So, I debated on whether or not to actually write this post yet, because I’m not satisfied with the results of this project yet. But I’m all about keeping it real, so I figure I can always come back and update once I fix this project and make it exactly what I want.
Back when we replaced the bedding in our room, we already had a plan in mind for the white bedspread that used to live on our bed. You see, we have some bedding in our guest room that we really like, but that is almost impossible to coordinate with anything else.
We love the pattern and the pops of color in this bedding, but once we got it in the room and started to discuss what colors to do for the walls and accents in the room, we quickly realized that there wasn’t really much we could do that would look right with this bedding. We talked about green walls, but neither of us loved that idea and it really didn’t fit in with the rest of our house. We tossed around the idea of wallpaper, but we hated to take on such a large and extensive project that focused around some bedding that we really weren’t all that in love with to begin with.
I’m sure you can see where this is going – once we decided to replace the bedding in our room, we decided that our old duvet would get a new life (and some fabric dye) in the guest room, replacing this doesn’t-work-well-with-others bedding that we are currently working with.
Luckily, this was one of those rare projects where we had the exact same vision in mind from the beginning – purple bedding. So, one day when we were at Joann, we grabbed some iDye and brought it home to get to work.
See that beautiful, rich purple color on the package? Remember that. Because it lies.
I had never dyed fabric before and I’ll admit I was pretty shocked by how easy it was. I don’t know how it works with other brands, and the only reason we chose this brand over the myriad of choices they had was because it was the closest match to the color we wanted (or so we thought), but all we had to do was toss it in the washer with a cup of salt and let it go.
After letting it do its thing in the washer for about an hour, I tossed it in the dryer and soon pulled out a very…lavender duvet cover.
I don’t know if I didn’t let it stay in the washer for long enough, or if the dye just wasn’t as dark as I had wanted it to be, but we were both less than impressed with the color. The coverage was great – there are one or two splotchy areas, but they’re hardly noticeable – and I can’t say enough good things about how easy it was to do…the color is just not at all what we were expecting!
We went ahead and put it on the bed (along with the old bedding, just until we can get a more “complete” looking set of bedding – like some coordinating throw pillows, new sheets, and perhaps a patterned throw to sit at the foot of the bed), but we plan on trying again sometime soon to get a more true purple color. We’re going to do a bit of research to find out which brand will really get us the color we want, and hopefully we can land on something that’s more purple and less lavender.
You might notice that we also brought our old nightstands into this room – they’re a perfect fit! They look a bit silly in there with the current bed, but we have plans to replace that bed with something else (hopefully soon), and it will make a lot more sense and look a lot less silly once we get that taken care of. This room is one of the rooms in our house that has been very slow to come together, since we don’t use it very often and don’t really “need” it to look pretty. I will say, though, now that it’s starting to look a little more put together, I’m feeling much more motivated to get it finished!
Have you ever dyed fabric? Any tips for us on how to get a more true color?
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Comments on this post
What a bummer! I think a rich, deep purple would look so great! I’m no experienced dyer, but if I were you, I’d let the duvet sit in the die for a long time, or maybe try experimenting with the purple + a TINY bit of black dye to make it darker.
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9. November - 5:23 amI recently used I-Dye as well… I think you probably didn’t use enough dye for the amount of fabric. All you need to do is get another package or two and repeat the process and you should get the colour you want!
Good Luck
PS: I love your right hand corner picture and I think you look a lot like Kristen Stewart from twilight (which is a total compliment in my book)
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Amanda Reply:
November 9th, 2011 at 6:30 am
You know, I hadn’t even thought of that but you’re right! I definitely should have gotten more than one packet! We’ll be trying it again with a couple of packets, for sure.
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PPS: I adore your style home and writing wise – only things missing are a house tour and a floor plan
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Amanda Reply:
November 9th, 2011 at 6:29 am
Thanks! And you’re absolutely right – I’ve written a house tour post (you can see it here if you’d like) but I have been meaning to add a link to the top of the page for that and I just haven’t gotten around to it! I’m planning on doing some blog work this weekend, though, so I’ll try to get those up!
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I wonder if you you bought the same dye again and tried soaking it longer if it would take.
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9. November - 6:25 amBummer that that color didn’t come out dark enough, but I like the suggestions of dyeing it with more packets. Hope it works!
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9. November - 7:51 amTry re-dying with another packet (or combine two packets next time you want to dye something). For a darker purple, try mixing it with a little black dye (not a whole packet).
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9. November - 9:29 amWOW, I didn’t realize that there were washer-friendly dyes! Shows how much of DIY-er I am!
I hope your second round goes well!
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9. November - 9:33 amDid the package say anything about how much fabric it would dye? It might have been designed for something the size of a T-shirt, and when it got spread out over a large duvet, it would be paler because it was trying to cover a larger surface area.
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9. November - 11:49 amI actually really like the lavender. I think that dark purple accent pillows, with maybe some artistic dark green ones would look wonderful. PS: I own that painting above the bed. LOVE IT! one of my favorites.
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9. November - 12:58 pmWhat if you keep the old comforter, pick up the blue on it for the walls and add the deep purple with throw pillows with different textures?
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Amanda Reply:
November 9th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
That was something we considered, but we’ve decided to go with a bit of a different feel for the room (it’ll make sense in a few weeks when we make a couple of changes in there) and it wouldn’t work to keep the old one!
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For a first time dye job, I think you should be so impressed! The comforter looks great! Maybe you just need to do it again to get it a little darker.
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9. November - 2:11 pmAnother thing to consider is the fabric content of the duvet cover – this is the most common mistake I see people making when they have dye mishaps! Dyes are only designed for certain types of fabrics, anything different and the results are totally unpredictable!
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10. November - 1:26 amive never dyed anything in my life, so indulge me. Did your washer turn purple?! I’d be terrified that the washer’s plastic center spinner would absorb the dye. Were you worried or am I just bananas? lol
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Amanda Reply:
November 11th, 2011 at 9:55 am
I was a little worried, haha. There was a (very small) amount of dye left on the center spinner once it was finished, but it only took me about two minutes to wipe it off – and I’ve washed several loads since then with no purple remnants!
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