A Little Dye Can Fix That

I got to wondering if I could tone down the neon pink in the dress from my last post if I dipped it in a black dye bath, so I gave it a try last night. I knew that my fabric was synthetic, and probably wouldn't take a lot of dye, but if it had a hint of nylon in it, it would absorb something. Here's what it looked like in the bath:

I used a standard RIT dye with vinegar and hot water. Most of the dye washed out, and what I was left with was slightly more purple and less neon than the original. It also changed the black and white houndstooth to black and grey. My daughter saw it this morning, and absolutely loved it, so she's wearing it to work today.

It's hard to capture the neon-ness of the pink in the photos, but this is what it was before:

I've used dye a few times now to make a garment more to my liking, and it's really fun. It does take some time, as you've got to stir, stir, stir, and then rinse, rinse, rinse. But, since I've already put the time in sewing the garment, it makes sense to put the time into the dyeing as well.

And on a completely unrelated topic, I have been interested in finding a Needle Board for years, but they have been too expensive. A needle board is just like the name implies- a board with a whole bunch of pins sticking up. It is used for pressing velvet, or other fabrics that have a pile that you don't want to flatten. Well, I was at Tuesday Morning, picking up some toggles that Kathy from Kathy Sews had talked about on her blog. And low and behold, there was a needle board for $14.99! They only had two in my store, but if you have a Tuesday Morning, you might want to run out and see if they have one in your store too, as that is a fantastic price. This is what it looks like: