I have had this silk teal blouse hanging in my closet for a while now, and while I love the cut and material, I found I never reached for it because I didn’t like the color. Then I realized I could just change it! Natural fabrics are the best candidates for dyeing because the fibers that make up the fabric are porous. I have attempted to dye a cotton-polyester blended fabric in the past and did not have a great outcome (the garment turned out faded-looking) so for the best result, I would recommend working with natural fabrics. You will need:
Plastic Bucket (I used a 2-gallon bucket)
Rubber Gloves
Fabric Dye (I used Rit Liquid Dye in Royal Blue)
Vinegar
Large stainless steel spoon (for stirring)
Start with a stain-free, clean garment and get it completely wet.
Fill your bucket with a gallon of very hot water. I put my bucket in my utility sink to contain the potential splashing.
Wearing rubber gloves, add 1/4 cup vinegar to the hot water, then measure 1/4 cup of liquid dye and carefully pour into the water.
Submerge your wet garment in the hot water bath and set your timer anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly. You want your garment to get darker than you think because a lot of dye will rinse out.
When time is up, empty the dye bath down the drain and start to rinse the garment with warm water, eventually switching to cold water. With your gloves still on, keep rinsing until water runs almost clear (this takes a long time).
Wash your dyed garment by itself on a delicate, cold setting with a mild detergent.
Hang to dry and steam to finish. For future washes, keep washing the garment by itself because some dye may still run in the wash. You can test it by adding an old white sock to your wash and if there’s no dye transfer, you’re set!
Hi there, was this 100% silk? Did you put in the washing machine?
Hello! Thanks for your comment. Yes, I did put it in the washing machine on the cold, delicate cycle and hung to dry. Typically I just hand wash in cold water in a bucket, but to get the excess dye out after the dye process, it’s recommended to let the washing machine do that work. So long as you make sure the water is cold and cycle is delicate, you should have excellent results! ♥