DIY Dyed Hearts

For our Valentine window decorations this year, we made these adorable hearts using wire hangers, Procion Dye, canvas, and hot glue! It is definitely a bit of an involved project, but well worth it.

Materials: (items in bold you can buy from collage)

- canvas or muslin strips 1in x 5ft (available at alberta & division)

-hot glue
-wire hanger
-wire cutters
-1ft dowels
-clothes pins
-drop cloth
-4, 5 gallon buckets
-salt
-rubber gloves
-Soda Ash
-Jacquard Procion dye (we used navy, fushia, and hot pink)


It is important to have a ventilated space to do this project in. A clothes line and a room you can wipe down is a must!

First tear your canvas into strips. Then bend your wire hangers into hearts. We used this tutorial for the bending, but we opted to bend the hook part down. 

Next position the canvas strip underneath the wire and apply hot glue. Fold the canvas strip over, so it becomes glued. Continue the wrap & glue process until you run out of canvas.

Now for the dyeing process! Set up your 5-gallon buckets in a well ventilated room, over a drop cloth. One bucket will be filled with just water and the other three are for dye.

Put enough water in a bucket to cover the material you will be dyeing. Put your hearts in and soak for 20 minutes-1 hour. It is crucial for the fabric to be soaked through for the dye process to work correctly.

Measure our 3 gallons of water into the remaning three of your buckets. Add 1/4 cup soda ash & 2 cups of salt to each. Then add dye (we added 2/3oz to each). Stir with a dowel rod for about 2 minutes. 

Next is the most satisfying part: dyeing! Always wear gloves when you handle dye (we were too excited and forgot to put them on during measuring!). 

 If you want an ombre look: Dunk your hearts in all the way and after two seconds, take part of them out of the dye. Wait five minutes and pull the heart out until just the end is in the dye. Hold for another five minutes. 

If you want an all over dye, just leave the hearts submerged in the dye for about 5-10 minutes (depending on how saturated you want it). 

Hang your hearts up on a line to dry. It takes about 6 hours for each batch to be handled. 

We will be decorating our windows over the next week. Pop in and see them soon!n

Happy crafting.

xoxo

collage