I have been searching for the perfect placemats for our dining room table ever since I hosted thanksgiving at my house and realized I didn't have any! today we will be making some dip dyed linen placemats that I just LOVE. this would be a great DIY project for a wedding reception or your next outdoor event. the texture of the linen looks really great, and each placemat has it's own unique look.
Shopping list:
- Heavy weight linen fabric (one 13x18" placemat)
- Fabric dye (we used Fiber Reactive Procion dye in Bubble Gum and Elephant Grey from Dharma Trading Co.)
- Soda Ash and salt (for Procion dye; for Rit Dye follow instructions on packaging)
- Plastic tub
- Two plastic cups
- Two wood craft sticks
- Plastic spoon
- Measuring spoon (do not use utensils also used for cooking with dye)
Let's get started!
To start, rip your pre-washed linen into 13x18" pieces, leaving a raw edge. To rip linen, make a small 1/4-inch cut on the edge of the fabric with a scissors and then tear so that the linen rips along the grain of the weave.
Combine 2 teaspoons of dye and a small amount of water in plastic cup. Stir with wood stick to create a paste and completely dissolve dye (this step prevents 'freckles' of undissolved dye on finished piece.)
Combine dye mix with about 8 cups of water, ½ cup salt, and 2 tablespoons of soda ash in the plastic tub. (Or follow more precise dyeing instructions on the Dharma site.) Stir with plastic spoon until everything is completely dissolved.
Hold placemat above plastic tray and lower one end into dye bath, keeping as straight as possible. Submerge about 2-3 inches and let dye penetrate for a minute.
Remove fabric and set on a piece of plastic to dry. The dye will continue creeping up the fabric a bit while drying.
Repeat previous steps with second dye color and dip dye opposite edge of placemat.
Rinse each end in cold water and then wash the whole placemat in warm water with detergent. Hang to dry.
So, will you be trying these out? Experiment with a bunch of colors and send me pics!
project by:
Bramble Workshop for designlovefest
styled by: Bri Emery
photos by: Brittany Wood
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