Printing and Painting and Dyeing, Oh My!

I haven't been terribly prolific in the sewing department recently, but I have been VERY adventurous with color!  First I broke out my print block, with great success.  I'm still sitting on the in-progress photos of the item I am making from my newly printed fabric, but I am not above sharing a teaser shot that makes it look like I am really good at matching prints:

Then my birthday gift from Brian the Engineer arrived - ivory Hartfields!  I wore them around the house for three or four hours after opening the package, and honestly forgot that I had them on a couple times.  They are very comfortable.  :)

But I was not about to let them stay ivory forever.  After admiring them for a couple more days, I broke out the second part of my gift - a shoe painting kit, and got to work.  I mixed paint for about an hour before I was satisfied with the shade.  I was aiming for a deep, warm butterscotch color and trying to avoid mustard.  :p  When I was finally happy with the color (mostly sick of mixing paint) I followed the American Duchess tutorial for the painting process.  Sorry there are no in-progress photos, but I was focused on painting!  :(

I was pleased to see that after it dried, the honey-mustard colored paint I had ended up with did deepen and darken as it dried to more of a Werther's hard candy color.  And the more I looked at it, the more I loved it!

After three thin coats I let them dry overnight.  In the morning I liked the color even better, and I could also tell it needed one more coat.  After that dried I put on the finisher and started thinking about how best to dye the shoelaces to match the new color of the boots.

I had a couple of things I'd been meaning to dye that I'd been putting off for a while, and I decided to do both of them and the shoelaces all at once.

The first thing was a white ostrich feather that I had vague ideas about using on a bonnet.  For some reason I wanted it gold.  I will admit here and now that I had no idea how to go about dyeing a feather.  I still don't know.

I used Lemon Yellow and Tangerine RIT dyes.  This is how it looks now, after it has dried completely.  I cannot seem to get it to fluff back up again, so my thought is that there is still dye that needs to be rinsed out, possibly?  Anyway, it was a learning experience.  I moved on, as I had bigger fish to fry.

Next were the shoelaces.  To the previous orangey attempt at gold, I added more Lemon Yellow, more Tangerine, and just a splash of Kelly Green to tone down the brightness.  I also added more water and salt to the dye pot, mixed it more thoroughly, and tested strips of white cotton muslin before I decided I was satisfied with the color.  The shoelaces took the dye much more readily than the muslin, and when I rinsed them out they resembled whole wheat spaghetti!  But I was ok with them being more brown than orange.  I just didn't want them to clash horribly with the boots.  I let them dry for a full day, and lo and behold!

Once dry, they were the perfect color!  I was not expecting that.  :p

But I still had more dyeing to do.  This one was the big one, both in size and in scope.  Remember my green straw bonnet from last year?  Well, I loved it and all, but I wanted to be able to wear it with more things.  Specifically, this green ribbon sash I bought from Dames a la Mode:

See how horribly the two greens clashed?  Also, I wanted more contrast between the bonnet and my Blue Day Dress, since it looked too much like I was trying to match it and had failed.  So I decided to dye the bonnet to match the ribbon!  I knew it would be tricky, as taffeta catches the light so differently from cotton, but I would settle for a close approximation.

To my brownish-gold dye bath I added copious amounts of Kelly Green, testing swatches and adding more Lemon Yellow until I ran out entirely, at which point I began praying that I hadn't added too much green too fast.  I decided to be brave and test a scrap of the bonnet fabric, and it didn't look too bad!  I had actually been nervous that the bonnet fabric wouldn't take dye properly, as I'm not sure it's 100% cotton.  But it took beautifully!  I think I added a dash more Tangerine and then tested another scrap, this time taking it to the iron to dry it so I could see the final color.  It wasn't perfect, but I decided it was as close as I was likely to get!

Left to right:  undyed scrap, first and second test scraps, final color, ribbon of goal color

The moment of truth had arrived.  I prepped the bonnet by running it under hot water, being sure to saturate every part so that it would absorb the dye evenly.  (I forgot to mention I also did this with the shoelaces and feather before dyeing them.)  Then I gently added it to the dye pot gently simmering on the stove, and poked it down with a wooden spoon until it was thoroughly soaked.  After a few agonizing minutes of stirring constantly to ensure no part was left un-dyed, I took it out and rinsed it forever and ever under hot running water.  Then when I was satisfied(ish) that no more dye was coming out, I switched to cold water and continued rinsing to help set the dye.

(It is here that I will point out that before I started my dyeing shenanigans, I ran my plans past Brian the Engineer.  He warned me that the straw part would likely not take the dye in the same way as the fabric part, and that I might not like the result.  I assured him that I was prepared for this to not go as planned, and if it was an utter failure I would just make a new bonnet.  However, I was anticipating that the straw part would, in fact, absorb no dye as I was sure that it was not a natural fiber.  But I am pleased to say that we were both wrong!  Well, I was more wrong than he was.  :p  The straw DID absorb the dye in much the same way as the fabric, and I DID like the result!)

I was worried initially that I had let it soak too long, as it was much darker and greener than I was going for.  But I did know that I needed to let it dry before I could determine the final color.  Being impatient, I threw the thing in the dryer with a towel to help it along.  I am pleased to say that I LOVE the final color!  It is as close as I could have gotten to the ribbon sash, and I think it makes the design look much more cohesive and planned-out.  I do love it when things work out that way.  :)

It looks like a completely different bonnet!  For reference:

I'm definitely liking the new look better.  :D  And look at all of the things it matches now!

I am midway through hemming the paisley shawl, and I've worn the ribbon sash and the gloves together previously.

Before I poured my hard-earned dye lot down the drain, I threw in my remaining scraps of pre-pleated fabric leftover from making the bonnet.

I plan to use these to create fun shoe clip decorations for my Pemberlies.  Of course, it may be a while before I wear them again, as my gorgeous new Hartfields currently hold most of my shoe-related affection.

So pretty!  

I can't wait to wear them out and about!  :D  And now that I have the shoe-painting kit, my fingers are itching to start painting my other four pairs of American Duchess shoes...  Pinterest, here I come!