Using Turmeric As Dye
Hello Readers. I like to play around and dye my clothes sometimes to change things up. I read somewhere that you could use turmeric as a dye. Was it true? I really wanted to try it for myself. Let's cook up some turmeric!
Best Turmeric!
Before and after. I used this pre-washed off-white cashmere sweater. I thought it would be a neutral test for the spice dye since it was a natural fiber. (Polyester fabrics don't always dye as well.) Let's see what happens with this sweater.
Turmeric has health benefits and is used for cooking. That meant I had some on hand to use for this dye project. I thought it would be an environmentally friendly way to dye clothes and fabric. But would it work well?
Here is a look at my stock pot with 1 1/2 gallons of simmering water and a jar of turmeric powder.
Some research on Google taught me that I needed to simmer the clothes for an hour in BIG pot of water and turmeric stirring often. So that is what I did. I used multiple utensils to keep the sweater under the water when I needed to take s break. I wanted to make sure the sweater stayed submerged under the water.
This sweater really needed a bath. The sweater was dripping yellow everywhere and it smelled kind of fruity. I put it in the washer alone and washed and rinsed it twice. I dried it on low.
You can see how well the sweater took the new color. I was really impressed at how strong the color was. I loved the new color. I also liked that it was completely non-toxic and environmentally friendly too. Thanks for reading along now go make something fun for yourself. Update- This sweater has lasted 3 years so far. It still looks nice and mustard-like.
Chickie
Hello again Readers. I got quite a few comments about this cashmere sweater shrinking in the hot water of the dye bath. This sweater had been washed and dried in the dryer many times. It was a hand-me-down from my mother in law so I didn't worry about shrinking. You should check the label of your garment before using this dye method. If you are worried the fabric might shrink, this method is probably not a good choice. I took a few more pictures of this sweater to show the sleeves are still full length. (I had pushed them up in a previous picture.) I hope this helps to make this project more understandable. And I apologize for the confusion. Thanks for all your comments, I love to hear from readers and I love that some of you were trying to help each other.
Chickie
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How much turmeric is in a jar? Just wondering how much to use
Why didn’t the cashmere sweater shrink in the boiling water?