trying not to dye my counters. Maybe if I had a seperate area .. I would consider it.

I love dyeing my own fabric, if you go to Dharma Trading Co. site, they have all the stuff and lessons you need!

Shoot....I just keep bleaching my countertops!!

(I hate my counters though...I wish they'd just give up so I could get new ones.)

I have to agree with the other posts. I just can't justify the amount of water it takes. It's fun, but the resources it requires just doesn't justify the process for me.

I love to dye my own fabrics. I think it makes projects more special and I can get the exact colors I want. I duplicated some cheap framed pictures my DIL bought for my DGS's room to make a quilt for him and they look almost identical. My fine painting skills to add some of the details was not quite as good as the pictures! I didn't have any problems with the dye staining my white countertops at all. I buy all of my supplies from Dharma Trading including my PFD fabrics.

Great! We'll all be up next weekend. We'll bring out own supplies. You supply the kitchen. :wink: :wink:

I have two huge boxes of fabric I dyed years ago - gradiations and large pieces. My friend was moving out of her rent stabilized apt in NYC, and we knew the landlord was going to gut the place the minute she was out the door. She actually moved her stuff out 2 weeks before the end of the lease, and we all spent a couple of days in there dyeing up a storm. Plus we had the 15 washing machines downstairs. Cost a fortune, but it was all done pretty quickly. :lol: :lol:

Dharma Trading and Prochem are two fabulous sources. I dye fabric regularly, even did it with my DD's first grade class. I am a clumsy girl by nature, but have never dyed anything I didn't want dyed. I prefer the hand of my own dyed fabrics and the colors. using a low=water method is much easier.

I use to redye my plain colored shirts and jeans when they got dingy looking. Then I got into tie dyeing T shirts and every one wanted me to make them.

Sounds like a great summer out-of-doors activity!

Maybe quit bleaching them - you might like them better:)

I agree. A friend of mine & a local quilt group both do their hand-dying over the grass on old banquet tables in cheap clear plastic totes. The benefit of doing this in a group is that you set up a bigger quantity of dye batch or greater variety of colors than if you were doing this on your own. An outdoor clothesline is a plus.
It's also interesting to see what others come up with. Would love to get the chance to join in next time they have the outdoor 1-day class.

I've begun hand-dyeing my fabrics and I like it so much that I'm selling them at Farmer's Markets and online. To me, it is wonderfully satisfying to begin with white fabric, and come out with wonderful designs and colors.

I don't think I can ever stop! I am also beginning to dye bamboo socks! So soft.