NQF: How to dye an Ikea sheepskin in the washing machine

 Not Quite Freestyle (NQF)

How to dye an Ikea sheepskin in the washing machine

The cat is a pampered cat, as befits his status as undisputed apartment ruler. As he has demonstrated a fondness for fleecy and wooly things, his human servants thought he would appreciate a sheepskin.  The human acquired a RENS sheepskin from Ikea for the cost of approximately some-amount-that-the-cat-doesn't-care-about.  

Tag on back of Ikea sheepskin

Upon close inspection the cat commented that he didn't think the sheepskin coordinated properly with his eyes, so we decided to dye it purple as befits his royal majesty.

Inspection 1.

This was pretty simple, fill the washing machine with dye and hot water, but pause the wash cycle before it agitates. Put the sheepskin in, and swish it around with a stick every once in a while. While wearing gloves, pull it out to look if the color is getting any darker.

In-progress view

After a good bit of siting in the washing machine (maybe 2 hours), add some gentle soap, close the lid, and let the gentle wash cycle continue.

Once the washing machine cycle is done, DO NOT PUT THE SHEEPSKIN IN THE DRYER.  Instead, place it somewhere it can fully air dry, like on top of a bucket inside a bathtub.  Wait for the sheepskin to air dry, this could take a while depending on the humidity level.

Drying time

After the sheepskin has dried, fluff the wool generously, then present it to his royal majesty for final inspection.

Satisfaction

Conclusion

With its new purple wool the sheepskin passed inspection, and the sheepskin was granted a charter bestowing upon it the royal cat-nap privileges in perpetuity. 

After completion of this project, the humans ran an empty load in the washing machine to flush out any remnant dye, and all was well in the land.

Garden of freestyle delights - metal hay rack planter

The Find

On a perfect spring evening I was out for a neighborhood walk and I can across a freestyle gardener's delight -- a bunch of freebies from someone who was clearly a serious gardener laid out on a lovely sweep of manicured lawn.

So much potential

Part of me wanted to take it all, the grabby decorator crab part of me.  However, as I only had two hands and was for some silly reason already carrying a water bottle I had to limit myself. Treasure number one was obviously the metal trough (perfect for a fence!).  For treasure number two I was torn between the branch saw and some hedge clippers.  Since I don't have to maintain any trees around here I went with the hedge clippers since they were smaller (although probably heavier).

Metal + Coir = Lovely

These are the treasures after I got them home. There is a LOT of rust on those hedge clippers, which I still haven't cleaned off, but the main hinge still works and the handles are in good shape, so maybe I'll just leave that protective rust layer on the blades until I find I have a need to use them.  Anyway, the metal trough-looking thing is also known as a 'hay rack' or 'hayrack' planter because it looks like what you use to hold hay inside of a horse's stall.

Hayrack planter and hedge clippers

My friend was at first skeptical of this particular find (how do you hold the plants?).  But I explained that there were special liners for sale at the local hardware store and that this classic style would look luscious, but not messy, with trailing plants covering up the rusted spots.  So off I went to find a suitable sized liner made of coir (aka coconut fiber).  Lucky for me the local hardware store had one in just the right size.

Planter and liner sitting pretty on a freestyle chair

Conclusion

I didn't want to drill holes through the fence, so instead I used some strong rope to hang the metal part from the top of the fence planks.  Then I placed the coir liner, filled it with potting soil, and added small wave petunia plants in shades of purple. I think the petunias were in 4" pots, I used three or four here.

Planted petunias 

Wave petunias are great for their repeated flowering and cascading 'wave' growth pattern, so I expected that it wouldn't take too long for them to grow over the front of the coir liner and soften the edge a bit.

The deep purple color is really lovely, here is a close-up in shot I took using a clip-on macro lens that fits over my cell phone camera.

Petunia center

Happy freestyling!

X-linked freestyle

X-fabric marks the freestyle spot

As someone who works with physical materials (paint, wood, metal, fabric, etc) I tend to accumulate all manner of supplies.  Long-time readers also know I take free things even if I'm not exaaaactly how I'm going to use them.  In my desire to avoid waste I have been known (known to myself at least) to hold on to things like fabric for a long time, we're talking years here. But sometimes the stars align and I realize it's time to clear out the old and send it along to someone else who might be able to make something of it.  Such was the case with this upholstery fabric which had been patiently waiting to become something for 3+ years.  A friend had a purple couch, and the fabric has purple in the color scheme, so she took the fabric and the loan of my sewing machine and got to work making herself some new covers for her accent pillows.

Freestyle for the triple win

Conclusion

The results are fabulous and fun. I couldn't be happier that I was able to help someone else in their freestyling!

Happy freestyling!

Purple mountain-of-a-blanket majesty

I got this heavy-weight jewel-tone blanket a few weeks ago, and man, it is awesome.  Originally from Pottery Barn the internal batting is really heavy, perfect for snuggling under on cold nights.

 Unfortunately the underside lining was a thin silky material and the decorativ stitching that went through the blanket had caused the lining to rip in a few places.

It had been repaired in a few places before.....

But at some point you just have to decided to either reinforce, or replace, the entire backing. So that's what I did.  I had found a set of like-new ike sheets in a dark grey, a perfect tonal complement to the jewel-plum color of this blanket, and decided to sacrifice the flat sheet to this higher calling.  Just like making a pillowcover I put the 'right' sides of the fabric together and sewed around the edge for most of the way, then turned everything rightside out.  I finished the final bit with  machine since I was not interested in hand stitching suh a heavy duty item.

In order to cover the entire backing I had to go around the edge of the blanket a bit, so if you were to lay it flat the front velvet side would have a thin grey border.  A recent houseguest heard this story and got to try out the blanket for a few nights.  She declared, "This blanket it awesome.  I want it."

There you have it.  Another example of a successful attempt to repair, reuse, and remake.  

And the entire thing is machine washable!

Happy freestyling.

NQF - The warmth of wool, in fingerless mitten form

Heat is expensive. Many of my friends live in places where winter sees the thermostat turned down low to save money.  55-60 degrees indoors, that's the situation you just have to live with, but fingers can get a little chilled in those circumstance.  Last year for the holidays I gave two friends some super simple fingerless mittens made from old wool sweaters shrunken in hot water.  Why fingerless? This functional style allows for normal household activities, typing, etc, while still keeping those extremities insulated.  Here they are modeling their gifts.

Soft, warm, and freestylish in the winter.

Why is this a Not Quite Free (NQF) post?  I confess to buying the sweaters at the goodwill for approximately $5 each.  The burgundy sweater was merino wool and the purple was cashmere.  After a little experimentation with shrinking sweaters had I learned that these two types of wool sweaters shrink down while retaining their softness.  Best of all, since these handwarmers are pre-shrunk they can be thrown in the washing machine!

Happy freestyling, stay warm this winter.