Hand-dyed cardigan

There were a lot of water colored and hand painted cardigans in the stores this past spring, which inspired me to create my own. I made this cardigan a couple of months ago, and the photos have been hanging out on my flickr page. Somehow, I just never got around to writing the post to accompany the pictures. I'm going to be getting out the dyes again this weekend, so I thought I would tell you about my first project.

I started with a cream-colored cardigan from Loft . I put a board covered with a trash bag inside to keep the color from transfering from one side to another.	Once I had decided that I wanted to try a hand-dyed effect on the sweater, I searched Dick Blick for some kind of paint or dye. I found Dye-Na-Flow, which is a paint made to simulate dye.	I played with numerous techniques. First, I tried applying the paint to the dry cardigan. This produced very dark colors but the lines were very sharp. You can see this in the second big blotch from the left. To soften the effect, I poured water on the painted splotches and used the brush to spread it out. I also poured salt over the top. I read to use salt when browsing for dye techniques. I think that it helped to control the bleeding if I applied too much water.
I hung the cardigan up to dry. This is how it looked after my first painting. I like it but decided to try wetting it first and then applying the paint to see how that worked. It was a lot less controled and much lighter in color	Once I was satisifed and let the paint set overnight, I washed the cardigan in woolight until the water was clear instead of pink. Since that first wash, I have just washed it on cold with other colored clothing.	I dryed the cardigan with a pink towel in case the pink dye rubbed off.

Puff painting

Do you remember puff painting t-shirts as a kid? That was the last time I did it, which was probably in the mid '90s. So, I don't know what came over me to try it again.


This started as one of the dyed t-shirts I made last week. Then, I just grabbed a bottle of white puff paint from Hobby Lobby and started doodling on one shoulder. My original plan was for a motif along one shoulder, but I was having so much fun that I covered the whole shirt. I even wore it to work one day (I don't have to dress fancy). It definitely was fun to look down and see the texture.


I think I'm good for puff paint right now, but I want to try again with larger blocks of paint in more colors.

Dye and tie dye

Gotta love a package of men's white tees. Oh, the possibilities! Throw in a trip to the fabric store where they have an easy-to-use packet of dye and you know I'm gonna make a mess.

These packets were as easy to use as they promise. You just take off the paper package.
Inside, there is a little plastic pouch with the color. Just drop that into the pot of water and stir or add it to the hot water in the washing machine. I even attempted to make a mess starting the purple one on the stove and then transferring it to the washing machine. Why do that? Well, I didn't feel up to standing at the stove stirring the pot.


I ran two different colors - violet and gunmetal. The violet was beautiful and vibrant; I was very impressed. The gunmetal turned out to be a little more blue than the package let on. I would definitely buy this dye again. Nothing against Rit dye - we've had our good times in the past - but I'm a little too messy not to use something this easy. I can't wait to try more of the 38 colors.
I tried to do a tie dye t-shirt in each load using the one rubber band I own. I was successful with the purple but not with the gunmetal. Next time, I'll use more rubber bands!


So, what am I going to do with the rest of the t-shirts (4 left - 1 purple, 2 gunmetal and 1 that I ran in both loads that turned out to be almost navy)
I have a couple of things up my sleeve, but you'll have to
 wait and see!