The iDye Trials

One of my very most favorite crafty things to do is to dye. I love color and I love the process of changing something from color-less to color-full. And the only bummer about the project of dyeing is that it is a whole lot of work, generally requiring a day of attention and an exhausting mess. Not to mention my paranoia about potentially inhaling toxic fumes or accidentally dyeing something that I didn't intend to dye due to splashing or spillage. The procedure I had been using involved adding large quantities of salt and precise amounts of soda ash fixer to the dye baths, the math of which always left me feeling beyond puzzled, and often scrambling at the last minute to compute some fractions. Last spring I did two dye batches (5 colors each time), once by myself, and once with a group of friends, and when all was said and done I was so wiped out from it all that I've been kind of putting it off and dreading have to dye again, as much as I love the results (and as much as I need more dyed t-shirts to applique!).

When I first heard about the new iDye product, made by the same company that makes the dye I had previously been using, I was more than a little skeptical. The first two words on the packet are "NO MESS." Really? How could that even be possible? According to the information online, you simply toss a packet of iDye in your washing machine, add 1 cup of salt and 2-3 lbs. of dyeable fabric, and then you just go about your life as if you're simply doing a typical load of laundry, when instead you're actually dyeing! I didn't believe it would work, but I had to try it.

I decided that the newborn cloth diapers would be the perfect medium with which to test out this revolutionary dyeing technique. I understand that some people may feel like diapers are designed to catch pee and poop and that making them beautiful is nothing more than a waste of resources, but I feel differently. The first time I learned about the idea of diaper art was in a Mothering Magazine artice many, many years ago (before I ever had babies) that featured the company Fuzbaby. Fuzbaby makes some of the most gorgeous diapers I've ever seen, and was a leader in the world of beautiful cloth diapers. Since Fuzbaby diapers are sewn by hand and all of the many components are dyed by hand, it's no wonder that each diaper is incredibly expensive. I'm not sure that anyone could really afford to use a stash of these. But just the idea of them existing--of diaper art of this caliber--makes me smile.

There are many reasons why people choose to use cloth diapers, but the top three are probably enviornmental, economical and chemical. All of those reasons are very important to me, but I think one of the main reasons why I've stuck with cloth diapering (for the most part) over the years is that it's simply more fun to use cloth diapers. I've never heard of someone finding joy in using disposable diapers, while there are whole communities of people obsessed with the excitement of using cloth. And part of what can make cloth diapers so enjoyable is using really beautiful diapers. Yes, they're designed to catch baby excrement. But they also have the power to brighten your day and make you smile.

The diapers that I've bought with Leo in mind were mostly natural colored when I bought them. I appreciate the pureness of natural fiber, but it doesn't move me the way color does (and you know that before long anything natural-colored is going to be splattered with stains). So, as soon as the diapers arrived, I decided that I would have to dye them. Along with the all-natural diapers, I also had 4 diapers that were colored only on the outside (so as to have no dyed fabric next to baby's skin--very pure, but also a little boring), none of them colors that I loved, and I was excited to see what would happen to them in a dye batch.

The first colors I chose for the iDye trials were chartreuse, gold ochre, and brilliant blue. I started with the blue because I was least attached to it turning out well. The procedure was shockingly easy. I filled the washer, tossed in the dye packet (avoiding all contact with the toxic-if-inhaled powder), dumped in the diapers, and topped it off with a cup of salt. The only trick to the whole thing is to not let your washer get to the rinse cycle, but instead to switch it back to agitate for a longer period of time. I think I left the fabric agitating for about 30 minutes. After it had been rinsed, I added some synthrapol (a detergent used to keep dyed fabrics from bleeding in the future), and washed the load again. The results were wonderful! The dye was very even and the color was very rich. Next I did the chartreuse, which didn't turn out as well since I accidentally let the washer rinse itself out after only 12 minutes of agitation. A couple of the diapers came out perfectly, but the majority of them were a little too neon-yellow for my liking. Not to be discouraged, I simply planned to dye that batch over again. But first I did a batch of the gold ochre, which also worked fabulously. It was so liberating to be able to fill the washer and then just go about my normal life, wearing my normal clothes and everything!

I ended up dyeing the chartreuse/neon-yellow diapers again using a packet of olive iDye. I loved the way it turned out (much better for a newborn's potentially jaundiced coloring). Then, just when I had decided that iDye was the best invention of the century and was feeling especially pleased with my results, I made a huge error. I put all 3 colors of dyed diapers together in the washer, and washed them with our usual laundry detergent. When I went to move the clean load over to the dryer, something didn't seem quite right. I realized that all of the blue diapers were gone. They had been replaced by a new sea-foam color. And the yellowy-orange diapers were looking a bit more dull and muddy. Only the olive diapers looked exactly the same. Apparently, the olive dye had not been sufficiently rinsed with synthrapol before I put all of the dyed diapers together, and everything got mixed up with the addition of olive dye.

After feeling devastated for about 10 minutes, I decided to fall back on my usual "everything happens for a reason" pick-me-up, and concluded that I love the way the new colors look post olive-mishap even better. They are a little less bright, which I like, and a little more earthy-looking, which I think is fitting for who I imagine Leo to be (with each of our kids, I have associated them with a particular color while they were inutero. Jaz was blue, Lukas was orange, and Zeben was purple. All 3 of those boys then went on to like those colors best (really!). The color I associate with Leo is green).

Without further ado, the results of my iDye Trials:

The four Dream-eze fitteds
(I bought these as seconds, but see nothing wrong with them)

This diaper was natural colored, and took the dye very well.
I love the avocado color that resulted from the chartreuse mixed with olive.

This one was chocolate colored on the outside, and natural on the inside.
Now it is a richer brown, with green lining.

This diaper was plum-colored on the outside, natural on the inside.
Now it reminds me of the ocean.

This diaper was plum-colored on the outside too (just like the one above).
Now it's the color of the forest!

These amazing bamboo diapers by bumgenius
make up the majority of Leo's diaper stash.
They are so soft, and I love the way the colors
turned out to be less-than-typical "baby" colors.

I also dyed a handful of hand-me-down newborn prefolds
that once belonged to Ezra (though it's hard to imagine they ever fit him!).

All of the stains disappeared and there is
nothing boring about these prefolds now!

A stack of previously pale and "baby" colored reciving blankets
that jumped in the washer with the diapers.

A sampling of all of the fun results.

Will I iDye again? I certainly will! It's all I can do to keep myself from iDyeing every day! Seriously, I highly recommend this product and guarantee you that it really is easy and mess-free. I will never go back to doing things the way I used to. Add some color (and fun!) to your day, and then please send me a link so I can share in your excitement (and I'd love to know how other colors turn out)!