How to Dye Fabric {with your washing machine}

Why would anyone possibly want to dye fabric?? I get for making your own clothes, or maybe quilting, or sewing, or something else that this girl doesn't do. But seriously - I never thought I would be purchasing fabric dye - using it - and loving it. But I did. To make a DIY Baby Wonka Bar Costume. Click the link to read all about that little Halloween chocolatey adventure! I needed a brown baby nightgown, but that kind of didn't exist either. Anything I found was too patterned or way too pricey. ENTER: FABRIC DYE. I ordered a white, cotton baby nightgown off Amazon for $13 {plus free shipping through Amazon Prime}, plus the $3 bottle of fabric dye and my project is costing me less than $20. And it REALLY WAS EASY! The fabric dye instructions are clear and, if you follow them, you won't fail. Oops. I didn't follow them the first time and, yep, I failed. Turns out - fabric dye does not like polyester. So don't do it. Don't try. Don't think you'll be the magic exception, because you won't be, like I wasn't. Just stick with the approved fabrics. CLICK HERE for a link to the FAQ section of Rit Dye's website. It was super helpful and answered any questions I had! I only used RIT Dye, because it is sold at Joanns, so easy to obtain that first errr second bottle of dye.

Supplies

• Fabric dye
• Fabric
• Washing machine {I used my washing machine, but you can do it by hand!}
• Dr Pepper {yep, a total necessity for the wait time during washing}

 The Fun Part

• Set the temperature to wash HOT and rinse COLD.
• Set the cycle to wash twice and rinse once. My washing machine has an 'auto soak' setting, so it basically washes it for a long time, then rinses once. If yours doesn't have this setting, just watch for when the wash cycle finishes, then RESET to wash again.
• Start the water running. Wait until it gets about half full, then add the fabric dye. I used the entire bottle, just to be sure, and I knew I wouldn't need to save it for any reason. The link above to the FAQ section of RIT Dye gives details on how much to use depending on what you're dying.
• The fabric needs to be unfolded and damp before adding to the dye. This is super important! I didn't unfold my fabric on one item and it came out splotchy! I just use the running water to dampen my fabric.
• Once your fabric is damp and unfolded, add to your lovely dyed water.
• Sit back - drink that DP - and wait for the magic to happen.

That's it! If you have to reset your washing machine after the first wash part, remember to pay attention, so you don't miss it. I hang my fabric to dry. The End!

SOOO easy, right?? I can't wait to try other fabrics for other projects. Fabric dye has kind of opened up my mind to a whole new world of color. Don't let not finding the right color of fabric or clothing item for your project stop you from fulfilling your chocolatey Wonka-y dreams.

"We are the music makers...and we are the dreamer of dreams." - Willy Wonka

 

DIY Baby Wonka Bar Costume

It all started when a certain spouse of mine decided Ava should be a WONKA bar for Halloween. *sigh* He might have a slight obsession with the Willy Wonka movie -- the old one -- not the Johnny Depp version. Well, you can't just go out and BUY a baby wonka bar costume. They don't exist. Even if you could, I wouldn't, because Halloween costumes cost one gajillion dollars. So I knew I had to get my craft on if I was going to make my husband's Halloween dream come true. And it really wasn't even that hard. I can't sew. Nope! I even have my grandmother's sewing machine, but I've never learned. That's definitely on my TO DO list. But, until then, it's a no-sew life for me. I decided to use fabric dye and fabric paint to make Ava's wonka bar costume. Like I said earlier - it wasn't even that hard. YES - I did fail the first time I tried fabric dye. And YES - I thought about giving up. And YES - I did eat almost 100 mike & ike's out of frustration. But it all worked out in the end.

SO.

To check out how to dye your fabric brown, click HERE for my Fabric Dye Tutorial.

In order to do this, you will need my Wonka Bar Costume stencil. You can find it {along with my other Free Printables & Stencils} by clicking on the links below:

WONKA BAR STENCIL {freezer paper}

WONKA BAR STENCIL {silhouette studio file}

Now, don't you feel super special knowing you are one of the ONLY people on the planet to have a Wonka bar baby costume stencil??!!!! Welcome to the cool kids club.

I'm definitely a visual learner, so the rest of the tutorial will be through pictures. Have fun! And remember -- candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.

**Note: I used fabric paint, because I'm kind of obsessed with it, but you could use heat transfer material, too. Just cut out the different shapes and letters in the colors you want. That would work quite splendidly!**

Pull up the stencil file in Silhouette Studio. You'll have to change the settings to looks like these. The main ones to note are:  change the width to 9 and the height to 15 and change the cutting mat to NONE. These are the settings I used for a 6-12mths size baby nightgown. You can adjust to whatever size you need. 

**Hover over top left of photo to PIN!**

1. Load your vinyl in your Cameo or Portrait. I used 9" vinyl, but you can use 12" as well. 

2. In Silhouette Studio, send the file to the Cameo to cut. Once you choose the Vinyl as the item you're cutting, the rest of the settings change for you. Remember to make sure you have your blade in your Cameo set to what setting it shows on your computer screen. Once it's all set, press CUT! Sit back, and watch the magic.

3. Cut off your vinyl stencil!

4. Using your hook tool for assistance, peel away the letters and border, so you have the negative space left.

**here's a tip. if you don't have a hook tool {yet!}, i've used a fondue fork or even scissors to help peel away the vinyl. but the hook tool works the best!**

5. Apply the transfer tape to the front of your stencil. I peel a small portion off and press it on the end of the stencil, then peel & roll the rest of the tape over the stencil. Peeling all the tape off and then applying it to the stencil makes for lots of wrinkles.

6. Flip the stencil over and use your scraper tool to adhere the vinyl to the transfer tape.

7. Peel the transfer tape backing off. I use my hook tool to help press down any vinyl that didn't stick.

8. Keep that shiny backing piece. You'll use it later!

 9. Apply the stencil to your fabric. Carefully remove the transfer tape. Press over your stencil to make sure there are no bubbles.

10. Insert the shiny backing from the transfer tape you saved in Step 8 inside the nightgown. This will keep any fabric paint from bleeding through to the other side. What's nice about using this backing is that it doesn't stick to the dried paint!

11. Use your fabric paint to paint over the stencil. This is the fun part! Let dry for several hours {I usually leave mine overnight}. Peel away stencil and view your beautiful, delicious, scrumdiddlyumptious Wonka Bar!!

 As you can see, this is fun for a family Halloween costume set, but I think it would be cute for a Wonka themed birthday party! Which, knowing that certain spouse of mine, I could see being requested in the future.

xo

Here's more spooky inspiration for you {the coolest person ever!}:

Halloween Maternity Skeleton Shirt

Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

Candy Corn Cocoa {Halloween gift idea!}