An update on earlier post on fabric dyeing….a Bella Notte Whisper
coverlet that I moved from warm tones to a cool neutral…
New piece of antique French linen from La Maison Violette
Her shop of antique French textiles here
Eek…love the “mouse-y” tones of this slipper chair
at Jayson Home & Garden here
Pretty much my favorite catalog…
Farrow and Ball’s Mouse’s Back here
Again…that sort of gray…sort of brown…sable…mink…
I love this color…perfect boost of dark moodiness…
In the midst of my “dye wars” I was successful in turning a Bella Notte
silk velvet duvet from a greenish light taupe into this rich tone…
These are the dyes I use here. Certainly not easy trying to get
just the right tone…but…extremely gratifying when it works!
Always filter the dye before adding to the dye bath…I use coffee filters..
If you are lucky enough to get to Brimfield here…
Say hi to Wendy Lewis of the Textile Trunk for me. Her dyed linens here
Love your linens, so french. That last picture is fabulous, is that your bed? if it is I am green of envy! I love it.
Have a fantastic day!
XXXX Ido
It looks like we have a “colored” week! Love the “mouse back” from Farrow and Ball, used it for my particion walls at the Battersea Fair for years. Very lovely, calming, neutral and at the same time interesting color. Particularly suitable for all kind of Antiques.
And your linens and ‘textiles’ look stunning!
Heartily greetings,
xxxkarin
Dear Trish,
forgotten to say – I would dearly love to have the monogrammed linen JB! My “old” initials!
xxxk
Toni di colore bellissimi, le cifre sono stupende.
once again.. endless .inspiration…now how and when did I fall in love with my golden hues, is do love this mouse…
hugs Colette xx-luckily the mouse lives down stairs in this house…could not abandon thy at all.!
Hi, just wondering, you have apparently had no problem dyeing the Bella Notte fabrics? Someone – it seems it was a retailer, but it also seems it was someone who didn’t have a vested interest – anyway, this someone told me that the BN fabrics had a post-BN-dyeing finish on them that made dyeing them myself problematic. And yet you seem to be dyeing them all the time. Have you found any problem with they dyeing? Perhaps some of their fabrics dye better than others? I did get a couple white Madison pillow cases & in my ongoing quest to replace a destroyed (Melissa) Skye sham, i was thinking to dye the Madison cases a light blue. Any thoughts on whether this might work? Or suggestions re the type of dye? Thanks so much! Cheers, Katherine
Hi Katherine. Looks like Madison is 100% rayon satin. I have my best luck with linen and cotton pieces, though the procion dye I linked to above works on rayon as well. The silk velvet duvet above is 18% silk 82 % rayon and it worked great. I used soda ash to fix the color, and then learned that can dull silk. So I will probably not use that chemical in the future, risk the color dulling over time. I was going to give this duvet away…it was well worth the risk.
Were your ears burning yesterday Trish? I saw Wendy yesterday and took her picture and told her I was going to post it so you’ll finally get to see her in her booth. She’s so cute and is so much fun! I actually bought a piece of linen not in great shape from Wendy yesterday and am going to try my hand at dying, looks like fun!
I cannot begin to tell you how envious I am of you Debra! Shhh…Wendy’s supposed to be a dear old textile lady! (PS…I’ve seen her picture!…super cutie!).
Dear Trish,
I am in awe of you and your sense of style. I think we need to talk about possibilities to collaborate.
Hugs,
Trinidad
Trish, I’m crazy about this color as well. So funny that you call it mouse , yet so descriptive. We just finished the designer house here in Little rock and all of our fabrics were that hue. Just visited Jayson Garden and Home for the first time. Absolutely loved it. Added it to my favorites.
You are so brave. I don’t know how patient I would be with dyeing. My sister would be the one to put on that. I do love the dyed linens though, they are fabulous.
Are you friends with Debra of 5th and State? I’m thinking that you probably are. Please stop by and see the re-design she did of my gardens. I posted her plans today and they are fabulous. The way you love gardening you will really enjoy it. I learned from you again today, as always. Your the best. Mona
Trish, I love Mouse’s back FB paint color. Gray is one of our favorite colors…in all shades. Such beautiful linens and fabric on the chair!! Can’t believe you were able to dye these fabrics. Beautiful!!!
Dear Trish you are a beautifully talented artist and I absolutely love your blog. I will put an exert of your work on my blog and encourage my followers to join up and indulge in your magnificient work.
Jo
Trish, you have a wonderful color taste!! Love the mouse’s back a lot. The color of your Madame Isaac Pereire roses will be gorgeous with this grey!!
xx
Greet
What a wonderful, romantic post!
Hi Trish! I’m interested in your dying as well. Are you doing it in a tub or in the washer? Can you give a few more specifics of your dyeing techniques and discoveries, it seems you’ve had good success. Thanks!
Hi Kathy. I do it in the kitchen (stainless steel) sink. Mix dye powder with water, strain through a coffee filter, use full recommended salt to dye bath for even dyeing. Beside following the package directions….I do use color theory: I shift a yellow undertone by adding purple dye, get rid of green by adding red. I dipped the duvet above in a diluted red dye bath to get rid of the khaki green tone, then used a charcoal gray. I have all Dharma’s grays. I try to get rid of unwanted tones this way before over dyeing with a new color. Or use a gray that has purple undertones to cancel out a yellow tinge. There is a learning curve, but if you’re motivated to rescue something, it is worth the effort.
You are so brave and so inspiring! I fear I have more hesitation about dyeing, especially silks and rayons. You seem to have perfected the process. Your duvet is amazing. Mouse’s back is wonderful with such a neutral but rich palette.
Very inspiring post!
I love the title Mouse’s Back..so right.. Love the linens and the bed at the end…Love it all..thank you for your remarkable blog.
Brave girl…color magic!
I’ve missed popping in over here! The French embroidered linens make my day…so lovely. I wish I coud embroider with such grace and patience. And I agree with other readers that you are one brave girl! I’d be scared to death to dye my Bella Notte! I’m so glad it turned out well for you!
Xo,
Linsey
I just love that last pic. Beautiful mix of colours, ruffles, textures on a glorious bed. Is that in your main bedroom? Its all so perfect!
Thank you…yes that’s our master bedroom. I threw the duvet on the bed thinking I’d dye it later one more time and realized it was just perfect, after all. Serendipity…luck…!
The linens are gorgeous…love the color, but the bed…stunning!!
Trish I adore that chair in the second image. A classic! Your bed is divine!!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
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