Thursday, November 30, 2006

Rusting Fabrics - yet again...


I decided that 5 of my 9 rust-dyed fabrics (as shown in the November 4th entry) really needed to be darker. This time, rather than leaving them exposed on our deck, I dipped each cloth in vinegar and then wrapped each one around one or more rusty tools and placed them in a LARGE Hefty ziplock bag for over a week. The bag was then placed in the garage - out of sight and out of mind. This way, they don't dry out between spritzing while the rust continued to penetrate the cloth.


Today, I remembered them and figured I'd better check to see how they were doing. Here are all 5 pieces after soaking them in salt water to stop the rust-action, washing, drying and ironing them:

And here are close-ups of each of them:




This one is my current "favorite:"

As you can see, they turned out beautifully!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those look great. I'm impressed! So tell me, does the rusting metal totally dissolve? Like, if I wanted to use one of my hubby's old tools, would it still be a useable tool when the fabric was done?

Pat Dolan said...

Hi, Jeri -
Yes, the rusting metal dissolves, not totally and not very fast, but the longer it is exposed to the vinegar - even if dry - the more quickly it decomposes.
So no, I wouldn't suggest using any tools that you'd like to be still usable after using them for rust-dyeing.
Since we downsized 4 years ago, I had no "old, rusty" anythings so I went to a junque shop and bought some old tools. The dealer was somewhat surprised at the intended use - no, I don't want them to decorate my home, but to "decorate" my fabric!!!

Anonymous said...

Your fabric turned out beautiful. One day I may have to try rusting myself.

Martha Marshall said...

Pat, these are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat. These rust dyes are lovely. Mine turned out so Light compared. Good to find your blog btw