Supplies
- 1 1/8 yards of 54″ linen (for nine 13″x16″ or six 13″x18″ sized place mats) ; I used regular weight linen, washed and dried (it shrank 5″ width wise)
- Rit dye in Fuchsia; I used the powder variety mixed in a clean stainless steel sink 1/3 full of hot water
- optional; Thread that matches your dye
Instructions
- Measure your washed and dried linen and see what size place mat you want and how many you can get from after any shrinkage.
- Make a tiny cut where you want to tear, then just rip the linen along the grain. It will be a little (or a lot) crooked.
- Fill up a clean stainless steel sink or a large stainless steel pot about 1/3 full with hot water and mix in Rit dye according to package instructions.
- Dip one short edge of a linen piece into the sink/pot for a minute or two. Lay on a plastic trash bag to dry (requires a lot of counter or floor space–if you don”t have pets/children that will walk on drying dyed linen pieces!!!!). (dipped edge on trash bag image)
- When the dipped edge is dry (took mine over 24 hours living in the humid South East), repeat the dip dye process on the other short edge of each linen piece. My dye traveled as high as I dipped the edge of the fabric into the dye, but for Bri at Design Love Fest–who inspired this project–her Dharma Labs dye continued to travel up the linen (getting softer and more faded looking as it dried–the ombre look). It was stunning, but soft. Very different from mine. She also used two colors of dye, where I only used one. Different, but I am still pleased with mine.
- When both edges are dry, you have the option to sew matching thread along all four edges in two close straight stitched lines above the place you”d like to prevent further unraveling of the linen. Regardless if you decide to sew around the edges, you”ll want to complete the project by washing your dip dyed linen place mats in warm water (gentle cycle, with detergent) to set the color permanently.
The Honest Truth
When I got through the first step of this DIY (tearing the linen), I thought, “OH NO! I”m going to end up on PinterestFail.com”. My linen was not evenly tearing like Bri”s at Design Love Fest. I am blaming it on the weight of my linen. I don”t know what she meant by “heavy weight linen” or where to find it, so I bought what seemed like regular linen at Hobby Lobby. And it tore kind of catty-wampus like. Hmmm.
Then moving on to the dye phase, where I used a dye that she mentioned in her tutorial (Rit Dye), and I found that it was not creeping softly up the linen as Bri”s had. Rather, my dye left a pretty dramatic demarcation of dyed fabric and undyed fabric. Is this because I didn”t use the “non-required” soda ash? I suppose I”ll never know.
So there you have it, my dip dye place mats have got me ready for spring, though they look nothing like the originals that inspired me to take on this project. Ultimately I don”t see this as a Pinterest fail, or a DIY fail. It”s just a project that made me embrace a few happy accidents. This is just one of those projects that has the potential for a huge spectrum of varying results. And isn”t that kind of beautiful? Take that PinterestFail.com!!
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These are super cute! I’ve dip-dyed a shirt before, so I think I could do these without too much trouble. Thanks for sharing!