It's been rainy, cool and cloudy here for most of the summer. This summer has felt like more of a Portland or Seattle summer than one from Kansas. When the sun peeked out today, I welcomed it with open arms. The leaves are vibrant colors this year. A splash of beauty.

I thought I would begin to show you how I cover a paper mache box with fabric.There are several ways to do this....so it's not my way or the highway. If you have another method that is easier....let me know. I'm always glad to learn something new!


I picked out this blue print from our new fabric line Old Primrose Inn to cover this round box. Vintage things are always my favorite, so I thought I would distress the fabric a bit to give it an aged look. I am using 1/2 yd. of fabric.

I use Rit Color Remover. It's a powder that comes in a small box. You can find it with the laundry products in your local grocery store. Wet the fabric first and then fill the sink with about 1" of warm to almost hot water. Add 1/3 of the package of Rit Color Remover to the water. Stir to mix the powder in the water. Don't worry about the exactness of all of this....it's just a fun science experiment. Great way to play with some of the fabric in your stash that you no longer like as much as you did before. It might turn out to be your favorite print!


Add your wet fabric. Make sure the solution covers the fabric.


Several factors will make this process quicker. More powder and hotter water. By using less powder and cooler water you will have more time to choose when the fabric is ready.

My first time doing this process I boiled water, used a full package of color remover and then added the fabric. The color was removed from the fabric in about 2 seconds. To make matters worse, I couldn't get the fabric out of the boiling water quickly enough. Learned my lesson with that one! Now I use hot water from the sink and less powder.

The color of the fabric begins to take on a yellow or orange cast. When I think the fabric is ready I pull it out of the water and then begin the rinsing process. As the rinse water hits the fabric sometimes the color seems to return to the print. This means you have to dip the print into the color remover for a bit more time.


The fabric in front is the original print. The one in the back is the print after the color removal process. The process removed the soft blue and now the print looks green. The print motifs are a stronger yellow, which is ok....but the overall look is not the vintage look I wanted. Honestly, I think I like the original print the best....so back to my fabric stash to select another print.


This black print is one of my favorites from our Aunt Lucie's Cottage line.

I added a bit more powder to the solution and repeated the process with the black print. Here it is after color removal. Rinse the prints out to remove the solution.

Then add a bit of Rit tan dye to soften the look. Usually I do this process in my sink. But I just stuffed the fabric in my dye jar.

Leave the fabric in for about 5 minutes and removed it to check the color. If it looks ok, pull it out and rinse...if not put it back into the dye bath for a bit longer. I repeated the process with the blue print too. Even though it wasn't my favorite....sometimes I'm surprised after the fabric is overdyed with tan dye.


Here they are.....drying on the line.
I'm off to work on another project while the fabric dries!
"See" you tomorrow dear friends!

Alma