Dying a Canvas Drop Cloth

I used black Rit powdered dye to tint a cotton-blend canvas drop cloth medium gray.  Here's how I accomplished it:

	9' x 12' canvas drop cloth $21 Rit black powder dye $2 1 cup of salt Tea pot of hot water (Optional) Bleach or Mrs. Stewart's Bluing
	Washing machine Laundry detergent Bowl for diluting dye and salt in water Clothes line or dryer

The amount I paid is based on pricing in Hawai'i. 

I paid $23 for this gray dyed canvas that will be used as slipcovers over our inherited 30 year old sofas.

First, I pre-washed the canvas with soap, a capful of Mrs. Stewart's bluing, and fed some bleach into the bleach dispenser in our refurbished top-loading washing machine.  It's amazing how dirty the wash water looks even though the canvas came straight out of a plastic package and into the washing machine.  The fabric shrunk a little, became softer after line drying, and was much cleaner.  I highly recommend a first wash.

The pre-washed canvas, RIT dye, and a cup of salt.

I placed the salt and powdered RIT dye in a metal bowl we use outside.  The salt is used to help dye cotton, which is the main component of the drop cloth I bought.

I filled the bowl with hot water and mixed the dye and salt together.

I let the washing machine fill with water on a large load setting, then added the mix of powdered dye, salt, and hot water.

Using a super wash setting, the longest agitation cycle on our machine, and one rinse cycle, the fabric came out of the machine a fairly dark gray.

On the line, the dying appeared blotchy, but this evened out as the fabric dried.  The color also appeared lighter when it was dry and no longer wet.

Dying the drop cloth really was as simple as 1, 2, 3.

1.  Pre-wash

I used laundry detergent, bleach, and Mrs. Stewart's bluing

2.  Mix and Dilute

1 cup salt + powdered RIT dye + hot water mixed in a container and poured into a water-filled washing machine

3.  Wash, Rinse, and Dry

Run your washing machine on the longest agitation setting with one or two rinses.  Remove the cloth and dry.  :)   Let the cloth sit in the liquid before washing if you want your fabric dyed dark or closer to the powder color.  Consider this project done!

Here's an image I put together to help me remember the steps I took in case I want to dye the slipcover fabric again.

This project is part of my $500 living room

It's the final project, and may possibly break the bank!

Our living room furniture budget (costs rounded up to the next dollar):

• Purchased Papasan chair:  $223 Purchase
• Hand-painted floor cloth:  $40 Project
• 2 - 120" curtain rods:  $32 Purchase
• 2 - Small end tables: $5 Project
• 3 - Hanging Wood Lanterns: $25 Project
• Wooden Lantern Tree: $4 Project
• Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table:  $5 Project
• Reclaimed 1x6 Topped Media Console: $29 Project
• 2x4 and Jalousie Rear Console: $10 Project
• C End Table: $1 Project
• Hemless Blackout Curtains and clips:  $92 Purchase
• Dying Canvas Drop Cloth for slipcovers:  $23 Project

$11 left for repairing and slipcovering those sofas...uh oh.

Any suggestions for how I could make $11 stretch are welcome here!

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