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Dyeing lace curtains?

9 years ago

I wasn't sure where to post this =)

I'm redecorating my apartment living room on a fairly tight budget, and the one problem I'm running into is finding some decently priced black lace curtains (or even black lace material that matches what I have in mind), soooo, I figure "hey, let's hit the thrift shops for lace curtains and we'll just dye them!"

I know most lace curtain material is polyester, so I ordered some iDye Poly...I've just never done this before, lol, so I'm a bit nervous about it.

Has anyone had any success in dying lace material with this?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

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Comments (6)

caroline94535
9 years ago
I have dyed polyester lace before with wonderful results. However, I was tea-dyeing white lace to a "tea-ecru" color. I have also tea dyed a white satin purse with white rayon fringe. It was lovely when finished.

I have no clue about dyeing something black. I have a fear it would come out an odd grey color. Have you tried Etsy or eBay to find black lace curtains or yardage?

The important step I learned - with both tea dyeing and Rit dye - is the material to be dyed must be thoroughly and evenly damp with water before putting it in the dye bath. Use the hottest water the fabric will tolerate. Pre-dampening the fabric will help it absorb the colorants evenly.

I hope you share photos of the finished room, whether you dye or buy the curtains!
redcurls
9 years ago
Black is probably the hardest dye of all. I doubt it will be successful. unfortunately.
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Try here........... Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.decoratingwithlace.com/fringestringcurtains.htm
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Sorry I was confused I did not see another post. Do you have a pic of the room and windows in question? That would help. You have high ceilings you say but a photo would really help. Everyone has a different definition of "high" ceilings. 10ft? 20ft? Where exactly do the tops of the windows start? What is your style? If it is Victorian I would not have the curtains 'puddled' on the floor. If the furniture and decor is "fussy" overall I would do a more streamlined approach to the curtains. If you are more of a minimalist you could go dramatic with the sheers and have them gathered or puddled. Those curtains with the bumblebee design look really cool. You could really pull off a great look with them with out it looking 'old lady-ish'.
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They sound like lovely curtains, but I doubt you can do much to save them. The material will continue to wear out. It would be difficult to fuse them to a sheer panel(even if you could find something to do it with) and not have puckers or have that panel fall properly. If you want something elegant to replace them with, check out european curtains. German ones are dripping with lace and unlike anything you can buy this side of the pond.
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I have mixed them in every room LOL> I was so in love with the different designs that I just ordered what I liked for each room. The front rooms are each different as is the DR and the MBR. It looks great from outside. Go for it...the ones you show are beautiful. Where are you getting them ? I love lace :) Caroline
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emmarene9
9 years ago
I have never heard of that dye. I hope you will report to us after you dye. I am very skeptical.
Annie Deighnaugh
9 years ago
Black is really tough to achieve. You might look into fabric paint instead of dye.
ttodd
9 years ago
No advice but I hope you post pics as you work it through!
cat_ky
9 years ago
You said you were looking for inexpensive, and the color black. I did see some black lace inexpensive curtains at the Family Dollar several months ago. You might check there.

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