It’s funny that in yesterday’s post I had found those teal dip dyed curtains because a few months ago I actually made some myself for my home office! I had stashed away the tutorial because back in April I submitted it in hopes a certain publication would pick it up but alas, it’s now officially August & I think it’s safe to assume it didn’t make it. Good news is that means I can put it on here & share it with you. (:
I know these look intimidating, heck I even had the supplies sitting in my laundry room for a good month before I got up the guts to give it a go but honest to goodness it was not that bad. Truth! In fact, I’d say this is a great project for the first time dye-er who has always wanted to try their hand at customizing their fabric items. I dyed the panels with powder fabric dye, a Rubbermaid tub, a curtain rod & my bathtub.
The entire project was completed in one afternoon & the end result is a great way to add a pop of color into your home decor, I absolutely love the warm glow the bright pink gives my craft room. It has a soothing effect that was completely unexpected & in this house, anything that’s soothing & doesn’t carry jail time is MORE than welcome.
I decided it would be easiest to get the most continuity between the panels by dyeing them together. I hung a cheap-o tension rod in my bathroom over the tub & then secured the panels by pulling them over the rod until they were shortened enough that the entire area I wanted to dye was in the plastic tub below, I pinned the panels in place with pins. Next I took the panels out of the tub & set them aside while I mixed up the dye. (They were still attached to the tension rod, just not IN the plastic tub) I’m not gonna lie, I did not follow the package directions because the package directions confused me. I just put 3 packs of Rit Powder Dye in Fuchsia in the tub & filled it until it was about 8″ deep with hot water. I used a long wooden spoon to mix the dye until it was completely dissolved & then gently placed the panels back in the tub. I used the spoon to press on the towels gently so they’re completely, and as evenly as possible, submerged. Set a timer for 30 minutes & keep all creatures human or non away from that bathroom to avoid catastrophe! 
After 30 minutes I carefully raised the panels up around 12″ & repinned them. The part out of the water will be the lightest part of your finished panel. Oh, and don’t worry about how dark it is now, much of the dye will end up rinsing off. Set the timer again for 30 minutes & then repeat the process. In the end the last section will have sat in the dye for an hour & a half.
Now this is the only tricky part. Rinsing. Well, not so much rinsing as the removing. I didn’t want to take a chance that the dye would stain my white tub if I rinsed them in there so I chose to ever so carefully raise them out of the water, squeeze out the excess dye (wear gloves my friend or you’ll regret it) & then carefully lower the dyed portion into a garbage bag. I transported them outside to my back deck & then hung them over the side & rinsed them with a hose until the water ran clear. I was really careful about this last part of the process because I didn’t want to get any splatters of hot pink dye on the top parts of the white panel. That would suck.
I let them dry in the sunshine & then ran them through a quick cycle in the dryer to soften them up. This did get a little hint of pink of some of the top parts of the panel but nothing you can really even notice. In fact, I kind of like it.
Here are some other rooms from Pinterest that used dip dyed curtains, it’s bold statement but I say go for it!
(from left to right: Orange Curtains, Baby Pink, Blue with Couch, Blue with Stool)
I loooooove this idea. I will definitelty be trying it since I’m a beginner in anything dyi.
So pretty!! I’ve been wanting to do this. Now that I have that you’ve given us a disaster-proof tutorial, I might have to make it happen.
Ughhh, disaster proof?? Nothing I ever do is disaster proof lol and I take no responsibility if you end up with a hot pink bathtub! (;
I just had a ‘why didn’t I think of that?!!’ moment I have plain white curtains in my work space/party central/craft room that I hate and this gives me a little inspiration….thanks!
Yay!! They really do make me happy when I look at them, I say go for it asap!
I love this (and the fact that they’re pink!) I noticed in the picture from yesterday’s post (the teal ombre dyed curtains), yours, and the pins from Pinterest were all dyed starting around the middle of the curtain. Is this because it looks better that way or is it preference? I’d like to attempt doing the entire curtain ombre but if it’s overkill….I’d prefer not too.
I guess it depends on what you’re going for and how much light will be coming through them…the ones in my sewing room for instance are used for privacy also so a lot of light comes through them, if they were all pink the room would look like I had a neon light on, lol! On the other hand if you did something more muted light a pale blue that gradiated to teal then I think the entire curtain would look awesome! I also chose to only dye the bottom third because I was going for the boldness of the white against the bright pink. If you go for it be sure to send me pics!!
What a genius idea Natasha! I have been looking forever on what to do with those plain white sheet curtains my husband got on sale in the spring. I love the orange with the red idea. That would look so amazing in our living room. Thanks!
Yay! You’re so welcome! I love love love the red orange combo too! Please email me a pic if you do it!
I agree with Wendy. This is genius, these would look so great in my daughter’s room. She’s been talking to us about re-doing her room she’s 14 now and doesn’t like the pink clouds curtains any more (teenagers right?), so I’m thinking about doing this project for her before school starts. It’ll be a great way to add her own custom touch to her room. Great post!
Yay! I’m so glad it inspired you!
Where is that cat pillow from?! So funky!
LOL, I love that pillow. I bought it in a hotel gift shop in Salt Lake City. I almost didn’t too because the pricetag was a little silly for a purple cat pillow but now I’m so glad I did, it makes me smile every time I go in my ‘office’.
Hello! I featured your ombre curtains in my monthly blog series, Get Your Color On!. Each month I select a color, provide tips on how to decorate with it, and feature other bloggers with their projects that relate to this color.
This month’s post is all about pink, so I featured your curtains because I love how they’re an easy yet powerful way to add texture and color into a space. They really add an extra punch of happiness to your room!
Feel free to grab a featured button and check out my post at Get Your Color On! Pink. Thanks for sharing your wonderful creativity!
Oh wow, thanks so much!! What a cool idea!