Dyeing wool blankets

Posted on May 8, 2013

There’s something lovely about old wool blankets. They feel lovely and are easy to transform into something useful, thank goodness we no longer need them on our beds. I’ve been on the lookout for vintage wool blankets for ages and recently bought a double blanket in perfect condition in a charity shop in Frome for only £3.99. They seem to be getting harder to find but I was really pleased with this one. It still had its original label and was an unusual peach colour.

Dyeing wool blankets

It was too big to use so I cut it into several smaller pieces and dyed two of the larger pieces with Dylon Bahama blue fabric dye and Tropical green fabric dye, both for use in a washing machine. They turned out really well which was lucky as I didn’t know how they’d mix with the original peach colour!

It seems an age ago that I made a badge blanket for the toddler. He quickly grew out of it as the blanket was cot-sized so once he stopped playing with it I carefully unpicked the badges and put them away. I’ve been meaning to stitch them on a larger blanket and, now he’s started building forts, it’s the perfect time.

I’ve been busy collecting more badges so I had quite a collection, in fact there were enough for a blanket for the toddler and his sister. They include Cath Kidston patches, vintage Girl Guide badges and some odd ones picked up in charity and vintage shops. Each one seems to tell a story and the children had great fun picking the ones they wanted.

So far I’ve finished the toddler’s blanket, using the green blanket, edged with navy blue binding. The toddler loves it and has been using it to hide under and snuggling under when he’s poorly.