Dyeing your garments can sound tough, messy, and downright scary. However guess what? It’s none of these issues! In any case, I’m the lady who dyed her marriage ceremony costume so I might put on it once more. Belief me, anybody can dye garments at house as a result of it’s straightforward, simple, and loopy inexpensive. And it’s a good way to make stuff you simply aren’t carrying much more wearable as a substitute of simply giving up on them. Or giving them closet area however by no means reaching for them as a result of the colour simply isn’t your favourite.
Dyeing materials is nice strategy to customise, alter, or reinvigorate your garments with a brand new hue. I wasn’t actually carrying this shirt, denims, or sweater a lot, so I used to be on the verge of eliminating them. The white shirt and denims had a weirdly yellowed tint that made them look slightly soiled – and the inexperienced sweater was previous & pale. Then I noticed I might dye them my favourite shade (duh… black!) and so they’d be simpler to include into my wardrobe. So ultimately, I bought 3 “new” items of clothes from one $4 bottle of dye!
Word: This publish isn’t sponsored by Rit. It’s only a dye that’s extraordinarily straightforward to seek out (they even have it in our grocery retailer!). We’ve used different manufacturers with equal success up to now.
My Finest Garments Dyeing Recommendation
The #1 factor I inform individuals frightened about dyeing their garments is to keep open-minded in regards to the end result. Attaining a exact shade is tough, even for professionals. That’s as a result of MANY elements affect the end result: the material mix, the merchandise’s unique shade, your dye focus, the time soaking, and many others. So this course of is extra about shifting garments in the direction of a shade (darker, greener, pinker, and many others) than hitting an actual shade goal. For instance, black dye turned my button-down and denims beneath darker and nearer to black, however neither one is a real deep black. The excellent news is I additionally love grey and it eradicated the yellow tint they each had. So in the end I just like the end result much more than earlier than!
Personally, I believe that’s a part of the enjoyable of this DIY venture. You by no means know precisely how issues are going to end up! And with these garments (and with my marriage ceremony costume) any final result could be an enchancment over the present variations that weren’t getting worn.
Provides Wanted To Dye Garments
Listed here are the supplies you need to collect earlier than dyeing materials. We like to make use of the “bucket technique” (it can be carried out in a sink or tub). If you’re dyeing bigger objects like bedding or curtains, you too can use your washer.
- 1 bottle of Rit All-Objective Liquid Dye
- 5-gallon bucket (we discovered it useful to have 2)
- Boiling water
- 1 cup of salt (for materials with cotton, rayon, ramie, or linen)
- 1 cup of white vinegar (for materials with nylon, silk, or wool)
- 1 teaspoon of gentle dish cleaning soap
- Giant stick or spoon to stir with
- Rubber gloves
- Hose or bathe sprayer to rinse
- Washer
We selected to work exterior so we didn’t have to fret about spills or splashes. If you’re working inside, it’s finest to guard your work space with a dropcloth, plastic tablecloth, or towels. The dye doesn’t are inclined to stain if wiped up shortly, nevertheless it’s at all times finest to cowl your work floor simply in case.
Rubber gloves are additionally beneficial to stop potential pores and skin discoloration from the dye.
What Materials Can I Dye?
Rit All-Objective Dye is nice on a variety of materials, particularly pure fibers like cotton, wool, linen, ramie, and silk. It additionally works on synthetics like nylon and rayon. For materials containing greater than 35% polyester, acrylic, or acetate, Rit recommends their Artificial Materials Dye. You can not use the bucket technique with that dye (it have to be carried out on a stovetop). So test your clothes tags earlier than starting to make sure you’re utilizing the proper product and technique.
Step-by-Step Directions
The entire course of took about an hour (minus washing time within the washer), so seize your provides, cowl your work space, and let’s get began. Right here’s an summary of the steps.
- Pre-Wash Your Garments
- Put together The Dye Resolution
- Add Clothes
- Stir
- Rinse Totally
- Wash Once more
1. Pre-Wash Your Garments
Materials have to be clear and freed from stains earlier than dyeing. Ship the whole lot by way of the washer earlier than you start, and deal with any stains. Don’t use material softener, since that may intrude with dye absorption.
The material additionally wants to stay moist, so skip the dryer. In case your garments are already dry, soak them earlier than starting. That is the place our 2nd bucket got here in helpful!
2. Put together The Dye Tub
Combine your answer in a container sufficiently big to your garments to maneuver freely. This could be a sink, bathtub, bucket, or bowl. We selected to work exterior this time, however we generally put a bucket or bowl in the sink or bathtub.
To organize your dye answer:
Begin with scorching water
Rit recommends 3 gallons for each 1 pound of material. Water needs to be scorching, ideally a minimal of 140º. We used a mixture of scorching faucet water and a couple of pots of boiling water. We used a kitchen thermometer to test, however precision isn’t crucial. Go away room to your materials to be added, so don’t overfill the container.
Add salt or vinegar
Use a measuring cup so as to add 1 cup of desk salt (for cotton, rayon, ramie, or linen) and/or 1 cup of vinegar (for nylon, silk, or wool). These will assist improve the colour.
Add dish cleaning soap
Subsequent, add 1 tsp of gentle dish cleaning soap to your answer. This may promote even dyeing throughout your material.
Add liquid dye
Now, add your Rit Dye to the water. Rit recommends 1/2 bottle for each 1 lb of material. Nonetheless, extra could be added to realize a bolder or extra saturated shade. We used a complete bottle. Combine your components effectively.
Word: Rit additionally sells concentrated powder dye. It’s solely a greenback cheaper ($2.50 vs $3.50) however solely goes half so far as the liquid, so we often go for the simpler, pre-mixed liquid model.
If you happen to’d like, you may take a look at your shade by dipping a paper towel into the combo. This isn’t exact, however it’s a fast strategy to see if you could add extra dye or dilute with extra water. That is useful in case you’ve mixed a number of dye colours to make a customized shade.
3. Add Clothes
Wring out your garments by hand so they’re moist, however not dripping. Add materials to the dye bathtub and use your stir stick to make sure they’re totally submerged. We dyed all 3 items of clothes collectively.
4. Stir, Stir, Stir
Gradual and steady stirring helps obtain a fair and constant shade throughout your material. At a minimal, stir repeatedly for the primary 10 minutes. You’ll be able to proceed this course of for as much as an hour. Some materials (like nylon) want much less time, whereas others (polyester) want extra. We did this batch for half-hour, stirring slowly and repeatedly your complete time.
John did this half whereas I photographed the method and introduced varied issues to him as wanted (it’s good to have an additional set of arms however very potential to do that solo too – I’ve carried out it totally alone earlier than). To remain entertained by the waiting-and-stirring stage this time, John watched Survivor on his cellphone whereas I picked up considered one of our children after college. The purpose I’m making right here is that this venture isn’t very rigorous. It’s typically fairly enjoyable. If you happen to’d like, you may periodically test the colour throughout this ready interval. Simply do not forget that moist materials seem darker.
5. Rinse Totally
Put together a spot to rinse your clothes earlier than eradicating it from the dye bathtub. We used our spare bucket exterior to get many of the dye out after which moved inside to the tub for a extra cautious rinse. However first, we wrung out every clothes merchandise over the tub.
Then we used our backyard hose to spray off many of the extra dye. You’ll be able to already see how completely different materials reacted to the identical dye answer!
In the end you wish to rinse your material till the water runs clear from the material. This takes time! We in all probability spent 15 extra minutes inside rinsing with our bathe sprayer. Use cool water for this step.
It’s not essential to rinse in two areas. The white bathtub simply made it simpler to see if the water was clear.
6. Wash Once more
Lastly, wash all objects in your washer once more with heat water and gentle detergent. Throw in an previous towel along with your garments to behave as a “shade catcher.” This course of removes the remaining dye and assist to set the colour. Dry as regular in your dryer. We usually repeat this course of twice simply to be secure. In case your washer has an “further rinse” setting, it doesn’t damage to try this too. This may simply assist remove dye working throughout future, common washings. Word: don’t skip the colour catcher towel. Ours catches SO MUCH COLOR.
The Closing Consequence
Like I stated up entrance, a part of the enjoyable of dyeing your garments is seeing the ultimate end result. These 3 items turned out the whole lot from a light-weight grey to deep charcoal (I wouldn’t name any of them a “true black” shade). However this undoubtedly achieved my aim of creating them much more wearable for me.
Extra Clothes & Cloth Initiatives
Listed here are another tasks utilizing material, dye, or optimizing my wardrobe.
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