The Dye Pot- Petunias

A friend of mine gave me a bag of petunias she had dead-headed. They were a deep violet with a white stripe. I'm not sure of the name. I immediately thought of the dye pot!

I chose a muslin and a sheer mystery fabric. The mystery fabric is not silk, hence the name.

I boiled the petunias in a vinegar bath for a half hour, then added the cloth for another half hour.
I then turned off the pot and let it sit overnight. The pictures above are the result. The first picture
is the muslin, it turned out a lovely shade of rose. The mystery fabric (second picture) turned out
a dusty gray, it's a lovely shade that does not show up well in the photo.

The fabrics were heat set and are now ready for different art projects.

Dyeing with Fruit

Muslin dyed with blueberries

1. Make sure the muslin is washed before dyeing.
2. Put a pint of blueberries and 3 cups of water on stove and bring to boil. Remove blueberries.
3. I gathered up the muslin and here and there tied string on so the color would not be even.
4. Stir blueberries and shut off heat when it has reached a boil. Put muslin in making sure to soak
    the entire cloth. I let mine sit for an hour, the longer it sits the more intense the color.
5.  Take the dyed piece out of the water and let it dry outside. Leave the string on until the fabric
     is nearly dry.
6. When the muslin is dried, cut of string and lay the piece of muslin out to finish drying.
7.  When dry heat set fabric with iron. Gently wash and then put in dryer. This will further set the color.

Notes:

Your hands will turn blue.
Never use a pot you are going to cook with to dye fabric.
Be sure to wash separately as dye will fade.
Remove hot cloth with tongs and place in bowl so it does not drip on your floor.