Month: January 2020

Sewing The Nita Wrap Skirt – SewDIY

Sewing The Nita Wrap Skirt – SewDIY

As soon as I got the pattern for the Nita Wrap Skirt I knew I wanted to make it straight away. So rather than wait to buy some fabric I dug into my stash. Over the years I have accumulated quite a large amount of 

Sewing Comfy Striped Shorts

Sewing Comfy Striped Shorts

I have added a quick summary of the making of my Comfy Striped Shorts below. But the whole blog can be checked out on Minerva. Minerva asked me to be part of their Bloggers Network recently. Since, I have worked on some brilliant projects using 

Natural Dye Experimentation

Natural Dye Experimentation

A great way to refresh your wardrobe is with fabric dying. I wanted to experiment with dying fabrics and clothing. A much more sustainable way of doing this is with natural dye. Luckily many of these can be made from products already found in your kitchen cupboards:

  • Oranges – Onion skins
  • Pinks – Avocado skins and stones
  • Browns – Walnut shells, coffee
  • Yellows – Turmeric
  • Greens – Spinach, nettle

I started with turmeric as it’s a beautiful colour, and I already had a large pack in the cupboard!
As it was my first time experimenting, I decided to just dye some cotton cord. Natural fabrics such as cotton, silk or linen take dye on much better than man made fabrics.
Firstly, I heated a big pan of water and either vinegar or salt, this helps prepare the fabric for dying, its roughly 4 parts water to 1 part salt or vinegar, I used salt.  Then submerge your fabric, and boil for approx. 1 hour.

preparing cord for natural dye

In a separate pan mix up your turmeric dye, their are exact recipes online, but I just guessed and added half a pan of water and a few heaped tablespoons of turmeric and brought to the boil. After it has simmered for 10 mins or so it’s time to add your fabric. Submerge in the turmeric dye pan and simmer on a low heat, stirring every now and then.

Natural Dye in a pan with cord

The longer you leave your fabric in the dye, the more it’s going to take to the fabric and the stronger and more vibrant your colour will be. I left mine in for about an hour or so. After that I rinsed until the water ran clean and saved the remaining dye for another project. Because natural dyes can be used again and again, but lose pigement over time.

Drying cord after natural dye

Then hang it out to dry on the washing line and let the sun do its magic. As you can see when it’s finished the colour is a lot paler, the main downside of natural dyes, but I love the soft yellow cord I have created and can’t wait to start using it.
I’d love to hear if you try out natural dying and how you get on, comment here or head over to my insta here more updates.

Rx

Ball of cord after turmeric natural dye

Hello world!

Hello world!

Hello. After much encouragement I have decided to start a blog to document my journey of sewing and sustainability. I’m not sure how it will go. Or if my writing will hold its own on the wide web, so any tips or suggestions are welcome.