Use Dye to Hide Stains

 Hello Readers. I love linen in the summer. It is so light and comfortable. I wanted to dye these linen pants and this pink cotton shirt at the same time. Let's see how linen and cotton take the dye and how they look after. 

 Before and after.

This pink shirt was so pretty but it got some kind of stain on it. I think it was my daughter's new jeans that bled out some dye in the washer. Could I dye the shirt and make the stain disappear? 

Somehow I ended up with 2 pairs of linen pants. I must have over thrift shopped. That's OK, I can dye one pair and make them another color. 

Would dark brown cover the stains and the tan linen? I thought it might so I tried it. I got my clothes wet, then removed them and added the dye. When the dye was mixed in, I added the clothes back in and let the washer do the work for me. 

I also threw this white cotton shirt in just for fun. All these clothing items are natural fibers and I used dye for natural materials. There is dye for synthetics, it works great on any polyester material. 

The stains are still very visible. I was sad about that. Maybe if I had used black dye? There are no guarantees with dye. 

The pants and the other shirt came out great! I love brown and I was happy with this warm shade of chocolate that I got. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

Stovetop Fabric Dyeing

 Hello Readers. I was deep into Valentine's Day colors this year. I thought if I dyed this blouse I made pink it would be even more fun. I bought some pink Rit dye. You can use this dye in the washer but let's dye it on my stove. 

 

Before and after.

I sewed up this fun blouse and it was great but I thought I could dye it pink and it would be even more fun. And pink and red are such great colors together.

The blouse had some polyester in it so I used this Rit dye for synthetics. (Not an ad!) Rit makes dye for natural fibers and it works much better if you use the right dye for the right fabric.

I added a teaspoon of dish liquid to a pan of simmering water as directed. Then I stirred in the dye. I used a big stainless steel pan. The dye can stain the container it is in but stainless steel doesn't stain. You can also heat water and pour it in a bucket or plastic tub.

I added my wet blouse to the simmering dye bath as directed. I stirred it continuously for about 10-15 minutes. The fabric rises to the top and the color won't be even if you don't keep stirring.

After stirring the blouse was looking like this. I liked the shade of pink it made. I dumped the dye water out and rinsed the shirt with cool water. 

I washed the shirt in my washing machine to remove excess dye. I used cold water and ran the washing machine as I normally do.

I dried the top in my dryer and the color was still great. 

I really liked the pink and red together so much. I am ready for Valentine's Day now. I hope you have a great day. Get yourself some chocolate.

Dye a Romper

 Hello Readers. I thought this floral romper had potential. I just wasn't sure about the white color background. The white background seemed to contrast too much with the floral pattern. But I could do something about that. I got a bottle of dye and got to work.

Rit Dye to the rescue.

I liked the fit of the romper but maybe the shorts were too long? I would address that later. 

I cut out the shoulder pads first. I didn't like the way they looked. and my shoulders are big enough already for me.

 

I put the romper in my washing machine with this blue dye as directed. This roper was a cotton/polyester blend so I used some dye for synthetics. 

 

The dye worked well. I thought it created a sort of denim blue color. I washed and dried the romper as directed.

 

I turned the hem of the shorts under and sewed a new hem to make the shorts a bit shorter. 

 

I ironed the new hem so it was smooth.  

 

The new color was great for me. The floral design is still visible but I like how the new colors all work together. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

***Year End Update***- I really liked the blue dye on this romper. Dye is so fun. 

 

 

 

Dye Bland Colored Clothes

 Hello Readers. Bland colors can bring me down. I don't want to be feeling blah because of what I am wearing. If I can wear something brighter and more cheerful, I will. But what do you do with plain, bland colored clothes you already own. 

A little dye can fix a bland sweater.

If oatmeal has a sweater it would look like this. It's just kind of bland. It's not terrible but it's not great either.

Let's turn to our old trusty friend, Rit Dye. (Not an ad.) I filled up my washing machine and added the dye. Could it brighten up my boring sweater?

It could! I liked this color a lot and it was as easy as washing clothes. 

This is more colorful, more fun and more what I want to wear. Thanks for reading along, now go make some thing fun for yourself.

***Year End Update***- I still love this blue color. And I still love using dye on clothes.

Save That Sweater #3

 Hello Readers. Sometimes clothes start to look dull and washed out after being washed over and over and over. That happens to all of us and it definitely happened to this sweater. I wanted to give it a new wash of color. I couldn't find the mauve/pinkish brown that I really wanted. I knew you could mix dyes to get a new color but I had never tried it.

Before and after.

This butterfly sweater was getting old and really washed out. I love the sequins and the color of those sparkly butterflies inspired the color I choose for the dye.

I used this boxed dye from Rit. I thought if I mixed the brown and the pink together it would give me a nice color to freshen up the sweater.

I mixed the dyes into the water in my washer and then added the sweater. I let the washer do all the work after that.

 

When the washer was done I opened it and I was thrilled with the color.
 

I thought the color was a great with the color of the butterflies. My sweater looked so much better and it was so easy. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This sweater was exactly what I hoped it would be. I love it so much. I wear it as much as I can.

Save That Sweater #2

 Hello Readers. Have you ever wanted to change the color of a sweater? I really wanted to change this bright yellow sweater into almost any other color. I know neons are in style but they don't look very good on me. Could I dye this thrift store cashmere find? I could try!

Before and after. 

I found this "Lands End" sweater at a thrift store and realized it was cashmere. I love cashmere. It was in great shape but that yellow was really bright Like REALLY bright.

I could have used this sweater to dress as a highlighter for Halloween. I couldn't handle the bright yellow but I can't leave cashmere behind.

I decided to dye the sweater. It was cashmere but if I used lukewarm water it shouldn't shrink, at least not too much. I picked this "Dark Brown" dye because I figured the darker the dye, the more it would cover the yellow. 

 

I got the sweater wet in the washer as it filled up. 

 

I put the dye in the warm water and pushed the yellow sweater into the dye bath so you could see the color. Then I closed the washer and hoped for the best.

 

After a run through the delicate cycle, I found this. It is a simple beige color. This might not seem exciting but I wanted to erase the bright yellow and it worked. I was very excited. And since I always forget to about basics and neutrals, this was a great thing for my wardrobe. It's going to go with everything. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 ***Year End Update- This sweater is perfect when I need or want to dress like a mature adult. That isn't my norm but sometimes it is necessary. I love how soft it is and it matches everything.

 

 

 

Refreshing an Old T-shirt

 Hello Readers. I found this Hamilton themed T-shirt recently at the local thrift store and since I loved Hamilton, I decided to bring this shirt home with me. It fit great but it seemed kind of washed out.

 

Before and after.

 

 

When I saw this shirt at the thrift store I knew it was for me. 

 

I decided to use this Rit dye. I mixed it up as directed and cooked it on my stove for a little while. I thought I would get a pale blush pink.

I put the shirt in the dye bath. I stirred and stirred. I realized I was getting a peachy color.

 

When the shirt was done, I rinsed and washed and dried it.

The color was brighter and the shirt looked less washed out.
 

 

I also dyed this little cardigan sweater at the same time. It was white but it became the same color as the t-shirt. 

Then I realized it was the same color as the dress I refashioned yesterday. I made a little peach colored capsule wardrobe without meaning to. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This top just seemed to work with this skirt so well. I wore these together over and over.