Thursday, August 16, 2012

Little man's birthday outfit, pt. 1

In two days, my baby turns two.
Two! 
It's so interesting the perspective that you get as a second-time-around mom.  I remember thinking of my daughter as a big girl at this age.  I expected much more from her than I do from my son.  And she almost aways gave it to me.  But with Ash, I still see him as a baby boy.  I carry him everywhere.  I shadow him and help him and coddle him... because I just can't see him as a big boy.  He's the last of my babies (officially) and I want to keep him little for a long long time.
But I want to dress him like a man ;)

For Asher's first birthday, we went all out.  First birthdays in Hawaii are a big deal, and we knew we only had so many shindigs left to throw with our friends there, anyway, so we really had fun with it.  But this time around, his day will be a "small kine party".  We leave the day after to travel down to Disney, which is his real celebration, and honestly, I haven't really helped score him any little buddies here to invite over to celebrate.  Bad mom.
But we'll do a little somethin' somethin'.  Cake and a fun day at the playground maybe?  Whatever the plans, he'll look good doing it.



This post will be in three parts- or four if you count the obligatory blowing-out-the-candles birthday post.  
Today I'll share how to use turmeric to dye fabric, tomorrow I'll share the vest tutorial, and Saturday I'll add on the bow tutorial.  And the obligatory blowing-out-the-candles post, too, I'm sure. 


Start out with some light colored natural fabric.  I used a cream linen, pictured on the left, and a darker muslin with a fair amount of fabric variation.



Bring a pot of water to almost boil, and stir in a couple spoonfuls of turmeric.  I used two heaping spoons worth, and had a medium sized saucepan.  If you use a big chili pot (which is best if you've got larger fabric pieces) toss in a couple more spoonfuls.  


Stir it all up...


And lower in your fabric.  You want to "agitate" the fabric, stirring and mixing and turning it so that it dyes evenly.  Keep the heat on, but it doesn't need to boil or anything.  Keep it in there, monitoring for uneven spots, for five minutes or so.  


Then rinse it in cold water.  Be careful to avoid splashing on your clothing.  Turmeric...dyes.  


Also be aware that the utility sink in your rental house may not be actually attached to the plumbing.  
Here's the requisite "mess" for this project....


Once it's all rinsed (water runs clear) do another rinse in a cold water and white vinegar.  This will help lock in the color. Let it hang dry. 


What an awesome color, huh!?!



No comments:

Post a Comment