I am in love with the bright colored skinny jeans I have been seeing in all of the stores and magazines! It just so happens that I have a cheap pair of white skinny jeans I had bought at Wal-Mart for a photo shoot that I NEVER wear. I had always wondered how well the fabric dye actually worked, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test it out.
I bought what looked to be one of the brightest colors of dye at Hobby Lobby. The brand was Dylon in the Bahama Blue color. I just followed the directions to the “T”. It said that 1 package was enough for a large shirt, so I used 2 packages just to be safe. I also used a 5 gallon bucket rather than doing it in my sink (which happens to be light colored) just in case it stained.
Start by dissolving the dye packet into 4 Cups of warm water.
Then fill up the vessel with enough warm water to cover your item, with a little extra room.
Add 1/4 C. of salt into the warm water.
Carefully pour the dissolved dye mixture into the warm salt water.
Add the fabric into the mixture.
Now for the time consuming part: stir this constantly for 15 minutes straight. After the 15 minutes is up, stir it regularly for 45 minutes.
To finish up, rinse your fabric in cold water ( I did this on the rinse setting in my washing machine. I think its a little less messy this way.) Then wash it in warm water, and let it dry away from the sun and direct heat.
I was pleasantly surprised at how bright these came out!! The color matches the swatch on the package perfectly!! Having a clean white palate was a big help. If you are thinking about dying fabric, keep in mind the basic color rules: red and blue make purple, yellow and blue make green, etc. For the brightest results I would go with white, or a lighter version of the color you are trying to achieve as your starting fabric color. I’d love to hear thoughts on this, or if anyone else tries this, let me know how it goes!! Have a great day!!
❤Lindsay