Addendum Here's the link to where I buy silk ribbon in bulk to dye.
There is just no substitute for dumb luck when you don't know what you're doing. Over the years I have dyed silk ribbon in small lots for special projects and always used alcohol inks.. It has worked great but not feasible for a LOT of ribbon... So last fall Teresa and I set about to dye a lot of ribbon with Rit in the greenhouse. I wanted mine to be really saturated so left the dye in and then forgot them until now. Dye just ran out when I rinsed them and they were too intense for what I wanted... I couldn't remember the step for setting color and I didn't like the color anyway.
There is just no substitute for dumb luck when you don't know what you're doing. Over the years I have dyed silk ribbon in small lots for special projects and always used alcohol inks.. It has worked great but not feasible for a LOT of ribbon... So last fall Teresa and I set about to dye a lot of ribbon with Rit in the greenhouse. I wanted mine to be really saturated so left the dye in and then forgot them until now. Dye just ran out when I rinsed them and they were too intense for what I wanted... I couldn't remember the step for setting color and I didn't like the color anyway.
So I dipped them all in a bleach solution, rinsed again until water was clear, and then dipped them in strong coffee. They are absolutely perfect cottage garden colors. Don't you just love it? Could I duplicate them?... NEVER! Just dumb luck ....
This is a LOT of ribbon here because it is 90% 2mm...perfect for knot flowers and it all had to be ironed. But I had the injections in my eyes yesterday and am practically blind for the rest of the day and was bored to tears by evening and decided I could iron ribbon as you didn't really need to see all that well for that task...and I could. I ironed all this ribbon last evening. Actually I could leave the iron sitting flat and just pull the ribbon under it...easy. Can hardly wait to use it on the cover of the second cottage book.
DRYER SHEETS: Had a question about my dryer sheets in the last post... There are two substances in Bounce dryer sheets that can keep away the bugs. The first is linalool, which is naturally found in lavender and is toxic to some types of insects. The second compound is beta-citronellol, which is found in citronella and does repel mosquitoes. I do know that if I lie down in the summer to nap there is always a fly that wants to drive me crazy... but clipping a Bounce dryer sheet in my hair solves the problem... Has to be Bounce...other brands don't work. For me they are a great deterrent to mosquitos and now the dreaded little black biters....
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4 comments:
Oh goodness, glad to hear you are on the mend. I remember one year at our cabin I got no-see-um bites all over my feet. Drove me CRAZY. I would try the dryer sheets but I react to the scent so not going to try them :(
Great! Beautiful ribbons...so glad they turned out nicely for you! I like to use a mini-flat iron to press the ribbons...it is handy and I just have to pull the ribbon through it. Hugs, Kathy
Oh my! I love it. Where did you purchase all the silk ribbon to dye? Like I need to dye more stuff but I just have to know.
I love your ribbons - in both colour variations. Coffee is obviously not just for drinking!!
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