I have been thinking of changing my duvet cover for awhile. I have had a floral print with a vintage feel for awhile that I have loved and will probably use again eventually. But, for now I wanted something different. Since nearly every corner is visible at all times in my living space, I need (ok, want) things to be cohesive. So, I've been contemplating changes to my bed. It may still be in transition, but I think it's going in the right direction.
Here is my bed before. The striped bedspread was on clearance at Anthropologie. Who can say no to a blanket on sale at Anthropologie? Honestly.
I have been thinking of dyeing my own duvet cover for awhile. I bought a white duvet cover from Target, but at the time the white seemed to clash with the cream curtains and off-white walls. It was just too bright white.
My mind went through several color options. Peach, mauve, something saturated, something pale. I ultimately decided to go with a light neutral so I would have more freedom with accessories both on my bed and in the house in general.
So, off I went to an amazing art supply store in Little Italy. (I admit I dressed up and tried to look as artsy and as knowledgeable about art as possible. It was a satisfying outing.) I also bought a large pot at Bed, Bath and Beyond after I was denied access to various washing machines.... I literally agonized over the size of the pot, but am relieved I went with the larger one in the end.
Here are my supplies:
iDye (Ecru)
16 oz. pot
1 cup of sea salt
water
duvet cover
a bonnet (to keep the smoke from your hair and eyes, obviously)
I'm kidding about the last one, I didn't actually use a bonnet...
I had to bring the water and dye mix to a boil, then add the duvet cover and salt. It should be noted that the emerging color does not really look like the color on the dye package. I started to wonder what the final color would actually be.
It was a tight squeeze for the fabric. So, at times it was difficult to keep stirring and moving the fabric.
Imagine a pioneer stirring over a campfire by her wagon. I tried to channel that the whole time, but sometimes I forgot. After a half hour I took it out and washed and dried it.
Here's how it came out:
It's a fairly light pink. Pinker than I had thought from the color on the dye package. It was kind of strange. And it just looked blotchy. It was not as smooth as I had hoped for. That may be due to my stirring, or lack thereof. It looked a little like it had been tie dyed (so rather than a pioneer, I had channeled Dad's high school VBS volunteers) So, I just wasn't feeling it.
I did some googling on how to get it less blotchy. But since I didn't really like any of the solutions (really I was too impatient for them) I made up my own method. I heated up the dye, got a spray bottle and initially thought I would spray just on the lighter areas. Well, thirty minutes into it, I had sprayed half the cover. And felt hopeful.
I left it overnight and was pleasantly surprised with the half I had sprayed compared to the other half.
So, I sprayed the rest and put it on the bed. It's still not perfectly smooth, but it has less of a tie-dyed feel. It's also much darker and still not very ecru-like. But I like the color, it actually goes back to the original idea of peach on the bed. It's a color that makes me think of Grandma O for some reason.
I added gray pillow cases to the cream pillows I already have and put the throw I had on the couch at the foot of the bed. I like the palette that is emerging from this dyeing process.
The bedroom is coming together.
So, I didn't collect berries and I didn't have a fire burning outside to keep the dye hot. But I would have done that if I had needed to. That's how much I could have been a pioneer woman.