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    Home » Crafts » How to dye Hydrangeas {Rit Dye}

    How to dye Hydrangeas {Rit Dye}

    Published by Gail | Published September 24, 2012 | Updated June 28, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Dyed Hydrangea Arrangement
     I have a medium sized hydrangea bush that I baby all summer long to get as many blooms as I can. I love the range of colors. I propagated a bush from it, planted it elsewhere in the yard and the blooms are pinkish. On the mother plant the colors range from pink to blue to purple due to the soil content. Using Rit Dye allows me to change up those colors!
     

    drying hydrangeas (2)This was a very good year and around the second week of August I snipped most of the blooms. I tried a couple of different ways of drying the blooms. These blooms are in a bucket of water, to dry naturally as the water evaporates.drying hydrangeas (5)This bunch I let dry without water. I’d like to be able to tell you which way worked best, but I can’t. The patio leaks when it rains, and it rained while I was in California and the blooms got wet. I KNOW that was not good for them, but they did okay.dying hydrangeas (4)When I got the opportunity to test my hand with some Rit  Dye, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.dying hydrangeas (6)These are my dried blooms.

    supplies for dying with Rit LiquidI gather my supplies. I decided to mark my plastic with the amounts of water and dye so that I wouldn’t have to use a measuring cup and spoon with boiling water and/or liquid dye.

    dying hydrangeas (12)As you can see, my hot water didn’t quite make the line. I decided it isn’t brain surgery, my color would just be a little deeper.

    dying hydrangeas (14)I dipped my dried blooms into the dye bath.

    dying hydrangeas (23)I clipped the wet blooms onto a sapling in my back yard that I grew from a SEED! I’m loving this tree. It’s one of those trees that sprout up, I protected it from the lawn mower. I planned to take it to jamie, but it grew too fast. It hung out on the fence for 2 years, then I moved it to the back yard. It’s a ornamental pear tree. It is about 2.5 years old now.
    dying hydrangeas (47)I dyed some blooms blue and and lavender (using blue and pink combined). After I dyed the blooms, my water was still really good and warm, so I grabbed a couple of drop cloth placemats from the kitchen.

    dying hydrangeas (22)I dampened the placemats, and ended up pouring the orange dye water into  a wider container.Dying Placemats (2)I wanted to do an ombre pattern. To achieve this, I gently folded the placemat in half, and dipped the center into the dye bath. Dying PlacematsI clipped the placemat so that I could let it soak in the color for about 10 minutes or so.After that, I released the close pin, and lowered it further into the dye bath, but not leaving it for so long. I did that one last time to just give a little color to the furthest end.Dying Placemats (4)I used the water hose to rinse the placemats until the water was clear.

    Dying Placemats (7)I hung them on the clothesline, instead of the tree. 🙂    They are great for Halloween because they look just like candy corn!

    orange dyed hydrangeas (4)Because of the way my hydrangeas were dried, some took the color differently than others.

    Dyed Hydrangea Arrangement (5)I put them in one of my caddies and used the placemats that I dyed.

    Dyed Hydrangea Arrangement (9)I really love how the flowers AND the placemats turned out!

    Dyed Hydrangea Arrangement (14)I used some hydrangea leaves to add some green.

    Dyed Hydrangea Arrangement (15)Do you love hydrangeas as much as I do?

    Dyed Hydrangea Arrangement (16)

    black hydrangea  source

    You still have time to  dye some hydrangeas and placemats black for Halloween!

    What have you dyed lately?

    Be sure to check out Rit Dye on Facebook,Twitter and Pinterest.
    gail
    I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Rit Dye and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post, as always are my own.

     

    sharing here:

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    1. DIY Show Off

      October 09, 2012 at 11:49 pm

      Beautiful! I've never tried dying but this is inspiring! I'm including a link back in tomorrow's fall highlights (natural decor). Thanks so much for sharing! Hope all is well, Gail! 🙂

      Reply
    2. factivation-for-multiplication

      September 25, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Reply
    3. Jessica @ Stay at Home-ista

      September 25, 2012 at 3:49 pm

      Love it! I've never thought of dying flowers before, but I've pinned it, which hopefully menas one day i'll get around to doing it:)

      Jessica

      Reply
    4. Suzanne@Meridian Road

      September 24, 2012 at 10:48 pm

      I've got to dye some hydrangeas blue! I can't believe how wel that turned out! The placemats are pretty cool, too.

      Reply
    5. Stephanie

      September 24, 2012 at 9:50 pm

      You make it look so easy! The hydrangeas turned out so beautiful. And they will last forever now. The placemats do look like candy corn! So fall inspiring that is for sure!

      Reply
    6. Pam Jackson

      September 24, 2012 at 7:44 pm

      Mine dried up naturally on the bush..and I have several still hanging there. Might try this with them.

      Reply
    7. Corn in my Coffee-Pot

      September 24, 2012 at 6:21 pm

      Oh...those place mats are cute.
      I love them. They look pretty simple. I'd like to be able to GROW a Hydrangea ...and then I'd consider dying some.
      I haven't used Rit dye in along time. I was thinking about dying some rugs that have lost their luster...They are terry type rugs for bath mats, but I use them on the kitchen chairs for the Littles...because they are slobs! 😉

      ...I 'died' some chickens this weekend, does that count? Patricia

      Reply
    8. Tracy Snyder

      September 24, 2012 at 4:35 pm

      I love hydrangeas, wish I could grow them 🙁 I never knew you could dye them. Great job! I love the placemats. Your tablescape with the dyed hydrangeas and placemats looks great!

      Reply
    9. freddyandpetunia

      September 24, 2012 at 4:11 pm

      Luv this idea! The blooms here got away from me and have all turned brown (because I didn't pick them early enough).
      I see salvation in their future! Merci Beaucoup!
      Catherine

      Reply
    10. Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence

      September 24, 2012 at 3:47 pm

      I love hydrangeas--they are my favorite, but we can't grow them here :(. Love them dyed!

      Reply
    11. Pamela PBJstories

      September 24, 2012 at 3:42 pm

      That is ridiculously creative!!!!! LOVE THEM!

      Reply
    12. Proper Prim

      September 24, 2012 at 2:55 pm

      There you go, teaching me something I didn't know before. Never ever thought to die flowers. Great idea. Love your tablescape pics... nice work.

      I will have to tuck that one in the memory bank for 2 years from now. I cut down my bush, only to find out that I also cut off the blooms for next year... who knew?

      Reply
    13. Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures

      September 24, 2012 at 2:34 pm

      Wow, what a great idea. I never would have thought about dying them black. Now all I need are some gorgeous hydrangeas to experiment on. Thanks Gail.

      Reply
    14. Dee @ A Lapin Life

      September 24, 2012 at 2:19 pm

      Hi Gail,

      I love this idea. I spray paint mine but they can look stiff. Super cute tablescape too!!!

      Dee

      Reply
    15. Randi~Dukes and Duchesses

      September 24, 2012 at 1:34 pm

      So cool! I would never think to dye dried flowers!

      Reply
    16. Terri

      September 24, 2012 at 1:29 pm

      Wow...those are amazing! Love all the different colors...now if only I had some hydrangeas. You don't see too many in AZ!

      Reply
    17. Suzy Myers

      September 24, 2012 at 1:20 pm

      Great idea! I love seeing unusual things dyed with RIT dye!

      suzy

      Reply
    18. Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co.

      September 24, 2012 at 1:12 pm

      Oh how cool! I love hydrangeas!

      Reply
    19. Nadine @ Chic with the Kool-Aid Mustache

      September 24, 2012 at 1:10 pm

      Who knew you could dye dried flowers!? I love hydrangeas and my Mom always had gorgeous ones when I was growing up but they don't do well for me. They turned out really nice and would make a beautiful wreath.

      Reply
    20. Debbiedoo's

      September 24, 2012 at 1:09 pm

      Girl you are a genius! I love this idea. I am really enjoying the Rit dye projects I am seeing today!

      Reply
    21. Joni Taylor

      September 24, 2012 at 1:03 pm

      I wonder what would happen if when you clipped the flowers and put them in water you had dye in the water. That way it would pull it into the plant. Maybe it would work??? Just a thought.

      Reply
    22. Sandi @ The Primitive Skate

      September 24, 2012 at 12:41 pm

      The hydrangeas turned out beautiful.
      I never knew you could dye them. Thanks for the tip. Have a wonderful week!

      sandraallen260@centurytel.net

      Reply
    23. Jamie@OwlReally.com

      September 24, 2012 at 12:16 pm

      everything looks great! love the ombre placemats -they remind me of candy corn. 🙂

      Reply
    24. Full Circle Creations

      September 24, 2012 at 11:41 am

      Looks great! A great recycle from your yard!

      Reply

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    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

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