This has to be one of my favorite processes. The first time I did this was as an undergrad at Kansas City Art Institute. Its so much fun! The most important part of this process is to make sure that the fabric or curtains you use are made out of a natural fiber. There are many different types of dye out there, I chose Rit Dye.
To create the particular color I combined two colors.
On ritdye.com you can look up the color formula chart. This will give you the exact recipe for any color you like. It was very easy to use and worked like a charm. Always pre-wash you fabric. After washing the fabric I did not put it in the dryer. I drip dried it overnight. I brought the fabric to the office. on site. I was able to hang them in place and measure exactly where I wanted the color to transition. Where the color stops is an important visual marker and where it lands in the space matters. I wanted the line to hit right around the top/back of the office chair.
I wanted to see enough color to spark interest but not so much that the visual surprise is given away at first glance. I stood back to the entryway of the room to see where I wanted the line to be and put safety pins on the one edge of the fabric. Remove the curtain from the rod and fold the curtain in half, lining up reach side evenly and put the other safety pin on. When I got the curtains home I laid the curtains on the floor and made sure the tops lined up and pined the two curtains together. By doing this you are insuring that once dyed you will have a straight line across the window. I followed the directions on the Rit Dye container. Usually I do all my dying outside, in this case it was 10 degrees out so I opted for a well protected (with drop cloths) kitchen. It is key that the dye bath is very warm, and at this time of year inside was my only option.
Once the dye bath is complete, push the curtains in all the way up to the safely pins. The bottom of the curtains go in first and stay the longest, causing the darkest color toward the bottom of the curtains. I set the timer and every 10 mins I pulled the curtains out of the bath about 4-8 inches.
I repeated this until I got to the bottom. Each time you pull the curtains up, you are reducing the dye time, and each subsequent section gets darker. We are thrilled about how they turned out!
