Aida Dying 101- The Oven Method!

 I don't think I have ever posted about my adventures in dying aida!!  That's shocking... 

Anyway, years ago, I learned a method of dying aida, or cross-stitch fabric, and I have not looked back!  There are so many possibilities and it's a lot cheaper than buying it from the shops online.  It's a little pricey!  I have posted several cross-stitch pieces here for which I have dyed the aida myself.  

I learned the oven method from a YouTube video that I can no longer find.  Luckily, I wrote the steps down.  I use the Rit liquid dye and the powder dye as well.  

Basically for the oven method, you preheat your oven to 275 degrees.  Rinse the aida in cold water and wring it out really well.  Mix your dye- I never measure.  I just start out with a small amount in a plastic or glass cup, and then pour a little boiling water over, and then test the color on a piece of white scrap aida by dipping a plastic spoon into the dye and water and dropping it onto the aida.  A good thing to note is that the color will be a bit lighter on the fabric when it dries.  

When you have the color you want, scrunch your aida into an oven- safe dish.  I just use a casserole dish I have.  The video said to use a specific one for dying only but I have used the ones I also use for cooking and it's fine because... well, you wash it before you cook with it, duh.  

Anyway, scrunch your fabric to fit into the dish.  The scrunchier it is, the more texture you will have in your design.  Pour your dye over the fabric and move it around a bit to get it nice and coated.  Pop the dish into the oven and cook for 30 minutes.  Then you will remove the dish, remove the aida with tongs, and rinse in cold water.  Wring it out and press it in a towel to get the moisture out.  

Some people dry theirs in the dryer, but I just air dry mine, and then iron.  It looks so cool!  Here is a piece I dyed today- I still need to iron it.  I will do a Toadghoul by Noctiflora on this one.  For the brown bits, I sprinkled some powdered Rit dye while the fabric was waiting to go into the oven, and I like the effect it made!

I will post about the ice method in my next post, and then we will talk about the jar method!