Natural Dyeing Endeavors 101

 I've been interested in experimenting with natural dyeing for about a year now, so I finally decided to give it a go. This first attempt was definitely a learning process, but I really enjoyed the project as a whole.

I started out by choosing elements to dye from this chart. I proceeded to follow their instructions as well, that can be found at the top of the web page. Initially, I chose blueberries and coffee grounds. The blueberries gave a beautiful shade of burgundy, but the coffee had a different plan. I repeated the same process as the blueberries, but it barely made a noticeable difference and then was completely washed away. Note to self, don't waste good coffee on dyeing fabric; do yourself a favor and drink it. The switch was then made over to walnuts. I was overly pleased with the lovely shade of dark brown it gave.

To make the striped pattern I chose for this dress, I simply took small rubber bands and marked off each section I wanted to dye. Instead of dipping the entire dress into a fabric like the instructions suggested, I dipped only the sections between rubber bands. It definitely soaks up the dye, creating larger sections than  initially marked off, but if you're aware of that ahead of time you can plan to make the sections a bit smaller than desired. 

I think I've found a new hobby I might start indulging in more often. Are there any skills or techniques you've been interested in lately? 

Hope your day is off to a great start.