Dyeing Cheesecloth for a Newborn Photo Shoot

I would like to introduce my new niece - Gia!

I was in charge of taking her newborn photos.  I researched photos I liked on Pinterest and found I really liked the look of cheesecloth wraps.

Texture is an important aspect of newborn photos.  Dyeing your own cheesecloth is an inexpensive way to get that texture in the colors you prefer.  

The cheesecloth looks like this when you take it out of the package.  

Plain white, really folded together.

Cheesecloth:

I found somewhere online that said to use 4 cups of water and then pour small amounts of dye in until you like the color.  

Rit liquid dye:

I stirred and let it soak for about 5 minutes.  (Longer times deepen the colors.)

I made a gray one and a pink one.

After taking it out of the dye, I rinsed it until the water ran clear, then wrung it out by hand and hung it outside to air dry.  I wore plastic gloves to wring it out, but I don't think the dye would've stained my hands.  After it was dry, I hand washed it in the sink with Dreft, rinsed and wrung and let it air dry again.  I repeated this process twice, since it would be in contact with the baby's skin, I wanted it soft and safe.

I used the technique from this blog to make a little flower for a headband - since I dyed the fabric - it was a perfect matching accessory.