Over the weekend, I spent a little creative time in my studio! Although, I am constantly designing…it has been a while since the last tutorial and I am excited to share the process.
I plan to showcase my home decor products at the Renegade Handmade Market in downtown Los Angeles July 26 and 27th. Every week this month, I will be preparing my product line and shop!
I thought it would be fun to create tote bags for shoppers. I have been visualizing the design on a large cotton canvas tote bag for quite some time now.
I wanted to do skinny stripes with a bright dip dyed twist!
First, I ironed the bag until it was pretty flat. Then, I sectioned off the stripes in 1″ segments. For this, I simply started at the top edge of the tote and measured 1″ down on either side, placed a mark…then drew a straight line using painter’s tape.
You will need:
- A ruler
- Pencil
- Painter’s Tape
- 1″ foam brush
- Container for dye bath
- Black Textile paint
- Jacquard Acid Dye (any color of your choice)
I decided to do five 1″ stripes in black. I smoothed on black paint with a 1″ foam brush. I experimented a bit first with only four stripes…
I couldn’t choose which one I liked the best four stripes or five…
Then, I hung them all up to dry. I even removed some tape while they were wet…some lines were a bit wiggly, but I think I like the hand printed quality goes well with the dip dye bottom.
I prepared the dye bath by following the directions on the jar. I added boiling hot water and a bit of white vinegar to the powder dye and stirred up the bath.
I was to scared to dip a bag in straight away…so I practiced on some white tea towels to get the hang of the dipping. I hung everything up to dry over some cardboard which drained to the kitchen sink…our kitchen was looking pretty in hot pink!
The next day, I hand washed the excess pigment from the fabrics which lightened them up a bit.
I think this will make a perfect tote to pack to and from design meetings, art classes and fof course trips to the beach!
I will have these totes for sale at Renegade…or you can purchase one in my shop. I would love to see what you make using this printed stripe and dip-dye technique.
Please share your projects and photos with me!
Hilary
