I was checking out at Jo Ann Fabrics today and the woman in line with me looked at the box of dye I was holding and asked what is that and what do you use it for? I have talked about dye before but thought maybe some of our new readers need me to mention it again.
I forget many people don’t have a clue on how to use dye or even that the average person can use it. It is one of those things which is thought of as having strange magical powers and if you aren’t careful it might explode or even worse change your favorite red top to purple.
Years ago when I was growing up, believe it or not, the average home had a small collection of several different colors of dyes on their pantry shelf. It was used all of the time. I think what happened is people were more of the mind you don’t throw anything out so to make those red towels look nice in your purple bathroom you would dye them to match. You wouldn’t dream of getting rid of them and buying more just to make everything match.
Now if a pair of pants fade we just toss them or wear them faded. But it really doesn’t need to be that way. I bought me a box of denim blue dye. I have 2 pairs of shorts and 2 pairs of jeans which are in perfect condition they are just faded really bad. I will throw them along with some faded navy socks in together and dye them and they will look like new.
The next time I go I will get me a box of black and do my black jeans, t shirts and socks. I also do this with my fabric. If I have some really ugly fabric I just toss it in with a color of dye or tea dye and usually come up with something really great.
I figure if I can’t wear the item except around the house anyway what do I have to lose if I ruin it although it really is hard to ruin anything. It is so easy to use. I would start simple like buy a box to dye all of your navy or black things. Follow the instructions on the package but they basically say to dissolve the dye, dump it in the machine with some salt, wash and dry. You can hand dye things too. It is about as easy as doing a load of laundry.
You can also dilute the dye in a cup or 2 (depending on how dark you want it) of water and use it as a stain for wood things like furniture. It comes in liquid or powder form and they both work fine. The liquid you don’t need to dilute to use as a stain. I like them both equally as well.
If you are throwing those pants away because they are faded, try dyeing them and see what happens. Dye isn’t expensive. I use my Jo Ann Fabrics coupon and get it for about half price ($1.25). You can get it at Wal Mart and even some dollar stores or grocery stores.
Jill
PS Another way to use dye is if you need 3 yards of orange fabric for a Halloween costume or green for a costume but you only have 3 yards of white muslin, cream fabric or even an old sheet, just dye those orange and then make your costume. The dye is much cheaper then buying new fabric. If you have some ugly brown fabric but need a black cape, dye the brown black etc. Maybe you already have a brown cape but need a black one just dye the cape or dress or what ever you are using for a costume the color you need.
I have used dye, but never in my washing machine. Does it stain the machine?
Wow - Jill - what a great idea. I remember as a kid my Mom use to dye our bedroom curtains. This is a great idea to put some jazz back in to some of my favorite jeans or black pants that get dull after washing them a few times. I am going to try this - thanks for the great tip!
Hugs,
Glenda
How can you ensure the dye won’t transfer to other things in the wash later when you wash the dyed item? This has always made me hesitant. I tend to only sort our laundry into 2 loads, denim and everything else. I know I should really sort further, but this works best for us with denim work uniforms and the amount of clothing we have.
The instructs say to add a cup of salt when you dye your things this helps with the dye bleeding. I find my dyed things don’t bleed too much more then regular clothes do. To be safe though I sometimes wash them once or twice by themselves unless it is something like my dark blue or black things and then I just wash with like colors and there is no problem.
I figure it is worth the savings to wash something carefully one or two times if it means not buying new.
If you are still worried then just use the dye for things like curtains, costumes or things you will be washing on their own or with like colors. This alone can save you a bunch.
And Lucy if you dye something navy or black there is no reason you can’t wash them in with your denims with no problem.
As far as staining the wash machine goes the instructions say to run clorax through one cycle to clean it out. I do this but personally I have never found dye anywhere inside of my machine and a couple of times forgot to do this and had nothing show up.
Hope this helps,
Jill
The fun thing is buying something in a spring color and then changing it into a warmer color when fall rolls around.
I picked up a *fabulous* winter coat yesterday at Goodwill (only $6 for a down-filled Eddie Bauer coat!!), but I’m not crazy about the color. I read this post right after I got home and wondered if I could dye my down coat? Any experience with that?
Jill,
Can you give out the name brand of dye you use, or that you have found works best?
Thanks!
Brandy
Brandy I use just good old Rit dye. One thing also to keep in mind is if you use 8 pairs of jeans to try and get a dark color you need to use 2 packages of dye. The deeper the color you want the fewer clothes or more dye you need to use. The instructions are all on the box.
Also the longer it soaks in the dye the deeper the color turns out. I reset my wash to do the wash cycle 2-3 times so they get a good soaking.
Just be sure to use the salt like it tells you too.
Jill
Penny I’m not sure what to tell you on your down coat. I’m sure it will dye but being down I’m not so sure about washing it. They are starting to make some down items which can be washed now but so many still need to be dry cleaned so that would be my concern with you coat.
If you only paid $6 for it and you really hate the color it might be worth the try but read the cleaning instructions on it and if it says dry clean only you might want to wait.
If any one else has any suggestions please jump in.
Jill
A friend of mine even dyes her bathroom rugs when she change the color in there.
I do forget about doing this though so it was nice to be reminded. Gives you lots more options for garage sale and thrift store finds as well!
Check the washing instructions on the down coat. All the ones we’ve bought recently are machine wash, dryclean optional. Anyway, most can be machine washed and air dried (and say so on the tag). This works better on coats with quilting, if you’s doesn’t have quilting, hang onto the hem and shake vigorously for several minutes to redistribute the down.
Washing the coat is usually fine with down. You must avoid drying it in the dryer - it’s a fire hazard. But washing it in cold is usually fine.
Waterproofed or water-resistant coating may not take the die as well as regular nylon coat material.
Just some more ideas!
Lea
Jill/Tawra,
I’m sure it was a typo on your end but that should read Rit Dye.not Rite dye. I agree this stuff has been around for years and works great.
Yep that was a typo. sorry! It’s Rit dye. Tawra
Down does well on air dry w/ a couple of tennis balls….I do it all the time.
I just wanted to add to this. When my girls were young I used to buy the plain white sneakers, then I bought lots of white cotton things at the thrift store. I would take a couple of tops, pants , the sneakers and dye them all the same colour. Using a couple of packs of dye. I did sweaters and striped t’shirts too. When they were finnished they all mixed and matched. The girls loved their “designer” fashions, that no one else at shcool had. LOL,
and at that time as a single Mom, I loved that the dye usually cost me more than the clothing.
I agree so much! I have been using Rit Dye on my clothes since I was a teenager. I re-dye my black clothes every fall and they look like new. I also dye my husband’s favorite pants to the color of his work uniform so that he can wear them instead
I can’t tell you how many colors I’ve used to refresh or even change my clothes. A new color, some new buttons and voila! A new look. I even dyed some thrift store pants and a shirt purple last year to make my son a joker costume. He loved it so much that he’s wearing it again this year. All said and done I think the whole costume ws about $11.00 including the homemade face paint! Not bad for at least 2 years worth of a costume! I’ve used the stove top, bucket and washing machine methods. They all work great. Home dyeing rocks!
Ha, you must have a lot of readers in my area. I looked at my local Wal-Mart yesterday and they were sold out of Denim Blue, Navy and Black Rit dye!