beets

I went to get dressed the other day and realized the slip I had pulled out was losing pieces of itself.  I was not incredibly surprised because it had been store bought and not that expensive.  I had even cut some of the lace off of it in the past so I could wear it under more dresses.  It did mean I needed to make a new slip.

I went into my plant dyed silk reject pile and pulled out a few pieces.  There were a couple pieces I liked now.  I realized that I had used red beets to dye the silk.  At the time, I did not like the results.  I think I thought it should be more dramatic and less subtle.

A couple pieces had been dyed with just beets and a couple others had had iron sulfate added to the dye bath.  Pulling the silk out, I had an antique like rose and a green.  Neither was in your face color but that is not usually what you want for a slip.  Especially since I like white shirts and I do not want people wondering what is under the shirt.

I actually pieced the silk together to cut large enough pieces to cut a front and back.  The binding and straps were not a problem, just the width.  When I am playing with dye, I like using smaller pieces of fabric so if I do not like what I am making, I have not wasted much.

As I put together a quilt top, I also stitched on the slip.  

I really like how it came together.  And I stitched heart cut from a cotton calico to be its tag.

The colors really change depending on the light.  It is something I am going to need to observe.

Time to play with more beets!