Experiments in rusting.

I've been wanting to have a go at transferring rust to fabric for a while, since I found out it could be done, so now I've finally given it a go and here are the results. 

I mixed three parts vinegar with one part water and soaked my fabric in it. I had some plain fabric, some patterned, some lace and some ribbon. I think you're meant to use white vinegar, but I didn't have any so I used ordinary vinegar instead. It seemed to work very well though. If you're trying this, you might want to do it outside ~ the vinegar can create quite a strong smell.  :o)

After a few minutes, I put the fabric on an old rusted piece of metal making sure it was all in contact with the rust.

I put the whole lot in a plastic bag, leaving it open for the air to help in the process, then left it for a day.

After the day in the bag, I washed my fabric, dried and ironed it and it turned out like this:

It works on cottons and synthetics, so you can rust whatever you want; fabric, ribbons, metal buttons or other metal objects to use in the project. It's quite fun to do as well. Now I just have to decide what to make with my rusted fabric.

Anything rusty can be used to achieve this effect. I think it gives a lovely colour and the patterns it creates on the fabric are completely random, so you don't quite know how it will turn out, which is really exciting.

If you would like to find out more about rusting, you can find it by clicking here: createmixedmedia.com/make/rusting-fabric-and-trims