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Natural Dyed Drop Cloth Table Runner

Natural Dyed Drop Cloth Table Runner

I am still getting through my drop cloth projects.  To be honest I love working with this fabric.  It is 100% cotton and has a nice feel to it. If you have been following the blog you know that I bleached this drop cloth when I started out so it seems a little counter intuitive to now be dying it but I absolutely wanted to show you this technique.  I have yellow as an accent color in my home so I decided to use turmeric as the natural ingredient to my dye. I was so pleased with how this project came out that I had to share it with you.  

Of course you can find turmeric in any supermarket if you want to dye your project yellow but there are other natural products that can be used for dying projects.  For example, purple cabbage, beets, orange peel, and spinach make excellent natural dyes. But today we are going to concentrate on turmeric. Of course, you can dye any project that you want.  You can dip dye, tie dye, or immerse your project.  Whatever look you want can be achieved with this technique. So lets get going. 

What you will need

step 1: Natural dyed drop cloth table runner

Create your table runner or other project using a light colored natural fiber fabric such as bleached drop cloth or muslin.  Keep in mind that I previously bleached my drop cloth.  If you want to bleach yours head over to my tutorial on how to make a pom pom throw for complete instructions.  For this project I cut the drop cloth down the middle seam so that there is basically a manufacturers edge around three sides of the runner.  I hemmed one long side so there were no raw edges.  My runner is quite long.  It measures 85″ x 19″ to take advantage of the manufacturer’s edges. You can make yours any size you want.    

step 2: Natural dyed drop cloth table runner

Place your runner or other project in a pot of water that contains about a tablespoon of vinegar.  This will help the dye to permeate better.  Wring out the water-vinegar mixture but do not dry the runner. 

Natural Dyed Drop Cloth Table Runner
Soak in Vinegar and water

 

step 3: Natural dyed drop cloth table runner

Place 9 Cups of water into a pot with 3 tablespoons of turmeric and bring to a simmer.  You can use a smaller amount of water and turmeric so long as it is in the same ratio depending on your project.  Simmer for a few minutes until all of the turmeric has dissolved and you reach the rich yellow color that you are looking for.  This shouldn’t take too long.  

Natural Dyed Drop Cloth Table Runner
Mix in the Turmeric

step 4: Natural dyed drop cloth table runner

Dip your project into the pot and watch the magic happen.  I decided to keep some of my runner white and only died the ends. Leave the project in the dye until you reach the color that you want. I allowed it to continue simmering on a low heat.  The longer you leave the fabric in the dye the more vibrant the color will be.  I dipped both ends of my project at the same time and let it simmer for 30 minutes to get the color that I wanted.  You can leave yours in longer or shorter depending on the color that you want.  This is a perfect project for tie die if you want to use that method I say give it a go.  

Dip the runner into the turmeric solution

step 5: Natural dyed drop cloth table runner

Once you reach the color that you want, remove the project from the dye and rinse thoroughly.  Let dry.  I let mine dry in the sun but that is not necessary.  You could put it in the dryer but because my runner still had white parts to it I did not want to risk dye getting on the rest of the runner.  Set with an iron and you have completed your natural dyed drop cloth table runner.  

Natural Dyed DIY Table Runner
Rinse thoroughly
Natural Dyed drop cloth table runner
Let Dry

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Natural Dyed Drop Cloth Table Runner

Natural Dyed Drop Cloth Table Runner

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $5

This is a naturally dyed bleached drop cloth table runner.

Materials

Tools

  • Large Pot
  • Stove

Instructions

  1. Create your table runner or other project using a light colored natural fiber fabric such as bleached drop cloth or muslin. Keep in mind that I previously bleached my drop cloth. If you want to bleach yours head over to my tutorial on how to make a pom pom throw for complete instructions. For this project I cut the drop cloth down the middle seam so that there is basically a manufacturers edge around three sides of the runner. I hemmed one long side so there were no raw edges. My runner is quite long. It measures 85" x 19" to take advantage of the manufacturer's edges. You can make yours any size you want.   
  2. Place your runner or other project in a pot of water that contains about a tablespoon of vinegar. This will help the dye to permeate better. Wring out the water-vinegar mixture but do not dry the runner. 
  3. Place 9 Cups of water into a pot with 3 tablespoons of turmeric and bring to a simmer. You can use a smaller amount of water and turmeric so long as it is in the same ratio depending on your project. Simmer for a few minutes until all of the turmeric has dissolved and you reach the rich yellow color that you are looking for. This shouldn't take too long.  
  4. Dip your project into the pot and watch the magic happen. I decided to keep some of my runner white and only died the ends. Leave the project in the dye until you reach the color that you want. I allowed it to continue simmering on a low heat. The longer you leave the fabric in the dye the more vibrant the color will be. I dipped both ends of my project at the same time and let it simmer for 30 minutes to get the color that I wanted. You can leave yours in longer or shorter depending on the color that you want. This is a perfect project for tie die if you want to use that method I say give it a go.  
  5. Once you reach the color that you want, remove the project from the dye and rinse thoroughly. Let dry. I let mine dry in the sun but that is not necessary. You could put it in the dryer but because my runner still had white parts to it I did not want to risk dye getting on the rest of the runner. Set with an iron and you have completed your natural dyed drop cloth table runner.  

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