# Dyeing Muslin Backdrop



## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

I bought a 10'x15' piece of muslin from Jo-Ann fabrics. It's unbleached. I plan on dying it black to create a black background. I've read some instructions online. Since I have 3.6 lbs of fabric.

1 bottle:
will do 2 lbs of fabric (1 lb since it's black)
3 gals of water
1 cup of salt

4 bottles:
will do 4 lbs of fabric
12 gals of water
4 cups of salt

This is going to be a huge undertaking. Anyone with experience with this have any input?


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## NikonNewbie (Dec 3, 2010)

Tis Messy...dont wear anything you like! and if you do it in the Washing machine...make sure you run at least 2 cycles before putting any of your good clothes in there!
in fact...I recommend you just buy a black one!


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## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

LOL I was planning on using a big plastic tub I have not the washing machine.


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## arcooke (Dec 3, 2010)

How much did you pay for the fabric?  I was JUST thinking about doing this yesterday.. but I looked on their website and didn't see any fabric wide enough.


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## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

$32 with a 50% off coupon from Jo-Ann. They have 118" wide in the store.


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## arcooke (Dec 3, 2010)

Nice!  I just checked retailmenot.com and the online 50% off coupon is still good until tomorrow.  (Code is DFSE338 if anyone's curious)

I might do this myself.


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## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

You might also get it if you sign up for their mailing list which allows you to use it in the store.


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## arcooke (Dec 3, 2010)

supraman215 said:


> You might also get it if you sign up for their mailing list which allows you to use it in the store.


Coupons

:greenpbl:

EDIT:  Oops, barcode didn't work on it.


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## NikonNewbie (Dec 3, 2010)

supraman215 said:


> LOL I was planning on using a big plastic tub I have not the washing machine.


 
can you do it outside? no joke...if it splashes anywhere you will be sorry, you should have a Mr.Clean Magic Eraser on hand in case it gets anywhere except the tub, also you have to make sure the tub is big enough that you can swish the fabric around to ensure that all areas of it get exposed to the dye to evenly dye it all the same color.
It has been my experience (and I dread to say how and why) that it is 100% in MY best interest(and probably going to be YOURS)...to just buy a black sheet...it's a ***** of a project...FOR REALZ


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## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

NikonNewbie said:


> supraman215 said:
> 
> 
> > LOL I was planning on using a big plastic tub I have not the washing machine.
> ...



yeah I'm going to do it in our unfinished basement. I have a big tub plus a laundry sink down there. It's completely unfinished so no risk at getting it on anything. It's too late now to go back I had the fabric cut already and I'm sure that you can't return it if they cut it for you. the nice thing is it will be HUGE. a sheet would be a lot smaller. It'll go up to the ceiling then 7' out on the floor. So we'll see how it goes I'm going to try to do it this weekend.


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## NikonNewbie (Dec 3, 2010)

supraman215 said:


> NikonNewbie said:
> 
> 
> > supraman215 said:
> ...


 
Best of Luck to ya!
Leave it in for a good long time so it's nice and black...and move the fabric around alot...make sure it's all opened up...no folds...get yourself an old broomstick so you can lift it out and rearrange it, also wont hurt to use rubber gloves so you dont get dye on your hands.
people might think  your a hairdresser.


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## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

Broomstick is a great idea. I would unfold it first then try to loosely bunch it together. Leave it in a while and move it around a lot. the gloves I still have to find lol. I used to have a bunch dunno where they are now. Broomstick is a good idea. I was going to rinse it in the laundry sink after. I don't think the laundry sink is big enough to do the dyeing plus if the plug comes out I'd be screwed.

I'm just going to use the hottest water that my tap will give out. I'm not going to boil any water because I think that would take too long to boil 12 gallons plus if I did it in stages the first batch would be cool by the time I got to the second. 

Thanks for the tips!


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## Bitter Jeweler (Dec 3, 2010)

Good black is the hardest to dye. Just dont ever wash it.


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## NikonNewbie (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm just gonna say...maybe you should at least boil 5 cups...you will want the water to be hot, and your tap H2o might get hot, but it wont hurt to use at least some to disperse the dye...and stir it up real good b4 you add the cloth...I mean for like 5 mins...make sure you scrape the bottom up...
you got the liquid dye right ...not the tabs? sorry I am lazy today and dont feel like scrolling back up to see...lol


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## Bitter Jeweler (Dec 3, 2010)

Yeah, and make damned sure that salt is completely dissolved.

What brand of dye are you using?

Theres better stuff than Rit.


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## myfotoguy (Dec 3, 2010)

I don't know if anything in this helps you or not:
Cheap DIY (Homemade) Muslin Photography Background | DIYPhotography.net

It doesn't cover solid black dying (skip the twine). But maybe something there is useful.

I used that article to make a blue and a brownish backdrop (used a big round tube) outside on the lawn.


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## myfotoguy (Dec 3, 2010)

I forgot to say- I boiled a bunch of water but also mixed that with hot tap water. 

I temporarily turned up my water heater as high as it would go (then waited a while so the water was heated as hot as possible for coming out of the tap). If you do that, don't foreget to turn it back down right away!


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## supraman215 (Dec 3, 2010)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> Yeah, and make damned sure that salt is completely dissolved.
> 
> What brand of dye are you using?
> 
> Theres better stuff than Rit.



I am just using RIT that's all they had at Jo-Ann and everything i read online said RIT also. What do you receommend?

I think I'm gonna leave my water heaters alone.


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