As I contemplated the whole idea, I had images of a pot of blue dye getting dumped all over my kitchen laminate floor. Or splattering it all over the back of my stove on accident. I'm prone to those sorts of things. Not to mention that if it's not me doing the mess, it will certainly be one of my boys, no doubt. But I really wanted to try it! It couldn't be that hard, right?!
Well, it wasn't. It was actually kinda fun (if you're into that sort of thing). I took pics along the way to share here, so you could all see the process. I just followed the instructions on the dye package.
I bought the Rit brand dye at Hobby Lobby. Decide what color you want to use. I chose navy blue. Each box will dye approximately 1lb of fabric (or 3 yards).
Gather up the clothes you want to dye. It's best to use 100% cotton, polyester, or silk. Other fabrics won't dye well. It's also a good idea to use clothes that are already white or off-white, or in the same color scheme as the dye you are using. For example, one shirt I used is off-white and the other is lavender, which is similar to navy blue. So I knew the colors would blend well. You can also use a product that will strip the color from the fabric first before you dye it, if you chose to use clothing that is brightly colored or an off color.
The package includes instructions for dying on the stove top, in a bucket, or in a washing machine. I did the stove top method. You will need a stock pot and rubber gloves. Make sure you don't skip the gloves, people!
Open the packet of dye powder and mix it with 2 cups hot water in a separate bowl.
Wet the clothes with hot water and ring them out.
Dump 1 cup of salt and 1 TB of detergent into your stock pot. Fill it with hot water, leaving some room at the top so it doesn't overflow when you add your clothes.
Add the dye mixture and mix well.
Put it on the stove and turn it on low. I started it at about 3 and turned it down to 1. So, whatever that looks like in your world, do that. Add your clothes and get them well saturated.
Now comes the painstaking part. You'll need to stand there and stir the clothes constantly for 30 minutes. Yep, you read that right - 30 minutes. (Think like a washing machine. lol) Don't let the water get too hot, make sure to turn it down eventually.
When the 30 minutes is up, take the stock pot to your sink or bath tub. Ring out the clothes (with your GLOVES). Run some warm water and start rinsing the clothes. Slowly turn the water colder little by little as you rinse, until you are rinsing with cold water. I think I did this for about 15 minutes total. If you keep rinsing with warm water, the water will not run clear. But as the water gets colder, the water will eventually run pretty clear. Ring the clothes out really well and hang them up to dry. Wash everything you used (stock pot, spoon, bowl, tub, etc) with chlorine bleach and hot water.
Once they are completely dry, wash them with something you don't care much about. I used my hubby's grungy work clothes. I washed them on the warm/cold cycle with my homemade laundry soap and dried them like normal.
They turned out great! I was really happy with the results. They didn't bleed on any of the clothes I washed them with and they came out of the dryer really soft. They didn't stink like dye, either. As you can see, the off-white shirt dyed a darker navy blue than the lavender shirt did. I was hoping for that.
Next time I'm trying yellow. :) Also, I waited until the kids were asleep, to avoid any unforeseen tragedies. ;)
I never realized it was that easy!
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