I’ve been a fan of washed linen since who-knows-when, and the thought of a washed linen tablecloth sounds so casual, but luxe. With all of the dip dye, tye dye, and shibori going around, I wanted to give a subtle color to my linens that would add dimension to my table without being distracting. I wanted to use a warm marigold color to give all my other moody browns a greens a little lift.
It was much much easier than I had built it up in my mind to be. The longest part was washing the linen pre and post dyeing. Keep reading below if you’re interested in the step by step directions!
If you need more holiday dining room style in your life, today my Christmas dining room is being featured on Home Depot’s Style Challenge! Go see it!
Materials:
- 2.5 yards of 100% linen (cotton) fabric
- 1 package of Rit dye in your color choice
- 1.25″ wooden dowel
- Large Bucket
ONE prewash the fabric, but do not dry. With the fabric still wet, twist it into a long strand and then wrap it around your wooden dowel in a compact coil. TWO premix your dye in a small measuring cut before adding it to 3 gallons of hot water. THREE add your coiled fabric to the dye. FOUR stir well. Although package directions say to continue stirring, this is to ensure dye covereage and since we’re not concerned with that, I just let mine sit and stirred once every 10 minutes or so.
Rinse the entire cloth in the sink until the water runs clear, then wash and dry. Voila!
There are so many ways this could be done. The color possibilities are endless!
Erin | Holtwood Hipster says
Loved the packaging in your Home Depot Challenge post! The way you broke down the shibori project makes me think I might even be able to tackle this. A christmas gift perhaps? Thanks!
fatema says
Love the texture of the end results!
Mandy Pellegrin // Fabric Paper Glue says
Nice project. And beautifully styled for these photos!
Also, you did an ah-mazing job on your Home Depot challenge! Just gorgeous. You are one classy lady.
Christin says
Love this project! Did you use a white linen? Where did you find your linen?
Erin | House of Earnest says
Hi Christin, I used a natural colored linen to start. It was from Jo-ann fabrics, and you just need to ensure that you’re getting 100% cotton! They carry a lot of poly/cotton which won’t dye!
Christin says
Thank you! Can’t wait to try it! Love your blog.
Samantha says
Lovely so lovely! on a side note where on earth did you find those wooden plates!!???
Erin | House of Earnest says
Samantha – They’re from Crate and Barrel – about $5 each!
Samantha says
Wow thank you for sharing!! =D I came across your blog when I saw another posting on pinterest from your site so I’m new around here but Love your style GORGEOUS!! this may be a dumb question but are you on pinterest?
Erin | House of Earnest says
Samantha – Thank you so much for the kind words!!! yes, I’m on Pinterest! My Pinterest handle is Houseofearnest
Samantha says
Whoo hoo!! I didn’t find a button on your blog so i thought i’d ask! (= Thank You
Søgemaskine optimering køb says
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about
this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog.
A great read. I’ll definitely be back.
Eena says
I love, LOVE your dyeing technique!
But I’m confused by one thing – you say to make sure that the linen is 100% cotton. That’s an impossibility – linen ans cotton are two different fibres.
Erin | House of Earnest says
Sorry, Eena! By cotton, I really meant 100% natural (not synthetic). For some reason I wrote cotton there.
kathryn says
Such a great idea! Wondering where you picked up the lovely gold flatware? I’ve been searching for some for a while with no luck. Thanks!
Erin | House of Earnest says
It’s vintage called ‘Duri-Gold’. I gave some more details here!