20 Modern DIY Projects to Dye For | How to Dye Anything!

Over the years, I have gotten really into dyeing fabric: from updating tired linens to saving money on clothes by giving them a fresh new look, I really love a good DIY dye project.  Plus dyeing has to be the easiest craft on the planet - it's such a fun way to dip your toes into the world of DIY.  If you find yourself with extra time this holiday weekend, here are my favorite DIY dye projects from the Dans le Lakehouse archives - plus a bevy of other dye ideas I can't wait to try.

Try... Dyeing Yarn for a Wall Hanging

Whether you're a knitter or a just making a cute wall hanging, don't settle for store bought yarn colors.  Yarn can be so easy to dye!  Dip dye it (like the wall hanging from Brit & Co, below), tie dye it, use natural dyes or a bottle of turquoise Rit - the sky is the limit.

Try... Updating Crocheted Doilies with a Bold New Color

My DIY dyed doilies will be making another appearance this year because they complement wintry tablescapes - and my teal dining room chairs! - so beautifully.  But I have a whole box of vintage doilies, so I've been considering a follow-up project in turquoise or indigo... ( I used Rit dye in teal for these ones).

Try... Updating Old or Discolored Linens with a Fresh New Hue

Once I saw how much more modern and interesting vintage doilies look once they're dyed a fresh new color, I decided to update a vintage white linen table cloth and napkin set with a much more dinner-friendly gunmetal grey hue.  Dye is a great way to make tired, maybe a little discolored or stained, table linens look and feel new for holiday entertaining - or just to complement this year's holiday color palette!

 
Try... Brushing on Dye for a Hand Painted Look

If you want to get a little more hands on with dyeing, try brushing it on to create a one-of-a-kind design with a painterly vibe - it looks perfect on a napkin with modern brass flatware.  Get inspired by this tutorial from Home-ology.

Try... Ice Dyeing Napkins or Pillows for a Watery Handmade Fabric Design

The ultimate set-it-and-forget-it DIY dye project!  Pile up some fabric after soaking it in soda ash, cover it with ice, sprinkle with cold water dye, and just let the ice melt.  It's a DIY so nice, I've tried it twice: see my DIY ice dyed pillows and various color combinations of ice dyed napkins.  

Try... Making a Dyed Dog Leash from Rope

I'm dubious about whether this DIY dog leash would be tough enough for Szuka but if you have a pup on the gentler side, how sweet is this dip dyed rope leash?  Great tutorial from Brit & Co.  

Try... Dyeing Bottle Brush Trees for the Holidays and Beyond

With the holidays approaching, it's time to start thinking about festive tablescapes and mantle decor!  Try a classic bottle brush tree collection and customize it to match your decor with this easy DIY dyed bottle brush tree tutorial.  Snag a pack of bottle brush trees online and give them a bleach bath before dyeing them whatever color you like - or just buy some pale pink frosted bottle brush trees, I won't tell (you've got 19 other projects to try here!).
  

Try... Dyeing Fresh Cut Flowers Pretty Colors

I actually tried this during the summer and dyed a bunch of daisies a deep indigo blue - actually, I did it a few times and kept forgetting to photograph them for a tutorial!  It was such a fun project - kids would love it.  Look how great these roses from hello, Wonderful turned out:

Try... Dyeing Old Clothes to Make Them Feel New

Find a perfect holiday dress or top but it's the wrong color?  Take a stab at dyeing it yourself with this easy tutorial (click over for some trouble shooting tips for the best coverage).

Try... Dyeing a Rug for a Trendy Over-dyed Look

Yup, you can dye rugs at home!  Hide a stain, or just give a thrift store find that gorgeous over-dyed look, with this tutorial from Design Lines Ltd.  Sweet Paul has a lovely turquoise over-dyed rug tutorial too.

Try... Dyeing Jeans Darker to Get the Perfect Wash and Fit

Why is it that the darker the denim, the more dressy it looks?  Deep indigo denims can pass for business casual and even look great with a sparkly top for holiday parties.  If you found the perfect fit - in the wrong hue - just dye them darker!  Read my tutorial for all of the details on dyeing jeans a darker shade.

Try... Making a Hand-Dyed Embroidery Thread Tassel Necklace

This necklace started out as a pile of embroidery thread and jewelry-making supplies.  Learn how to make these delicate tassels from Oh the Lovely Things and hand dye them any color - even ombre! - to make a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind necklace.  Or add hand dyed tassels to a throw pillow or blanket.

Try... Experimenting with Shibori

If anyone is keeping track, shibori dyeing, with a long and rich history and sudden resurgence in popularity, might just go down in history as THE most popular DIY dye project - ever!  There are tons of tutorials out there, but this one from A Beautiful Mess is great for beginners.  After that, you can learn to experiment with different binding techniques - this is an excellent tutorial - and use real indigo, or just stick to rubber bands and Rit dye, either way it will look gorgeous and unique every time (here's a great DIY Indigo dye starter kit)

Try... Whipping up Easy Dip Dyed Napkins

While shibori has taken the lead as the ultimate DIY dye project, sometimes the simplicity of a good dip dyed project just looks right.  From throw pillows to napkins, dip dyeing can lend a watery, lakeside vibe to any home decor piece - plus it's super easy!  Check out my dip dyeing tutorial for trouble shooting tips and tricks and get the scoop on achieving a softer gradient.

Try... Dip Dyeing Anything You Can Get Find

With the basics of dip dyeing mastered, the simple technique need not be limited to fabrics!  Check out this tutorial from I Spy DIY for a cute and quirky dip dyed planter:

These dip dyed wood candlestick holders from Almost Makes Perfect are so pretty too (and you can buy all kinds of unfinished wood candle holders online, if you don't want to make them from scratch):

Try... Dyeing Wood!

Did the DIY above have you thinking, "I never realized you could dye wood"?  Dyed wood can look really amazing.  I've experimented with it (after seeing the image below) and made dyed birch slice coasters in a deep green shade.  I'm planning to experiment some more and share a tutorial (the only trickiness is the moisture + wood, which can ruin a project quickly with warping).

P.S. Have you seen this article about indigo dyed wood applications?  So good.

Try... Experimenting with Dyeing Fabric Naturally

Next on my DIY dye to-do list is experimenting with all natural dyes.  I've already been using purple cabbage as a natural alternative to food coloring, so the next step is to try out some natural dye methods.  Tumeric makes a brilliant, bright yellow (as demonstrated by this great natural dye tutorial from Glitter Guide) but tons of fruits, vegetables - even acorns! - can dye fabric and I can't wait to start experimenting.  There are great resources out there to get started, like this handy guide.     

Try... Capitalizing on Sunny Days with Sun Print Dye Fabric

You need sun, a cyanotype kit, and some pretty leaves and flowers to make your own sun printed fabric with a botanical print (check out this great tutorial from Apartment Therapy).  This was definitely on my summer diy to-do list but I ran out of time so I'm flagging this tutorial and looking forward to long, sunny summer days when I can give it a go!

Try... Taking a Stab at Wax Resist / Batik Dyeing

This might be the longest "been meaning to try this but just haven't" diy dye project for me!  I've wanted to do something like this since seeing kekfestes (the centuries old Hungarian twist on batik dyeing with Indigo dyes) in Hungary way back in the early 2000s during my first trip to Hungary.  This tutorial from A Beautiful Mess is such a pretty, modern spin - and an easy, DIY-able take - on a technique that's thousands of years old.  You just need a simple wax resist crayon like this one.  And this tutorial has tons of tips and tricks too.  A must-try for me - got to finally do this during my winter craft-a-thon.  

Try... Making Those Shoes New Again by Dyeing the Leather

Whoa!  This was news to me: you can dye leather!  I've seen DIY dyed leather boots, a leather sofa refreshed with leather dye and now this gorgeous shoe makeover from Paper & Stitch.  Who else is ready to raid their shoe closet for a DIY shoe dye party?

Yup, you can pretty much dye anything!

Nothing is safe, once you're bitten by the DIY dye bug.  Hopefully this round up of 20 modern DIY dye crafts has inspired you - have I missed a great tutorial?

Let me know in the comments!

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DIY Fabric Clothespin Bag

Wayfair recently posed a challenge: tackle a DIY project that makes life easier!  One of those, "why, oh why, didn't I do this sooner?" type of projects.  I had just the project: a DIY clothespin bag!

Truth be told, last spring I had one:

But it was a disgusting one that came with the house.  It smelled bad and was filled with spiders, but it was better than the torn plastic bag my Mummu was using to hold her clothespins.

Hanging laundry outside is something the women in my family are fanatic about.  My Mummu, like a good Finn, hangs her laundry outside all year round.  My Mom and I, while still deeply committed to outdoor line drying in the warmer months, stick to indoor clothes racks and lines as soon as the snow flies.  Thoroughly disgusted with both of our clothespin holders, last spring my Mom volunteered to help us each sew a pretty cloth clothespin bag.  Before we had completed the first bag, my Mummu gleefully threw out my skunky old bags and pins.  (I don't think she appreciated that I had set them on her dining table).  She scooped the first clothespin holder bag we sewed and we made plans to get together and sew a second clothespin holder later that week.  Well, life imploded and we never made that sewing date!

So I resorted to using an old plastic bag.  Cue the sad trombone.

On the bright side, we learned that the clothespin bag we sewed weathered living outside really well.  Sheltered under the eaves, it looks brand new a year later!  Confident in the design, my Mom and I finally whipped up a clothespin bag for me!  Below is the how-to, but I will warn you that my Mom is an ambitious DIYer and she's upped the ante by making this clothespin holder self lined - with a pattern that lines up perfectly!  The end result looks beautiful, but it has a few extra steps which I've tried to explain thoroughly.  Just let me know in the comments, though, if any of the directions don't make sense and I will happily clarify.

Supplies:

• Child-sized hanger (this is nearly identical to what we used, but you can also use plastic)
• Outdoor fabric (leftover from my back tab curtains - see the post for info on the fabric)
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Sewing gauge (optional)
• Marking pencil
• Small bowl (for tracing)
• Cute clothespins! (like these retro looking ones or these pretty floral ones)

How to Sew a Self-Lined Fabric Clothespin Bag:

To determine the shape, place the hanger on the fabric, near a corner so as not to waste fabric, and measure the center of the hanger.  Approximately two inches below the bottom of the hanger, use a bowl to trace a circle for the opening - choose a size that fits your hand comfortably.  We used a bowl with a 5" diameter (the overall diameter of the finished opening is 5"):

Using a gauge, mark 1" all the way around the hanger and then draw a straight line down from the outside edge of the hanger.



The idea is to create a snug fit around the hanger, and then allow for 5 to 6 inches below the opening.  My finished clothespin holder is 17" tall and 12.5" wide. 

With the shape cut out, trace and cut out three more identical clothespin bag shapes so you have four in total.

Place the piece with the circle and one of the other cut outs together, right sides facing in:

Pin around the circle and sew around the circumference:

Tie off the thread, cut out the middle, and then snip in toward the sewn line, careful not to cut the thread:

Reach through the circle and pull one layer of the fabric inward, to turn the hole inside out:

Ta da!  Next we'll pull a rabbit out of a hat...

Iron the fabric to smooth out the circle opening and then pin down and sew the circumference once again - this will help it lie flat:

And that's the front, which has two layers: 

To attach it to the back, grab one of the remaining two cut outs and place it right side up, underneath the front half you sewed earlier:

Pin the top layer of the fabric out of the way, and sew together the bottom layer and the additional piece, leaving a small opening at the very top for the hanger to poke out:

Then place the fourth cutout on top of the front of the clothespin holder, right side facing down.  Pin it together with the side you pinned out of the way earlier, and sew it together.  This is my Mom sneaking it into place to demonstrate:

Now then turn everything right side out:

See how the hole now has the right side of the fabric showing behind it, as opposed to the wrong side of the back showing?  Self-lining it took a few extra steps and twice the fabric, but the end result looks so good!

For the top, you can hand sew the opening, try adding a grommet, wrestle with it under the machine to do a button hole, throw in the towel and just apply some fray check, or ram in under the machine and sew around the opening - much like you would around the slit of a wrap dress - which is what my Mom did.

With the bottom still open, slide the hanger into the clothespin bag up through the body of the clothespin holder through the hole left in the top.  Then simply pull the bottom edge back up through the hole, stitch it closed, and push in back in.

Whew!  You're done!  Now stuff it with pins:




By using indoor/outdoor fabric, this clothespin bag can definitely be kept outside, but it's pretty enough to hang on a hook in a laundry room to keep it bug-free until laundry day.



I'm pretty thrilled!  Living lakeside, it can be pretty windy some days, which totally messes with my hair but, combined with a gloriously sunny day, dries my laundry in a snap so I can't complain. 
 

 
This post was sponsored by Wayfair.  Any thoughts or opinions expressed are my own.  P.S. if sewing your own clothespin holder looks like piddly work, you can always just buy this cutie from Wayfair.  Just sayin'.   

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