Easy Tips for Dyeing Fabric

This Dip Dyed Pillow is so easy to make and creates a huge impact in any room. My tips for dyeing fabric will make you feel like a pro on your first attempt at dyeing! Pinky promise!

Looking for more DIY projects like this one? Try these:

This post is all about easy tips for dyeing fabric and the DIY pillow I created! I have wanted to try dyeing fabric for decorating purposes for a while now. I have dyed towels and watched my mom dye fabric pretty often. She would re-dye her towels whenever they looked dingy and faded. I love this method and the dipped sides are such a cute look for this pillow and the perfect pop of pink I was going for! Here’s how to do it along with my tips for dyeing fabric.

Materials:

A plastic bin
Ikea Gurli Pillow Cover (I used 20×20)
Tulip Fabric Dye
Straight Pins
Clothespins (optional)
Wooden Spoon (optional)

How to Dye Fabric

Step-by-Step

Prep the dye.
Fill a plastic bin with hot water and start stirring in the dye. I recommend starting with small amounts and then adding more as you go.
Prep the fabric.
Choose where you want the dye to be and pin it off.
Start dipping the fabric!
Dip the fabric until you get the correct color and make sure it dries completely until using it!

Detailed Steps

Fill plastic bin with hot water to be at least 6 inches deep. Stir in dye, starting with a small amount and adding more as desired. Dip a sample strip of fabric or paper towel to test the color.

If too dark, add water; if too light, add dye. Let the dye and water settle, so there are no bubbles at the surface.

Decide where you want the top of the dyed band to be; use pins to mark that line on fabric. I did 4 inches here.

Holding your fabric as straight as you can, dip into dye solution to just below the pin line (make sure you don’t dip the pins; the fabric will wick the dye higher). Keep fabric in dye until it turns the desired color (it will dry slightly lighter). Repeat, repeat, repeat. Dip continuously in an up and down motion until your color starts to get close to the color you want it.

If you need to rest, carefully lay your fabric over the side of the bin and use clothespins to clip it to the side of the bin so it’s nice and secure. You don’t want it to slip and ruin your hard work! I left mine in the solution for about 15 minute to rest.

Easy Tips

Next, rinse your fabric in the sink. Try not to get the white part wet if you can help it. Place the dyed side in the sink and rinse, rinse, rinse until the water starts to look clear. Hang it over the bathtub, sink or clean bin and let it dry a little so you aren’t dealing with a drippy mess for the next step.

Once it’s dry, complete the entire process over again with the other side of the pillow. Rinse and allow to dry.

I love the pop of pink this fun pillow added and I love how inexpensive this DIY is! This post on tips for dyeing fabric is super helpful and is a great refresher for beginners.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my living room makeover here and my Felt Scalloped Pillow Tutorial here.

mariafelicia magno

October 6, 2015 at 12:41 pm

good idea…thanks for sharing..i want to try to make this at home

Corey @ TinySidekick

October 9, 2015 at 5:55 pm

Hi Mallory and Savannah,

This is really nice! I can use this to complement on any home decor projects. =)

Thank you and have a great day!

Veronica Marks

November 18, 2015 at 3:01 pm

Thanks for the tip to make sure there aren’t any surface bubbles. It’s little things like that that I don’t usually think about! I’m excited to try this for some pillows for my daughter’s room!

Tarun Modi

December 31, 2015 at 6:22 am

Both creativity and expertise join here! Thanks for the tips to evolve our freedom of new thoughts and give good work!