Friday, July 27, 2007

Recent Dyeing

I recently got my dyes out of storage and did up some blues, purples, and the orangey/pink fabric above. I had to re-read the dye books I have since it had been a while and I knew I was mixing up some of the recipes and ingredients.
As part of my wardrobe refashioning I overdyed several shirts that had unfortunate and stubborn stains. This embroidered tank top was just white. I like how the embroidery threads dyed the nice deep navy. The construction thread and bow stayed white, not sure if I like that, or if I'll Sharpie over it...
This was one of my favorite Land's End shirts, a nice heavy knit, 3/4 sleeve, in a beautiful yellow. Somehow it got blue/green stains on it? So I decided to just go with it and over dyed with blue and green. The stitching stayed yellow, so it is a nice contrast.
This was a really faded Land's End t-shirt that started out as a fairly bright orange, which quickly lost it to a pale peach (bleah!). With some red and yellow overdye, I like how it looks now, back to vibrancy. And maybe wearable to a San Francisco Giants game.
This was my favorite purple t-shirt, I really like the keyhole neckline, but it too was faded and splotchy. Now with some grape dye from Dharma Trading, it looks intentional!

So with just a little effort, and a some water and dye, I've got some new looking shirts to wear. And I don't have to break them in!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unless you are 100% satisfied with the results, think about doing some gel discharging on these too.

I hate it when cotton garments get sewn together with synthetic thread and the dye won't take. Argh!

Anonymous said...

You did a great job with the clothing revamp! I might follow your lead and see if new life can be brought to some old favorites!

The fabrics came out great too!

Rhonda said...

What a great idea to refresh the closet things. It gives me ideas. I might even use a wax resist to mix it up. Thanks!

anita said...

I never thought about dying things to cover up stains, what a great idea! Now I wish I had back all those stained clothes I've gotten rid of.