Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Aging a background

Good morning!

As I was working on sending out the last bit of kit orders from the Mystery Blog hop block, I was thinking about all the people opening their packages. They would see a light piece of fabric, some whitish wool, brown and red wool. Hmmmmm, that white won't stand out on the background....now what?! So I thought I would explain what to do! When I was working on my design, I wanted to use a fabric that I had plenty of, to make kits with! So, you will find a nice muslin for your background! What is that you are saying??? Mine doesn't look like that in the photo? Oh!!! It's because I aged it! I like to use a very strong instant coffee/water mix in a spray bottle. I squirt it on, and then iron it dry! Here is the before and after.....

Start light, and add more as you need!

Now....some may say it might break down the fabric years and years from now......so you can buy some solutions made for such a purpose. I believe Lisa at Primitive Gatherings sells an aging solution, and also Lori Brechlin from Notforgotten Farm! You can also use tan rit dye. In twenty plus years of quilting and crafting, I haven't had any trouble with using coffee though....and it's so quick and easy to have ready. I would say I put about 1/4c of cheap instant coffee in a coffee cup with a cup of boiling water to dissolve. Poor it in a spray bottle and Have fun! Oh.....do this before you add the applique!

Chester is tired from all this kit making....well, maybe it's really all the playing in the sewing room, getting in the trash...you know all the shenanigans our furry friends get into!

 

Have a wonderful day, and if you haven't gotten your kit yet....it's on the way, we took a trip out of state over Thanksgiving, halfway through the orders!

Jeni

 

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your formula of aging..

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  2. Nice tip. My friend uses Parisienne Essence (aka: gravy browning)

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  3. I'm a fan of instant coffee for aging too!!

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  4. I have some of the aging spray but the instant coffee surely must be less expensive. Does any staining stay after a piece is washed?

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