Dye Your Own Cross Stitch Floss
written by Stacey Wells
You’ve seen all those pretty variegated hand dyed flosses?
Well wouldn’t it be nice to be able to dye your own? You could do it. This is
how I’ve dyed some of my own floss.
What You’ll Need
Rit Dye
Floss ~ white is good, but you can experiment with ecru and other light
colors for interesting color combinations
Small container
Boiling water
Paper towels
Latex or rubber gloves
What You’ll Do
Mix two tablespoons of dye with ½ of cup of boiling water.
At this point sprinkle a drop or two onto some paper towels to check colour
keeping in mind that your end colour will be lighter than what you see. Adjust
if necessary just a little at a time. Put latex gloves on. Take the paper ends
off the DMC, and holding one loop dip the floss into the dye. Now this is where
the fun, and your own technique will come in twist the floss, bend it, or just
let the dye run down the floss by itself. Trying different techniques will give
you different end results. When you think you have what you want rinse the
floss in cold water until the water runs clear. When the water runs clear put
the floss between some paper towels, and blot the floss. You don’t want to see
any dye transferred onto the paper towel. If there is dye on the paper towels
then repeat rinsing step. Keep rinsing and blotting the floss until no dye is
left onto the paper towels. Hand the skein of loss up to dry. An old clothes
hanger over a skink works well so that it can drip dry. When the floss 95% dry
put it between an old towel and iron it the rest of the way dry.
Have funs with this. I’ve tried many things sprinkling the
dye onto the floss, dunking, dunking the floss damp etc. Don’t be afraid to go
nuts I’ve yet to create something I didn’t like, and have always been pleased
with my results.
