DIY with the Fab Miss B: Custom Tablecloths with Tulip Dye Kits

The nice folks at Fave Crafts recently invited me to review one of their Tulip Dye Kits. I've tried dyeing once before (remember this dress?), but this time I decided to do something for our home. I came across these Martha Stewart battenberg lace cotton tablecloths on super clearance at K-Mart ($4 each!) and thought they would be pretty for our holiday tables. (This house has three round ones! My plan is to line them up for Thanksgiving.) I also bought a few runners just for fun.



Before: Classic or Boring?

They dye packets were quite simple to use. (P.S- Aren't my new dish gloves adorable?) Fill a stainless steel sink or bucket with 1 gallon steaming water, add 1/4 cup salt, stir till dissolved and add the dye packet.

Add your dyeables (mine were all cotton, though the package says it will also work on poly blends.) and agitate for 15 minutes. Then let soak, stirring occasionally for 45. Rinse with cool water and move to washing machine.

Run a quick wash with a teeny bit of detergent and dry as usual.

I pressed them afterwards. The purple I actually dyed twice- once in blue and a second time in purple to get a richer color. Initially I felt like the mottled effect was a bit too "patchouli" for my taste, but when I finished layering the table, I decided it was just the lighthearted beachy vibe we're going for in our new Hawaiian digs. I'd like to further embellish the lace with some sequins and beads, but that will have to wait for another post.

The red color came out a delicious shade of raspberry pink. I love it.

Looks smashing with the placemats we got in Thailand.

Can you believe all those gorgeous flowers came from our backyard? I feel so lucky!

After! Add a Becky Kazana banner and this is transformed into the perfect spot for a fabulous Birthday dinner. Check out their comprehensive list of dye projects here. If you want to buy a kit yourself, visit this site and Enter the code "fave1009" for free shipping at checkout. (Expires 11/30/2009) Merci Fave Crafts!