Sunday 5 August 2012

Dyeing for PINK

And the dyeing continues. Its so much fun! After the experiment a few days ago with the flower petals rolled up in fabric, I decided to try beetroot. We had harvested some beetroot from the garden, and they bleed such a glorious colour, I thought they must be good for something. Hmm. A bit of research on the net didn't exactly fill me with hope. Apparently beetroot is pretty darned useless, lol. At least when you need to frequently wash whatever you are dyeing. Luckily, I only want to use whatever I dye for collages etc, which won't get washed, so I decided to go ahead anyway with a few little bits.


I really ought to learn a bit of patience, but I thought the colour of beetroot is so intense, it wouldn't take long to colour stuff. So I chucked the peelings in a pot with water, put the bits of lace and fabric in and heated it up. Turned it off as soon as it was about to boil and let it cool down. Well, I should have let it cool down, but Mrs Impatience here took the stuff out while it was still hot. I rinsed the little doily just a wee bit, shouldn't have done that, most of the colour disappeared. Same with the little broderie anglaise trim, the cotton went white again, but the actual embroidery was a delicate pink. The next few bits I didn't rinse. Hey, I wanted some intense pinks as well!


These are the bits on the washing line, still wet - 



The silk took the beetroot colour ever so well and turned this gorgeous shell pink colour-

The broderie anglaise trim. Fabric stayed pretty much the same,but the embroidery turned a gorgeous light pink, sooo pretty -

The lace produced almost an ombre effect in place, nice and random in others-

The thick crochet lace took the colour the best, ending up a really deep raspberry pink almost -

Aaah, the delicate pink of the broderie anglaise-

Drying-


And this is what they looked like after they had dried. The silk is still a gorgeous soft pink -




The fine lace kept the colour very well -




as did the thicker crochet lace -


And that deliciously soft shell pink broderie anglaise? 


Well.......


here it is - 


It completely lost that gorgeous colour and ended up all white again. Oh bother.

It was interesting to see how different fabrics reacted to the beetroot. Now I am just waiting for the blackberries to see what sort of pink they will produce.


I have masses of pics on the camera of new brocante finds, I just need to find the time to resize etc. Maybe tonight, eh? At least some of them.


I am linking this post to Beverly's PINK SATURDAY linky party over at the  How Sweet the Sound blog. Sooo many lovely pink things to drool over!


For now, toodlepip xxx





14 comments:

Mary said...

Dear Liz,
Try ironing the broderie anglaise while it is still wet with the color and that may set it in. When I use acrylic paint watered down to dye with I always add textile or fabric medium (usually found with the acrylic craft paints) to the dye and it seems to help take up the color and keep the fabric soft. I've read (but not tried yet) using avacodo skins to dye things pink. Here is an interesting link on dye with natural stuff. http://dye-lot.blogspot.com/2011/05/avocado-pits-and-skins.html You might check her out and some of her interesting links. as always I try a small piece of fabric first and I put acylic dyes in the microwave in a plastic throw away container and "cook" the fabric or lace in the dye for 1-2 minutes until the liquid is hot and let it set til cool. Then I press with an iron and cover cloth while the dyed fabic is still damp ( wring the water out with lots paper towels and then press). Good luck.
I love your blog.
Mary

Unknown said...

Hi there, I love your pinks! That raspberry lace turned out beautiful. I used to experament with dyes a long time ago, when I was into basket making. It's interesting to see what different plants make different colors. I'm a new follower and will definately be back soon!
Thanks for sharing, Dorothy

Doni said...

Beetroot...don't think I've heard of dyeing with that before but I'd like to try! I tried the avocado pit dye and it worked great. In fact I blogged about it last summer. The colors are very different for the length of time you leave them in the bath. I kept mine very hot and then did the different times. Some I tried rinsing, some I left alone. All turned out pretty.
I wish now that I see your gorgeous pink silk piece that I had tried some silk....NEXT TIME!!
I froze the dye water so that I might try it again. I'm cheap!
So glad to see your pretties. Be sure and let us see any other things you try!
Blessings, Doni

Marigold Jam said...

I remember doing some natural dyeing on my City and Guilds course and it is surprising that things you expect to give a dark dye often don't and of course natural fabrics take the dye better than anything man made. Recommend Jill Goodwin's Natural Dyeing book if you decide to take this further.

Karen B. said...

Sweet Liz,

very neat color I must say. Can't wait to see what you create with these bits and pieces.
hugs
Karen B. ~ Todolwen

Kate Yetter said...

Just beautiful! Everything turned out lovely!

morkaren said...

Det blev da et rigtig godt og fint, rosa i mange variationer. knus morkaren.

Bunty said...

Interesting, very interesting! I've dyed with avocado skins before but never beetroot. I will give it a go as Mr VB has grown lots this year. Very pretty results Liz.

Dorthe said...

THEY TURNED OUT WONDERFUL,dear Liz.
That colour is fantastic where it stayed---strange that it left again on the broderie anglaise..
But the silk and the laces are so beautiful.
I also do not rince the coloured pieces,as too much colour disapers.
I have tryed the avocado, and it worked great-and left the most lovely colour. You should try it !
Did you go "hunting" today also ?
I did and found some few sweet peices :-)
Hope your evening is cosy dear friend.
Love to you-
xxx,Dorthe

bohemiannie! art said...

Oh yummy! These are beautiful pinks!

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Hi Liz,
I love the many different shades of pinks and raspberry. It's funny how certain fabrics will dye quickly from others.
I think they will all look great in your many projects.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

hugs
Sissie

mypinkprettiesaboutme said...

Thx for sharing your wins and losses.
I love learning from others. And I too enjoy making my own colors

HPS

LL

Dortesjs said...

gloriously gorgeous love all the pink laces.

Pat C. said...

Thank you for sharing the results of your latest dyeing experimentation... what beautiful shades!

xoxo