Not So Cheesy Dyed Cheesecloth!

Ever dyed Cheesecloth?  I had not, but I wanted to give it a try.  My son is getting married to a really sweet girl in March.  I needed some pretty cheesecloth for the rehearsal dinner tables.  I looked around online and got some good advice.  Then, I gave it a try.

Here we go!  

First, I ordered 50 yards of cheesecloth (about 4 pounds, I weighed it) from Amazon.  Click HERE for the specific cheesecloth.  I had read that Grade 90 was the best so I purchased Grade 90.

Also, I ordered Rit Dye on Amazon.  I like in a small town and did not feel like running from store to store looking for the dye.  

Also, I went to Rit Dye website for a wealth of information.  Click HERE for the Rit Dye website.  Rit Dye website also has color formulas so you can determine the exact mixture of different liquids to mix to get your favorite color.  Click HERE for color fomulas.  I wanted Island Paradise, so I used 3/4 cup of aquamarine and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon yellow.

I scribbled some basic directions down to refer to as the process went down.

I placed a towel, a plastic tablecloth, and a metal bucket in the floor.

I poured 3 gallons of water into 2 pots.  I added a cup of salt.  I let them get to a boiling point.  I read that the water was supposed to be 140 degrees, but I just went ahead and let it boil. 

As the water boiled, I soaked the cheesecloth in the sink.

Once the water boiled, I poured both pots into the bucket.  I added the dyes.  I added 1/4 cup of Aquamarine and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon yellow.  Also, I squirted about a teaspoon of  Dawn Dishwasher Detergent.

I stirred the pot.  Folks, I hope this is the only kind of pot that you see me stirring.  

Once again, I boiled 3 gallons of water. Then, I added it to the bucket, too!  So I had 6 gallons of water in the bucket.  I had 1/2 cup of aquamarine dye and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon yellow dye in the bucket.

I stirred and decided to start with the cheesecloth.

So, I added the cheesecloth.  In about 10 minutes, I just did not like the color of the cheesecloth.  I may be impatient, but I decided to add the rest of the bottle of aquamarine to the bucket.  (a total of 1 cup of aquamarine in the bucket)  Once I added the entire bottle, I liked the color a lot!

Here's me stirring with a walking stick!

I let the cheesecloth sit for about an hour and then, I started to pull the cheesecloth out of the bucket and squeeze the dye out.

After much squeezing, I finally finished.  My fingers were blue and I had a blister, so I was blue.  There is nothing worse that a blister on the hand of an art teacher.

I realized I had 6 gallons of water to get out of the house.  Oh my!

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Watch how I did it!

Okay, I had various comments online about drying in dryer of hanging to dry.  I chose to wash.  Here are the settings.  I added my regular detergent amount for a normal load of clothes.

I did not totally dry the cheesecloth.  I let it all hang out!

I said, "Let It All Hang Out!"

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