Dyeing Linen

Today I spent some time in the yard dyeing some linen that I bought last week. I am making some prototype kitchen towels that someday will be in my fantasy website shop.

I'm making towels that are to be used specifically as drip cloths next to the sink. We always have a towel laid out to catch hand washed items like wooden cutting boards and butcher's knives. Unfortunately it often looks really mangy because it gets stained with tea rings and rust from iron skillets.

My thinking is that I need to make something that is really vibrant so it will look good but it will also hide the inevitable stains that go with kitchen towels.

Mixing up the dye is easy peasy. Pour liquid dye (1/2 to a whole bottle depending on the saturation you want) into very hot water. Mix in 1 cup salt dissolved in 2 cups water. Add a squirt of dish detergent. Stir and add pre cleaned, wet fabric.

I made an ombre one for fun but for most I will sew together two colors sort of like a sailor's flag.

I am drawing my inspiration from these incredible wall coverings at Navy in NYC. I found them through the blog La Buena Vida. I just love the color variations and the accent stitching.

My linen is a bit brighter now but will fade. The trick will be to have them dark enough to hide stains but faded enough to have textural beauty.