Trying to Dye Lace

Over the years I’ve bought lace. Some came from a variety of stores (one specifically in Hawaii) and thrift stores. My idea of buying lace was to use it as a stencil. See my tutorial here about that. That was fun, but I also wanted to dye it. I assumed in the beginning of my collecting that they were all made of natural fibers so I’d be able to dye them with my fiber reactive dyes. I was pretty wrong about that.

 

Since I’m in the dyeing mode, I thought it was time to test out some of the lace with my turquoise dye. It’s interesting how they all dye differently depending on how much natural fibers they contain.

In this picture I show the original lace next to the dyed. Evidently the ribbon was polyester in the top sample since it didn’t dye at all. I love how the dye changed the pearl ribbon.

Here is another example where you can see the original and then the dyed piece. The lace on the left contains a lot of natural fibers, but not all. The second piece is pretty much all natural.

And another one to show you the before and after.

Lastly is one I knew would dye well. Isn’t that turquoise one yummy?

It’s interesting to see the color shift for those pieces which are a mix of natural and man made fabric. The white lace is beautiful, but when color is added it just adds that extra pop.

Meanwhile, I decided the other night to play with some beads, again staying with this turquoise theme. These could be used in junk journals, attached to a purse, or even put on a necklace. It’s been awhile since I’ve messed with my beads.

That’s all for now. Hope you are having a good week. More turquoise to come!!