Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Daphne]

I have 3 long antique sheets/curtains made of rough and heavy linen. They cost me next to nothing and have been folded away for years and are stained/marked. I am going to wash them and see if they come up linen coloured, instead of the slightly manky look they have now. However, if they don't improve, I have nothing to lose and I want to dye them to use as curtains. Do you think this will work, and does anybody have any top tips. I am slightly worried that I will damage my washing machine and everything will look blue r whatever colour forever I don't want to soak the sheets in the bath with any dye as its an old cast iron one, which has already had a lot of wear and tear on the enamel.

[soapdragon]

Linen is pretty tough - I expect they are quite thick if they are antique too - so you can use a very hot wash and stain remover to try and restore them to their original condition.

 

I have never dyed stuff before but might it be worth buying a cheap plastic dustbin to use....there must be things you could do with it when you have used it for dyeing (like putting rubbish in....doh

[clucker1]

A friend of mine dyed something in her washing machine black it dyed her washing machine too. She wasn't bothered about it, but I thought it looked vile. That was a good 5 years ago, so dying stuff might have changed since then. I rememberf she bought the dye from Robert Dyas.

[bluekarin]

I dye loads of things using the Dylon machine wash dye packs. They now have the salt in so you don't even have to worry about it. One thing Dylon are really good about its if you send them a small swatch of the fabric, they can tell you if it will dye ok. One tip I would say is make sure you weigh your fabric, and if you can, dye it all together so the colour is all the same. But like I say, Dylon are super helpful so email them

[Charlottechicken]

You need to get the stains out before you attempt to dye, as they will show up

 

Dyeing in a washing machine seems to work better than using a bowl on bigger stuff as you have to agitate it to get the dye evenly distributed I dyed some towels dark blue in my machine years ago and the machine suffered no lasting damage or colour change

[Blackrocksrock]

I also dye using dylon complete with salt in my machine - I run it through afterwards with nothing in and never have had a bother - I make sure the rubber seal is clean and thats it - I dye my old jeans back to navy to wear them longer and makes them look smarter. Good luck

[Olly]

Another fan of Dylon machine dye here, follow the instructions and I've never had a problem and the machine is fine.

[Plum]

Dylon hasn't damaged my machine. Make sure you get enough dye because I dyed some towels which are blotchy. Beautiful but blotchy.

[Valkyrie]

Have you created marble towels then Plum? I have mottled towels because some person who shall remain nameless used to bleach her hair and it bleached my towels. Actually it wasn't just DD - DS also bleached his fringe at one time - although black was the favourite. And I have black bits on the grout in their bathroom and their towels.

[chickencam]

I have used Dylon black machine dye a few time to smarten up my black jeans, of which I have many, it works very well and leaves no nasty after effects.

[soapdragon]

Daphne...did you go for it in the end?!

[Daphne]

Well, the sheets/curtains are in the washer as we speak - just being washed, not dyed. I've been without a floor (we took up the floor covering and then discovered underneath was damp, so its been drying out, then the fitter was unable to come and put the floor down) for weeks; so I've been unable to use the rads for drying. I'll have to decide if I think they are reputable enough when they dry off, but if not, then I'll go the dye route. The next Q will be what colour We spent some time in B&Q this morning, picking out potential wall colours. OH has gone for deep grey or dark blue tones, whilst I was hovering around the pale blue/grey and blush colours (although 'we're not having that' he said ). Does it take everybody else so long to decide on anything

[chickencam]

We are the most hopeless people ever at making decisions, so decorating is a nightmare.

[soapdragon]

In our house I do most of the decorating so get to decide on the colours....seems fair to me!!!! We have got bolder recently and last summer I painted the boy's rooms and the study upstairs mid grey which goes with dark blue curtains and carpets. Both boys have a sea theme so it comes together quite well with the odd splash of red in the furnishings etc.

 

One thing that I have come to realise tho, is that its better to use a standard colour from the chart (Dulux) rather than get one mixed as you can then use match pots to touch in any chips, stains etc.

 

We used the Dulux endrance on the hall, stairs and landing last year as we thought it would be tougher and easier to clean for high traffic areas but I am totally unimpressed. There have been a couple of handprint marks on the walls and trying to clean them with a damp sponge (as recomended) has resulted in spreading the mark and making it look worse. As this paint costs more then the standard emulsion/eggshell I def would not buy it again.

[chickencam]

We buy silk emulsion which is easier to clean, but it seems to be getting harder to find. The Crown white silk is great for ceilings and very easy to clean.

[Charlottechicken]

My previous house had high ceilings so I felt able to go to town with wallpaper and colour, although I was favouring magnolia woodwork and the colour in the wallpaper and soft furnishings. Now we have a low ceiling cottage, it is obvious that anything other than neutral walls and ceiling is overpowering, so I have used contract matt paint (Wickes own brand) with white ceilings and magnolia walls throughout, the ceilings just won't take a silk/satin finish or anything where light will bounce. We are accenting with soft furnishings only. I am actually enjoying the neutral colour schemes