A little back story on dying. I was at first intimidated by the idea of dying. When I watched contestants on Project Runway hand dye their garments it looked really impressive and the judges also had this look of awe when they found out it was hand dyed.
But a couple months ago I needed a fold over elastic and didn't have enough time to buy it online. So I bought a bottle of RIT dye and took the plunge. What a world of possibilities I had been missing out on! It's as easy as filling a bucket with water. Literally. I fill a bucket I add a spoonful of dye. I'm done.RIT dye is just amazing. So back to the sweater. I bought this pointelle sweater in cream but wanted it in blue. I had never dyed a sweater before but it was made out of wool which being a natural fabric dyes well.
So I soaked it for 30 minutes and it came out just great. To add the white pointsettas I used a shrunken wool sweater (ie felted). The neat thing was the sleeves had these little eyelets along the sleeves. I used them as the center vein in the leaves. It gave them a nice texture.To see the before pic and tutorial see below.
Like not spending money? 
19 {comments}:
I love the colours here and the poinsettias look great.
Oh my - I love love love love love this!!!
Did a sweater project myself today as well:
http://www.mesewcrazy.com/2010/11/upcycle-project-1-sweater-dress.html
Tis the season for sweater! :)
there are so many drab colored clothes at my thrift store.... what a GREAT idea!
Amazing sweater. When I first saw this, I actually thought the white poinsettas, against the blue, look like starfish. Beautifu either way. :)
Each day just gets better and better! I love poinsettias so I'm going to have to use this embellishment, maybe on a hat or a scarf if not a cardi!
When you dye clothes, do you just figure that you'll have to hand-wash it forever to avoid bleeding into other clothes? And would the dye on this sweater bleed into the white flowers? Is this a dry-clean zone?
This looks great! I'm curious to see the Anthro sweater you were trying to replicate. Do you have a photo?
I just found your blog and I am in LOVE. This is gorgeous. Also I will never again pass over the white and cream sweater because they are not my color. I will DIE THEM!!!
I LOVE the colour. The cream was so bland and I am very impressed you were able to look past the original design because the end product is phenomenal.
I'm with Jane. How do you protect the other colors on the sweater and/or wash it with other garments?
Hi! Just stumbled at your blog and I have to say I find your transformations of clothes amazing! Great work!
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This series is AMAZING! I'm so inspired, thanks for sharing your talent with everyone! :)
I love the color of the dyed sweater! Wonderful!
The poinsettias are really neat too.
This is super cool! I remember that sweater and really loved it!
Kristina J.
I think I need to visit some of your thrift places! You seem to find perfect things to remake. I'm LOVING this month thing.
i had wanted to make that sweater for a while now....so i finally did and i love it!! i like how you made your picture look like the shot from the catalog too...very pretty!! i love this month such neat ideas!
I think this idea would really work great on a sweater that I bought from a rummage sale and after washing it, I realized there are actually little wholes in it. Thanks! :) I love that you dyed it too and it's a great color now. You are always brilliant!
When dyeing, to ensure the colour doesn't bleed later, you need to make sure the dye is set. Although RIT dyes have a mordent included, so you shouldn't have to worry, just make sure to rinse until all dye is gone. If you're doing it the fun way and dyeing wool with Kool Aid, you can steam it in the microwave for 2 minutes, let sit for 2 minutes, repeat, until the water is clear. Or just let it sit in a crock pot until the water is clear (stirring gently if you want even colour). You can also use Wilton's food/icing dyes on wool (but Kool Aid and Wilton's will not work on acrylic, nylon, or cotton like RIT).
This sweater is inspiring, I'm off to buy some dye, and work my magic.
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