DIY Gun Metal Dyed Table Cloth (Rit Dye vs. iDye)

I absolutely love dyeing things because it's such an easy way to really update a garment or home decor staple.  Over the years, I've logged a bevy of DIY dye projects.  Some of my favorites include: dyeing a dress a deep shade of navy, dyeing a pair of jeans darker, and dyeing a set of crocheted lace doilies for a pretty tablescape.  I did some dip dyeing too!  For almost all of my DIY dye projects, I have used Rit Dye.

I have decided to expand my dyeing repertoire and not only do I have a couple of fancier dye projects planned, I've branched out and started experimenting with different brands of dye.  I had heard that iDye is a better quality fabric dye than Rit, so I recently used a couple of packs on an easy project to test out this new-to-me brand of fabric dye.

I started with this beautiful, cream coloured cotton and rayon damask table cloth, which I inherited:

I loved the table cloth but NO cream or white table linens would ever last a day in my home.  Plus it felt kind of bridal.  I knew its fate: sit in my cupboard for years, until I eventually get rid of my oval table, then sadly discover that no one else in my family has an oval table (it's why I inherited it in the first place), so I'll end up dejectedly donating this sentimental linen to the thrift shops in the hopes that someone else can use it.  I know this because many sentimental, "too good to use" things have met a similar fate so, these days, I'm all about using the good stuff!

I figured that if I dyed the table cloth a darker color, to hide the inevitable wine spills, I'll relax and just enjoy using it. In hindsight, maybe dyeing it burgundy would have been the best bet, but I kept envisioning a deep steel grey.

I ordered some iDye on Amazon, in Gun Metal (grey).  It comes in different formulations, this one was designed for natural fabrics (like cotton, silk, etc.).  There are also iDye formulations for synthetic materials as well (something Rit recently came out with too).

iDye comes in a little cardboard envelope with the instructions printed on the inside.  The dye is in a sort of puck, which is supposedly less messy than powders or bottles, but the outside of my dye packs were covered in powdery residue which immediately dyed my hands before I got the packets open, so I don't consider the packaging a selling feature.

Frankly, having watched too many episodes of Border Security, I'm just surprised that this didn't raise any red flags...

Using iDye is just as easy as Rit.  I opted for the washing machine method (as opposed to stove top):

• Wash the garment/fabric to be dyed to remove sizing
• Fill the washing machine with hot water
• Add the iDye dye packs (I used two) plus 1 cup of non-iodized salt
• Let agitate for a minute
• Add the fabric (make sure it's still wet)
• Let agitate in dye bath for 50-60 minutes (my table linens were in there about 70 minutes total)
• Let the machine finish the cycle
• Dry!

Easy peasy!  I turned on a timer so I knew when to keep re-setting my machine to ensure it was agitated for the hour or so.  In between timer chimes I puttered.  By the time my linens were dyed, I could check off a DIY project and "clean the house" from my to-do list.  Win!  This might be why I like dyeing things so much...

The table cloth (and matching napkins) turned out beautifully!

The colour is a really unusual grey - it's got purple undertones, but sometimes it reads really blue, other times a little more warm.  "Gun metal" is the perfect name for it!  It's one of those colours that really plays with the light, made more interesting by the damask pattern and subtle sheen of the cotton/rayon blend.

The only, tiny issue is that the dye seemed to grab the linens more where the fabric had been folded.  This table cloth has been sitting around, folded, since the 80s, so it might not be an issue with the fabric dye, but the item itself.  I did wash it thoroughly before dyeing, but sometimes there's only so much you can do when fabric starts to show it's age.  When I dyed a shirtdress awhile back, lingering residue from my antiperspirant caused an issue with the dye so I think the best contenders for DIY dye projects are new, freshly laundered items.  Having said that, you'll never notice the slightly darker areas on this table cloth - especially not once it's adorned with plates, flowers, and delicious food!

It's SO gorgeous!  I'm thrilled with the outcome: it looks more modern and the blue/grey hue is perfect in the lakehouse - it complements the teal tweed chairs beautifully and ties in the grey from the nearby plywood topped Ikea floating credenza and grey painted brick fireplace.

I feel emboldened to branch out and try new brands of dye because the colour choices for some of the more "professional" grade dyes are outstanding!

DIY Tablecloth From Too-Narrow (Hilarious) Fabric

This is highly classified, so you have to promise to keep this between us.  Promise?  Years ago I bought a few meters of this hilarious cowboy fabric because I liked the colours, it was on major clearance (a fabric store was having a going-out-of-business sale) and, well, the cowboy really looks like my father-in-law.  I'm not sure if he'd be amused (I'm thinking no), but I just thought it was so hilarious.  Still do, actually.  I'd show you a photo of him, but there's no need.  He looks just like this (the biggest cowboy, hat in the air):

For years I haven't known what to do with the fabric, but I'm really getting into tablecloths because teak is a softer, slightly fussier wood and if one more person sets their drink down beside their place mat, on to the teak (argh!) I will scream or cry.  So tablecloths are my new best friends.

This fabric was too narrow to just hem the edges and call it a day (darn), so here's the clever way my Mom & I pieced it together:

Cutting out & Piecing Together the Fabric:

We cut the fabric into four quarters, but had to have the fabric pattern direction change to make it work.  So, if you're sitting at the table, the tablecloth in front of you is from two pieces and to your right the pattern is right side up.  To your left, it is vertical so, to the person beside you, it's the right way up on their right.  Make sense? 

Here's a sneak peak at the finished product for a sense of orientation, although you can arrange the pattern any way you desire (you could even piece together scraps of different prints):

Making a Fell Seam:

Then we sewed together two quarters and repeated, so we had two halves.  Then we sewed the two halves together.



My Mom did a really fancy (to me, anyway) seam so that underneath the tablecloth you don't have a bunch of threads and mess.  It is called a "fell seam" and the result looks like the seam along the outside of your jeans.

Here's how:

1. Sew two pieces of fabric together, leaving a generous seam allowance.
2. Once sewn, trim one layer of fabric after the seam.
3. It should look like this.
4. Fold the longer side in half and use it to cover the cut side.
5. Iron the folded edge over the trimmed edge.
6. Then iron it flat against the fabric.
7. Lastly, sew the folded edge flat onto the fabric.

When it's done, it looks like this:

Hemming with Single Fold Bias Tape:

To make it easier to hem a curve (my tablecloth is round, but you can make a square or rectangular one and use the mitered corner tutorial), we used single fold bias tape.  Iron it, because it will have kinks from the packaging.

1. Pin down one edge, to the right side of the fabric, following the curve.
2. Sew in place.
3. Check to make sure it is sewn down everywhere and it nice and neat (no puckering, etc).
4. Sew all the way around and then overlap the ends.
5. Flip the bias tape to the wrong side (the same action you do to make a regular hem) and iron in place.
6. Sew the bias to the fabric, sewing close to the edge. 

 And then it looks like this:

Now I have a super funky tablecloth to protect the teak!

Here it is all set and ready for a meal.  It looks cute with my turquoise and green pieces:

My dear, sweet mother is going to sew some napkins, too (using this tutorial) but for now I think these vintage yellow ones look so sweet.  The little embroidered flower tones down the cowboy-ness, although I'm not trying to make it more feminine.  The feminist in me loves that I'm rocking a fabric likely made for a little boy's room.

And here's my old-lady secret: I use a vinyl table covering underneath the fabric for added protection.  Really messy folks (you know who you are) just get the vinyl. . .

Read more »

Think Pink (With Mustard Yellow!)

My mom has this uncanny ability to investigate a pile of vintage goods (sometimes even just a heap of junk) and pluck out the most amazing items.  While she was visiting we went to a flea market and she found this gorgeous vintage ochre, pink, cream and black tablecloth.  If it wasn't a square, I'd be blogging about how great it looks in my house.  (Why the heck are both our kitchen and dining tables round?  Whose idea was that?!?) 

So now she's got me hooked on another colour palette (remember the yellow & grey obsession?) and I'd like to incorporate this colour combo into my house.  I can't make it work.  But my mom is slowly directing her kitchen toward a subtle pink and yellow scheme, starting with the vintage pink Pyrex bowls she bought, and my only consolation is that, at some point, I will visit her and bask in the loveliness.

The perfect shades of mustard yellow and vintage-y pink.

The tablecloth reminds me so much of this table setting.

Design*Sponge

Read more »