Check out this yummy ombre dyed fabric garland we made!  It was a super easy project…I just spread it out to work on as I felt up to it. The streamers were dyed using a subtle ombre dye technique so the bottom of the streamers are a darker shade than the top. We used 1″ rolls of silk habutai from Dharma Trading (each roll has about 70 or 80 yards on it) and it’s so soft and amazing to the touch you could almost sleep on it:

We used one roll of silk 1″ habutai per color…..my garland strands were over 2 feet long so for a shorter garland the silk ribbon would go a long way.

Note: 5 rolls at 2 feet long ended up with about 4′ of garland…..so a 1 ft long streamers would end up with about 8 feet of garland to give some perspective.

I used my stove handle as my “ribbon wrapper”……wrapping the silk ribbon around the handle 4 times and then cutting the strands at one end to make streamers:

Every 4 strands I clipped at the top with a clothespin:

I used a wooden dowel to knot the top of the strands around so I would have a small loop at the end to string rope through at the end:

I used a pipe cleaner to hold the streamers that I wanted to dye a particular color:

For this project I used iDye packets.…they are great because there is literally NO mess. All the dye is enclosed in a plastic packet that dissolved in water:

I put the iDye packet in a small container of water for it dissolve:

Boo loves watching the packet dissolve:

I admit….it’s my favorite part as well….right when the packet starts to dissolve and the dye starts moving through the water:

I always strain the dye to remove any clumps that might not have dissolved completely. To do this I cover another container with a scrap piece of sheer material or pantyhose and secure it with a rubberband. Then I just pour the dye through to strain it:

Once the dye is strained I add it to about a gallon of water with about a 1/2 cup of salt dissolved into it:

I used Boo’s art easel to hold each set of streamers as they were dyed:

To get the ombre dye effect I lowered the streamers down into the bucket so just the bottom third was submerged in the dye. I set a timer and let it sit for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Then I lower the streamers down into the dye so that 2/3 is submerged and leave for about 3 to 5 minutes:

Finally I submerge the rest of the streamers…..but only for about a minute:

 

Then I rinse the streamers well hang them to dry:

Boo and I dyed 5 pretty colors:

We alternated the colors onto a thick cable rope……ready to string up in a room, across a doorway or for a party decoration!

The silk habutai is gorgeous:

You only need about 5 rolls of silk to make a pretty substantial garland that will hold up forever! Customize your colors for a party theme, photography prop or for beautiful room decor: