dye Archives - Try Handmade

Artful rumple

January 11, 2021 by Erika Jurney

Sarah Clemens Clothing: I am a stay at home mom, homeschooling my 3 young kids by day and sewing by night. I love flowers and fabric and sewing, so i decided to put them all together and sell my creations!

Clothing has always been a love of mine, but nothing out there was different enough or fun enough. I’d daydream about the things I would wear if I could, and then spend hours drawing them. My mom and grandmother taught me about sewing at a young age, and over the years I taught myself everything else I know by just trying things out…

Linen is mainly what fabric I use, the way it drapes and rumples and wrinkles and all it’s little nubs and the way the dye is always just a bit muted… there is no comparison!!!

I hope my clothing makes you smile, every outfit is made with lotsa love!

Silk Dyed Easter Egg Kit from The June Bride

September 21, 2020 by Ciaran Blumenfeld

These Easter eggs from The June Bride { previously featured here and here } look like a million bucks. I’m not sure who first figured out that you could use silk prints to dye your Easter eggs, but that person deserves some sort of prize.

The problem for me, and those like me who would love to try this craft, however, is that I don’t have a bunch of patterned silk items laying about the house. I’m pretty sure that my husband would not look kindly upon me slicing and dicing his ties for the good of the eggs.

Enter The June Bride who has put together a kit containing 16 thrifted/recycled silk scraps that can be used (and reused, the scraps work more than once) to create ART eggs. Also included are the additional supplies you’ll need for this fun and surprisingly easy project. No hunting all over town and through your closet for sacrificial silk and no more ordinary pink and blue eggs for you and your kids! You’re going to have so much fun!

The June Bride also donates $1 from the sale of every kit to the American Cancer Society.

Clothing to dye for

September 18, 2020 by Helen Hobden

Tie dye is classic hippy style, but I don’t actually always like it. I think it works best when you’ve got subtle shades of the same colour happening, rather than as many different bright colours you can throw onto a t-shirt at once. Shades of pink from bright to pale to white looks girly and pretty and can be quite fairy-like. Ocean blue greens look lovely together and remind me of summer holidays and mermaids.

When I was pregnant with my first child, we were kindly given lots of hand-me-down baby clothes, including several baby-grows and vests that were once white, but were now stained and looked a bit grubby. Apart from that, they had plenty of life left in them, so we bought a couple of packets of dylon and set to work making various patterns. Not yet knowing the sex of the baby, we went for purples. We got so many compliments on those baby grows – I wish I had set up a hand-dyed baby grow business there and then. Oh well! Never mind, other people thought of it too and you can now buy some fabulously dyed outfits for babies.

A dark colour and black always looks good too; especially purple or red. This often has a pagan or witchy feel about it and is great on long dresses.

You’ve also got to be careful of the pattern. My preference is when the fabric has been scrunched and dyed for an all-over random effect. Lines across the item of clothing usually look good, but be warned of circles – the technique where you put a marble or something into the material and tie up the area around it so that afterwards you’re left with circles spreading from a central point. For some reason on men’s t-shirts, the point is right in the middle, highlighting even a slightly over-weight stomach. On women’s tops, two circles seem to always highlight the nipples – fine if you’ve got the confidence for this eye-catching look, but not so good when one of the tie-dyed circles is a bit wonky!

Sources: Mountain Girl Clothing, Singin’ a Sweet Song and ilovewaterlily.

New York Marathon: Running Fashion

August 30, 2020 by Sarah Safranski

My friend from college is running in the New York Marathon this upcoming weekend and I couldn’t be more excited for her. She’s been training for months and I can only imagine the overwhelming sense of accomplishment she’ll feel when she finally crosses the finish line, not to mention the excitement of being around so many other runners. My longest race so far has only been 10 miles, but I felt great at the end of it and hope to one day run a marathon as well, just to prove to myself that I can.

This graphic cutoff sweatshirt by Firedaughter Clothing would be a great motivator during months of training and early morning runs or a great gift for someone’s who’s completed a marathon. With bold colors and large, graphic letters screen printed onto eco-fleece, this isn’t your typical sweatshirt. Can you think of anything else so comfortable and stylish?

When you’re training for a marathon, you spend so much time running that it can feel as if you’re living in your workout clothes. After all of your hard work, the last thing you want is to feel frumpy. This tie dye t-shirt by Tie Mee is the perfect solution for runners looking to be a bit more stylish. The horizontal dye pattern is a great twist on the typical circle tie dye, and the cotton and spandex blend is sure to stay in place during your workouts.

A great pair of running pants or shorts can be key to a comfortable run. These 7/8ths foldover workout pants by Cast Couture are perfect for jogging, yet stylish enough to be worn to the grocery store. Buyers can choose between six colors and the pants can be custom sized according to specific body measurements.

I wish I could be there to cheer my friend on over the weekend. Maybe someday we’ll be able to run one together, but for now, I’m happy to start with a half marathon and work my way up.

**The linocut print featured at the top of this post was created by AnnikaLane.

Adornments

August 5, 2020 by Erika Jurney

Three Horses: I strive to create unique beautiful objects from ordinary materials. Currently I am working with various dye elements on fringe which is a surprise every time, like a science experiment. Each piece is all hand done and lives on its own.