Yesterday I tried my hand at over-dyeing cotton embroidery floss. I have dyed floss before, but it never occurred to me you could use any colour other than white or ecru. I also did not know how to get the subtle colour variations you find in over-dyed floss.
Inspired by Becky's success with over-dyeing, and a little help from here and here; I thought I would give it a go.
I have a box of DMC floss I thrifted a few years ago for four dollars, so I didn't have to dip into my normal stash of threads.
(The victims)
The results:
I am quite pleased at how they turned out. I dyed fifty yesterday and forty more today. Today's venture was much less haphazard and messy, now that I had some experience under my belt! They are still on the drying rack so I will show you next time.
One thing I learned is that you can't expect anything! Each colour is truly unique, and it was almost impossible to predict what you would get. Some of them don't seem to have any colour variation - it was impossible to get any of the dark greys or reds to take more colour. Some of them are ho-hum, but some are lovely. I am happy with the results though, and not only because it saves me mucho $$ in hand dyed floss:) I do wish I had done this before I started Quaker Bluebirds: it would look much nicer than what I am using on it. It almost makes me want to start it over; almost!
The biggest pain about the whole process was winding the bobbins. Oh my goodness it took me all afternoon! Thankfully it was a gorgeous, sunny day so I could dry the floss and wind it outdoors. Next time I'll hang them in loose hanks!
(Yellow mini-carnations with lemon balm)
Thanks for visiting!
1 comment:
Very nice, Jenn :) Have fun with your threads :)
((hugs))
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