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How To Dip Dye Macrame
How To Dip Dye Macrame
From the designer: "There are so many beautiful colors of rope and cording available for textile artists. Nonetheless, the effects you can achieve if you dip dye macrame projects yourself are quite beautiful. I recently completed a fun macrame wall hanging I’ve named Fun with Sennits (tutorial on my blog), but I wanted to give it a bit more flavor. With a little time and $6 worth of fabric dye, I totally transformed it into something bold and vibrant. "
Estimated CostUnder $10
Time to CompleteIn an evening
Primary TechniqueGeneral Crafts
Materials List
- Rit dye - one dark color and one lighter color
- plastic gloves
Instructions
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To achieve an ombre effect, use two different colors of Rit dye. Mix each color in a separate bucket according to package instructions. For this project, I used purple and indigo.
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Be sure to cover your work area and floor with cardboard or a plastic tarp for protection. It is also a good idea to wear plastic gloves.
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Also, before starting, submerge your macramé project in plain water; it absorbs the dye much easier if it is wet.
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Once the wall hanging is fully damp, dip it into the lightest color about two-thirds of the way up. Cotton rope absorbs dye readily, so I only had to keep the wall hanging in about 15 minutes.
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Next, I lifted it out of the dye about 8″ and left the rest in for 15 minutes longer. I probably should have kept the first dip in for less time to have a more pronounced difference. Next, I switched to the bucket of indigo dye and only dipped it in about one-third of the way up; I kept it in for about 45 minutes.
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Finally, I lifted the tapestry out, leaving only the bottom part submerged in the indigo dye. I left it in for another hour.
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You have to just experiment with different colors and times. The two colors I chose were both fairly dark, so the contrast was not as great had I used a light dye and a dark one. Nonetheless, I was still pleased with the subtle ombre effect.
NotesFind this tutorial on my blog.
