… literally. I’m dyeing heaps of stuff lately.
My ultramarine corduroy skirt. I was bored with it, and didn’t wear it at all during me-made May even though it was season appropriate. That is A Sign. I dunno, I’d gone off the colour; the brightness of it felt a bit passe, a bit garish, not serious enough for winter.
So…. to the dye pot! Plunging your clothes into a pot of dye feels so adventurous, and a little bit dangerous. Like a thrilling, reckless and risky thing to do. Yeah? Man, I need to get out more.
This was dyed with iDye in Chestnut.
It did come out a lot less brown than I thought it would. I thought, bright blue mixed with orange-y brown would maybe beget a chocolate-y offspring, or a deeper version of the corduroy in my hoodie jacket I am wearing above. The new colour reads like deep dark petrol, a dirty midnight blue and I like it all over again now. I’m super happy with the nuovo neutral-ness of it. Feels like an actual new skirt, yay.
Then I turned to my ombre-d red velveteen skirt. I did this only last week, but when I compared it to my original version, I realised that my re-ombre-ing efforts had been pretty darn pathetic. So I re-ombred the re-ombred skirt in iDye in Brown. So now it has been re-re-ombred. Ha!
And my sludgy little skirt had lost some of its sludge, so it got a fresh dunking and a soaking in the leftovers.
Re-sludge-ing, accomplished.
Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1170, blue corduroy dyed chestnut, original details here and my review of this pattern here
Top (under); the loose drape top from drape drape, white cotton, details here
Hoodie; self-drafted, made from a pair of old corduroy jeans and long sleeved Tshirt, details here
Tights; self-drafted, black merino wool fabric, details here
Boots; nylon, from Zomp shoes
Red skirt; Vogue 1247, red cotton velveteen ombre dyed brown at the top, details here
Brown skirt; Vogue 1247, purple denim dyed brown, details and my review of this pattern here.
These all look so great, it's amazing the change in the blue one, I can see how it feels like a new skirt!
I enjoy a dabble in the dyepot too, but only tend to do white tube dresses in cotton! I am going to become more adventurous…
I always get the most wear out of neutrals especially in the colder months, so I think dyeing your blue skirt was a good move. I agree dyeing feels somewhat risky and can back this up as I have had several disasters…the Dylon colours we have here in the UK are not very subtle and so far I haven't been brave enough to mix them yet. Hopefully when I do I will get a better result.
Isn't it just so good to be able to quickly refresh, or re-dip, something to create another reason to wear it??? Super effort … J
I think I need to get out the dye pot – you seem to be having so much fun – and success with it!
Wow I would have never thought to dye a skirt I no longer wear/like the colour of:)
Aaah! Dye – it's the best way to revitalize a tired outfit and the outcome is always a mystery. Love the colour you got on the blue skirt. I would wear it all the time 🙂
I love your new skirts! You're so good at dyeing your clothes, the results are so amazing. I love the last picture especially. Very beautiful.
I've never attempted to dye anything, but I've often imagined trying to add grey to various colours. I love dusty blues, greens, pinks, but you don't see them very often these days.
I love the new color of the old skirt!! It's amazing how much of a change dye can make. I have a small pile of clothes and fabric that would be perfect in a more muted shade, and now that I finally have my own washing machine it may happen soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
You really gave new life to those skirts. I do love Merino wool tights for cold weather, but never even think of making my own. Of course, now that I live in Oklahoma, it is never cold enough for wool tights.
Wow! I never dyed anything before..(Apart from ruining white t-shirts by putting them in a washing machine together with dark blue towels lol) Does the colour change after washing?
Haha! I've done LOTS of that sort of dyeing too! As to whether the colour changes after washing; I always use plenty of salt, which helps the colour "stick"; but over the longterm I think colourfastness depends on the fabric and the colour. Some colours do fade over time a lot faster than others. I've heard procion dyes have better colourfast properties than traditional boiling dyes.
You are fearless with your dyeing and I'm very impressed with the results!
Absolutely fearless! I have dyed with things from Dharma Trading Co. (procion I think) and I was always scared to wash them, do you have trouble with the dye running or bleeding?
becki-c; I wash after dyeing, and in general I separate my washing, and wash batches of like colours together anyway. I think it's always a good idea to err on the side of caution, with anything very colourful! But I've had no more mishaps with my own home-dyeing than I have with store-bought items 🙂
Carolyn you are so right…dying fabric is certainly a lucky packet affair!
Your dyeing are sooo professional! I have tried a couple of times dyeing something and it was a complete disaster!
Love the changes in your skirts. I just pulled some old cloth napkins out and gave them a wine colored bath.
I love your dyed skirts.
Beautiful results! I finally tried dying this past April. I was mortified in the beginning and it turned out beautifully. Now I'm constantly thinking about changing my clothes' colors.
Fun new sludgies! I'm fascinated by the tree in the first photo–what animated roots. What kind of tree is it?
Thank you Amy! It is a Moreton Bay fig tree 🙂
Love the results! The colors seem so fall-appropriate now. (But it looks like the red skirt shrunk in the process – or is it just the photo?)
I like your hoodie refashion project, thanks for posting instructions how one might attempt that. I am often intrigued by possibilities of worn pants but never seem to be able to think them upside down.
xx juli
fragmentsofmyclothing.blogspot.com
I like how you are able to change the colours through dyeing to match your colour preferences.
Beautiful!
Christiana