I am currently still in a cosy fug of winter hibernation, and any thoughts of DIYs or room makeovers are buried under woolly hats, duvets and blankets. It’s just too flippin’ cold! But here is a fun, fluffy and fabulous dyed pampas project to do. It involves minimum spend, effort or time outdoors.
What you need:
Pampas Stalks
Dye of your choice – I use Dylon Hand Dye, €4 a sachet
Rubber gloves
Measuring jug
An old bottle to mix
A bucket
How To:
I don’t think it makes any difference if the pampas is wet or dry when you dye it, I have tried both ways and noticed no discernible difference.
This method is for between 6 and 10 large fronds.
Take half a sachet of Dylon and pour it in to the plastic bottle, add 250ml of warm (not boiling) water, pop the cap on and shake vigorously. Top up with another litre of warm water and mix again. Then head outside (it’s best, believe me) and pour the mixture in to your bucket.
Take each frond and gently swirl it into the bucket, tip first, and then carefully tilt the bucket to the side, to ensure that you get the dye all the way up the frond.
Repeat with the rest of the fronds, you should definitely have enough to do at least 10 stalks.
You can leave them all steeping in the bucket for ten minutes. I have left some in for up to an hour but it didn’t make that much difference to the intensity of the colour.
Next, wring them all out and leave them to drip dry outside on a washing line or in the bucket. Once they have stopped dripping, bring them inside to finish drying. And here is where you will need some level of patience, it can take up to two weeks for the dyed pampas to be fully dry. If you want, you can speed up the process by using a hairdryer on a cool setting. It will help to fluff them up, but just be sure to do it outside!
The pampas are now ready for you to enjoy. Be mindful that they will keep shedding a little as they dry out even more, but it’s a small price to pay because those babies are in it for the long haul, just take them outside once in a while to shake them out and fluff them up!
Thanks for reading,
B x
Great tutorial! I’m already trying some, and I’m using the very same dye. X
does anyone know what color dye was used in the pictures?
Hi Brittany! I used Dylon Sachets, but any clothes dye specifically for hand dyeing would do I think!
Can I buy the bouquet after you dyed it? Patricia
Thank you, I will try this!
It turned out really beautiful! Do you also know how to make the pampas grass white?
Which colors did you use? I’m assuming olive for the green, but the pinks are harder to determine. I love the colors you chose!
I used a magenta and a redwood colour, I thought they might come out more punchy but it wasn’t to be. I might try again and dye for longer!
Hi, I’m using a Dylon clothes powder dye, it states to add 250gm of salt to it. Do I still add the salt for pampas grass. Hope you can help please as I’ve just tried dying mine a smoke grey and it still looks beige whilst wet?😢
I did use salt but not a lot. Only because I thought the salt is used to prevent colour from running from fabric that would be washed. Whereas the grass is being dyed once!
hi! definitely i’ll try this!! i just want to know, after you dry your pampas grass, do you recommend to apply some hair spray or something similar for it to last longer
I never even thought of that Loren! They stayed just perfect to be honest!
I recently picked some pampas grass that looked a little dirty on the ends – I watched a tutorial about washing them with clean water and wringing them out (just like you said) but they have dried all stuck together and are not fluffy at all. I think it may have been because I squeezed the water out.
I used a hairdryer once they were fully dry but owe my gosh, they look like matted deadlocks haha.
Any advice before I dye some please? X
I know what you are saying, I did pop some of them on the radiator for a while before using the hairdryer on them, so they were really dry. On a side note, I didn’t find any benefit to washing them before dyeing, it just made it a longer process!
I can’t wait to try this! Was your pampas grass already dried or fresh when you dyed them?
Hi Kirsti! It was fresh when I did it!
Thank you for this splendid tutorial! Can you please tell me if you know how to make them white?
Such a great tutorial and I cant wait to try this! I was just wondering what size bucket you use (in litres or cm)? I have been trying to find a v tall and narrow one to just dunk them in easily, but your method seems just as logical! thanks! x
I ordered grey pampas – but received a more neutral. So used Smokey grey hand dye and they have turned out green 🤣. Thinking of trying a black dye? Any tips welcome!
Hi I need to make mine lime green for a wedding in 3 weeks what color should I use
Hello, this is some great advice, have you ever tried to dye them black? I’m thinking to do it but not sure how successful it will be 🙂 thank you
Tried this. Unfortunately the dye just won’t take 😢 tried leaving in overnight also. What has went wrong?
Perhaps it’s just the type of pampas? I picked mine and dyed it within a day or two. X
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