We have a “spare” house in the Poconos. It belonged to my in-laws, but I already told you all about didn’t I? Well because we have that house (for now) we go there on our weekends away and our family vacations. “Enjoy it while we can”, we say.
I’ve thrown out most of the bedding that had been in the house either because it was yucky or it was yuckier. Haha! Seriously though, some of the fabrics were very scratchy, weird smelling or just old and moth eaten. Even after washing. YUCKY!
I’m a “nest” kind of girl. My bed (above) is my nest and MY nest can’t have anything in or on it that doesn’t feel NICE. Even on vacation.
So I went to the thrift store looking for blankets for our visits to the Poconos house and I found 3 100% cotton blankets. The one above is a king size chenille. SCORE!
And I made it PINK! SUPER Score!
Yellow and white checks on this blanket – I over dyed it with Sunflower Yellow Dylon dye.
Make sure to wash the blankets before dying. Just detergent and water. No fabric softener. Mix the dye with hot water and stir to dissolve. I usually put it in a quart jar and swirl until it’s all dissolved. Add the dye to the washer with hot water and a handful of salt. Let set until the blanket is the color you want. Every once in a while I let it agitate but I don’t rinse until the blanket is the color I want.
Then I hung them on the line to dry. The periwinkle looking one is really a white one that I dyed lavender.
Just make sure your blankets are 100% cotton and you can make them almost any color you want. Keep in mind to dye them darker than the original. (So if it’s a brown blanket you might have to use dye remover before you add color.) Also after dying fabric in the washer make sure to re-fill it with hot water and bleach, let it set a while and then run it like you usually do. Maybe do a load of cleaning rags or towels you use to dry the dog after a bath.
Just do it! If it doesn’t turn out right you can either re-dye it or use it for something else. Afterall, I only spent $8 on all three blankets.
Thanks for the great information. I had no idea that I could dye straight in the washing machine. I always thought it would require a separate basin. Love the way you blankets turned out!