The Rit Blog

For one of the easiest, DIY color-blocking ideas EVER, check out this fun dip-dyed, sweater refashion. Of course, we all have a ton of regular, solid-color sweaters in our closet, well, how about giving one a little fashion facelift by adding an extra stripe of color? 

This sweater was a bright, bright lime-green and could take a bit of stripey action. So it got a quick dip of the waist and cuff ribbing in a dye bath of Rit Evening Blue dye.

But wait...  that doesn't look like blue!!  Of course, that's because when you overdye a very yellow green with blue the colors blend to make a new deep green shade. Pretty nifty, right? Of course, if you started with an old white sweater, you could dye it first to this lemon-lime shade with recipe #578 on our ColoRit Color Guide and then go on to the dip-dye. 

Take a peek at these tips for more overdyeing/color blending ideas. The color combinations are endless especially if you know a bit of basic color theory. Remember your color wheel from grade school? Well, now's the time to get it spinning again!

OK, ready to get color dipping? Here's the tutorial: 

Looking for a last minute Valentine’s Day gift idea for someone you care about?  Dye up a big batch of white buttons in Cherry Red dye.  This is really fun and takes literally just a few minutes!  The buttons add a colorful element of surprise but double as flower frogs to help keep the roses standing up straight.  If you dye a lot of buttons, you can fill up a gift tin and give that along with the roses.  Button-filled gift tins also make fun table favors. 

We've been button-happy making all kinds of buttony crafts to decorate for most any occassion. Want to see more inspiration? Take a peek at this dyed button tutorial, this elegant button necklace, embellished Tee,  button wreath, AND... this sweet button cuff bracelet. Oh, the DIY potential is endless!!

And here's today's tutorial:

Who doesn't want to jump into this season's Color-Block trend? You don't need to go shopping to add some vibrant color energy into your wardrobe. You can refresh and refashion some of the fave items already in your closet with a bit of dye. 

I started with this drab, khaki trench coat that I never seem to wear.

Instead of just overdyeing it, which would blend with the original khaki color, I decided to remove half of the color and redye it. Using the Rit Color Remover on the bottom half, cuffs and belt, the jacket was ready for an infusion of pure Tangerine Tango and Evening Blue. How's that for a real color pop? 

By now we all know that tantalizing Tangerine Tango is the 2012 Pantone Color of the Year and easy to DIY with equal parts Rit Tangerine and Sunshine Orange dyes. Check out all the Pantone recipes on our ColoRit Color Guide for more fab fashionista inspiration.

I'm so excited by the results, even the buttons dyed so nicely to match! Win-Win!

OK, get set for some dye magic cause here's the full how-to:

The show is closing down today, but here are a few of the crafters I was able to catch up with at the show, plus two more inspirational displays.

Mark Montano  was signing copies of his new book, The Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2, published by Gallery Books. What an awesome book!  It’s packed full of the most amazing creative projects including: jewelry, scarves, belts, outdoor projects, funky furniture, tote bags, kids’ projects, cards, sculptures and more!

Beckie Farrant and I connected at the show.  You’ll remember her from the crafter’s blog campaign we did with her back in December.  If you’re not familiar with her blog stop by Infarrantly Creative to see her amazing “Trash to Treasure” projects.  Most recently she created the Crutches Floor Lamp. 

Cindi Bisson is a mixed-media artist and the Associate Producer for When Creativity Knocks, an online craft TV show.  Cindi most recently created a “Love with all your Heart” Valentine’s Day card using Rit.  

More Creative Inspiration

Yarn as Art was the theme in the Lion Brand Company booth.  This was one of my favorite graphic displays that got my creative juices flowing.  This wall art piece was made by the designers at Lion Brand Yarn.  It features bright saturated colors of yarn, but one of their goals was to show how the same color looks differently depending on the color that’s next to it.

Trees -- All forms and shapes of trees appeared in various booths.  Most companies used them to display their products.  Perhaps it symbolized the general interest and trend in crafting green.  Here’s a beautiful beaded tree draped with beads, butterflies and other trimmings on display in the DCWV booth.