background: my inner nerd is peeking out again. was about to buy a few already dyed muslins from another photog for cheap, but remembered you can make you own. i have plain muslin sheeting that i use sometimes as backdrops, and sometimes just to divide areas of the studio so people can have better separation between shooting areas. and i do enjoy dying vintage lingerie for shoots, so i have a sense of how the whole dying things thing works and some leftover dye.

questions:
what thickness of the muslin is best? do i want bleached or non bleached? is RIT dye good for this project? any general input or advice on this? i know i want the widest they have possible, and i see 108" wide is on the joann's site.

i have a joanns fabric store 40% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket today. deciding whether to buy the two muslins for $40-60 from the other photog, or to invest in my making my own.

opinions anyone? advice? irrelevant commentary?

hahaha... Funny you mention that Kristine, my wife keeps telling me she has the same coupon and I better get there if I want to get some fabric...

I'm curious about this, I was figuring you could dye them just like tie dying a t-shirt...

Before the material is cut, be sure to inspect the WHOLE piece.

Bleached muslin will give you brighter colors if that is where you are heading.  The darker colors do not make much difference.  Rit will work.  For the darker colors you may need twice the amount of dye.  Be sure to follow the directions.

If you want mottled colors, Google for the technique as it can be done in one pass.

As an alternative, you might try these dyes:
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/fiberreactive.shtml
They are generally available at a good art/craft store.

Another way to go is to paint a background using thinned latex.  Google that also as you may need an additive to make the paint flexible.  JoAnn's sells such an additive but I dont know if it will work with other brands of paint.

Years ago I made my own.

Like others have said, inspect the fabric... mine turned out to have a thin spot, but fortunately it was towards one of the end corners.

Make sure you can find fabric wide enough for you (took me a while to find a fabric store that had it).

I dyed mine in the washer... The most difficult part was cramming the entire thing in there... then you run into the problem where the larger the backdrop, the more chance of getting a mottled dye job from trying to dye in too tight a space.

Nowadays I actually prefer seamless paper to muslins.  If  you search the web, you can find some really decent deals on already made ones.  I'd do that, then compare it to how much the plain fabric will run you.

And if you do make it, find a Michael's or AC Moore coupon so you can get 40% off the dye too.

I'm not sure which one of the fabric places I bought it but I got a piece of muslin that is HUGE!!!!...I had to buy a small horse watering trough to dye it!!! but it works great!!....I didn't want too dark a color so I only used two Rit dyes and I ended up with a nice soft mottled effect that depending on the lighting can look like anything from concrete to clouds formations.

great links and information. it's appreciated. i never would have thought to check for consistency in thickness, and i definitely see where it would be an issue.
i have the choice to buy two 10-13 muslins already dyed for $40-60 or do the try my own thing. i do want that mottled look though, kind of decayed tones....mossy grens, blues, greys. somehting blurry in the background.

I have a huge piece of muslin in the basement for years now. Unbleached......... you have inspired me to let my inner nerd out and do something with it!!!! Thanks! :-)

Don't over look canvas painters clothes at the home improvement
stores. Just looked at one. $28 for a 9x15 8oz. canvas.
Disclaimer: That was an hour or so ago and my brain cells got burned up in the 60's.