Yes, I have. It was a workshop and we ended up with 20FQs in various colors. It was fun but I probably won't do it again. There are too many on-line sites to buy gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics and even though they may be pricey you have to balance that against the drawbacks of doing your own. IMHO the start up costs, the mess, the environmental concerns over disposal of left over dye solutions, the problems of not being able to accurately repeat a perfect shade of something, etc. Nope, I'm perfectly content buying the gazillion fabrics that companies already put out. Just MY opinion.

one year in Florida,friend and I needed some sky material,could;nt find any so I wet white material,hung it on the line,put some blue dye and water in a spray bottle,every time the breeze blew it towards me,I;d spray,,got sky,,,

You can dye a 24 step color wheel with just red, yellow and blue dye. It's a lot of fun. You can dye in jars which is very easy for 1/2 yars or 1/4 yards. I have taught classes and there is a lot you can do. Pro-Chem will send you the instructions for free. You can purchase fabric that is marked PFD - Prepared for dying or you can wash your fabric in Synthropol before hand. It is a lot of fun.

Dharma is a great place but if you want to start NOW, get some different colors of RIT dye (I find it at WalMart with the laundry detergent and at Publix, a roll of plastic wrap (for storing leftovers; the cheap stuff is fine!) and some white cotton fabric. Wash and dry the fabric (no need to iron!) and cut into reasonable pieces; fat quarter sized----18" x 22"--- is good. Lay out newspaper on your kitchen counter or table and then cut two pieces of plastic wrap long enough to fit the fabric with some to spare. Lay them out on the newspaper with a 1"-2" overlap and press well to stick them together. Lay your fabric on top. Dilute about a Tablespoon of dye (liquid or powder) in a cup of hot tap water and stir well. Drip, paint, fingerpaint, squirt or whatever to put the dye on your fabric. Dripping with a teaspoon is a good way to start. Repeat with different colors if you like. When you finish, roll up the plastic wrap with the fabric inside (like a jelly roll; fabric should be touching plastic wrap, not fabric!), pinch the ends closed, put it in a glass pie plate or similar round dish, and microwave on High for 2 minutes. (It should be steaming hot; if not, nuke it a bit more) You are heat setting the dye with the steam made in the plastic wrap package. Set aside to cool for a few minutes then IN THE SINK, unwrap the package---you may need to use scissors to help----and then rinse your fabric well in cold water. Don't burn yourself! Well rinsed fabrics, even with different colors, can then go together in the washer with a little soap to wash out any excess dye (there won't be much at all) and then a good rinse. Dry, iron and create!!!! I have done bigger pieces of fabric than fat quarters but not til I'd done this a few times....and I did them outside on the picnic table. Have fun! PS: some people say to not ever use the dishes, spoons, etc for eating later, but I always rinse it out well in the sink then put it through the dishwasher. I haven't poisoned anybody yet. <wink>

If you just want to experiment a bit with dying --go to a craft shop and purchase some "air brush paint" get some pfd(prepared for dying) fabric -wet it with some "non iodized" salt water (about half cup to a gallon of water) and then put some of the air brush paint on and work it through the wet fabric (oh be sure to use rubber gloves or you will have paint on you for a month--grin) When you are happy with the way it looks, put in container (or zip lock baggie) for about 24 hours, then pull it out and pile it on a foam dinner plate to dry. This will pool some of the color in the creases of the fabric. After its completely dry, heat set. You can get some lovely fabric this way. Oh you can also work a couple different colors into the fabric and get some neat combinations.
There are some pictures on my blog. www.comequiltwithme.blogspot.com

My daughter tie dyed about 6 yards of Kona fabric that is especially made for dying. It came out very nice. I have not used it yet becasue I can't bear to cut it.

Gal,

I am creating an interdisiplinary lesson plan on quilts. I would like to add science to the unit by teaching very young children what fabrics were used in Colonial times for quilts and how were they dyed. Do you have any ideas you could share with me? I would like to do something else besides Kool-aid. I want my k-2 students to experience the "real thing!" What would you suggest?

I have dyed several times. I think I am better at dying then quilting. It is fun and easy to do. You can't make a mistake. about 4-6 of us go in together to buy all the dyses and do it all together. That way it is cheaper. Use goot PDF fabric for good quility and follow the directions. You can get the soda ash in the swimming pool products dept too

Regular dyes are not suitable for children.

How about teaching them how they died fabric in colonial times? Onion skins, beets, spinach, etc. were used to dye fabrics back then.

I have only a couple of minutes,no time to check if anyone has referred you to the directions on fabricdyeing101 site. They seem like very thorough instructions with many recipes included. You might read that before continuing. Dyeing is my next project after I finish so many I have going...