Looking through my wardrobe searching for new combinations of my clothes to wear each day, I am continually struck by how many of my shirts are … white… Yes, can’t seem to break my white shirt habit; I just love white shirts and always seem to have multitudes. By white, I’m including off-white, cream, beige, etc. My Mum would confirm it’s all I wanted to wear as I was growing up, just a white T-shirt and jeans/denim skirt. I still can’t stop buying and/or making them in the dozens.
This particular tank top I’ve had for about three years and in duplicate, and I have a hankering for a yellow top, so it was off to rummage through the spice box…
Ground turmeric, in my opinion, is a very reliable yellow dyer, with a pretty good colourfast factor. You only need a tiny quantity, and it’s a damn sight cheaper than purchasing a commercial dye, not to mention kinder to the environment, so is the dye of choice for a small item like this one. Of course, if you’re dying a whole sheet set, say, and you don’t want your bedroom smelling like a curry house because you failed to rinse sufficiently well; perhaps a commercial dye may be wiser. Of course a thorough rinsing would be essential anyway if you want to avoid waking up in the morning looking like a serious case of jaundice has struck during the night…
Woah, getting off track like I always do, we’re not dying a sheet set here, just a simple tee, so…
Before…
I soaked the tank top thoroughly, sprinkled a few shakes of ground turmeric into my wash-bucket (probably about half a teaspoon) A little bit of this goes a long way, and I wanted a gentle yellow wash not a really garish bright yellow. I’ve got nothing against garish bright yellow, but not this time…
I used about half boiling water straight from the kettle, then about half cold water, then dunked in the top in one swift plunge…. followed by lots of swirling, whooshing (technical terms), soaked for a few hours for good measure, then rinsed THOROUGHLY. And I’m a good greenie, I poured the rinsings over all my pot plants…
And I have a great “new” tank top to mix and match for some new looks.
This skirt I’ve posted about previously, it’s the same pattern as the skirt I posted about yesterday, but view C. I love this new colour of the top; its an almost lime-y acidic yellow which I think will carry me through autumn and should combine well with and cheer up the grey beiges, greys and even blacks of winter. Am I starting to fantasise just a leetle of autumn/winter already? that’s because I saw on the news last night we are expecting a couple of days of over 40C, oh, joy…
Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7880 view C, printed cotton
Top; Country Road; dyed with ground turmeric
Hat; Rusty, from the surf shop at Dunsborough
Sandals; Anna, bought from Marie Claire
Tumeric as fabric dye… now there's something I should really try. I'm starting to want something yellow for spring (yes, writing form the northern hemisphere here) Does it keep its colour well when washed? And would washing it in water with vinager help to set it even better?
amazed at how little tumeric you used and how well the colour appears to have taken. Carolyn you mentioned you needed to rinse the top well after dying it. Do you need to wash it in salt or anything to stop the colour running during future washes?
What a fabulous result. It may be a good idea to set the dye in case you end up with a washing load of yellow clothes. As you know I am good at spreading red.
Turmeric? I didn't know this could dye such a wonderful yellow! May try this some day.
Hey, sorry for that omission! A good soaking in a very strong salt bath would be a good idea. However, I've worn this all day, and it's been a very hot sweaty day, and my (white) underwear is still as white as white can be…. so I take that as a good omen for washing; the shirt's composition is 100% cotton which helps somewhat.
I didn't know about dying with turmeric. Thanks for sharing. The color is pretty.
Your top turned out wonderful. I do like the color and it is a perfect match for your lovely skirt.