How to dye a garment

For the past month or so I have been searching for the perfect navy or black blazer. I wanted something light and casual, but dark in color to make my outfits a little more formal if I needed it. I finally was able to find a nice linen blazer that actually fit me pretty well (I’ve found it’s hard for a petite woman to find a jacket that fits correctly!) and was inexpensive to boot. The only problem was that it was a dull mid-blue color, and I really wanted something dark. I went ahead and bought the jacket, and decided to try my hand at dyeing it, and I am happy with how it turned out! The details are below:

What I used

-A garment to dye (in this case a jacket)

-One bottle of Rit dye (under $3 at Walmart)

-Table salt

-A large bucket

-A long metal kitchen spoon

What I did

I simply followed the directions on the bottle of Rit dye. For some fabrics it suggests you add either salt or vinegar. Because my garment was linen, it required I add a cup of salt to 3 gallons of hot water. After mixing the salt in with the water, I added about half of the bottle of dye, and mixed it well. I then added the jacket and stirred the garment at regular intervals.

Apparently you can dye the garment in your washing machine, but that made me a bit nervous so I opted for the bucket method. Once the jacket had been in the dye for almost an hour I was happy with the color and rinsed it with cool running water in my kitchen sink until the water ran clear. I then washed it in my washing machine with detergent and set it out to air dry.

 

The finished jacket! It is comfortable, light and just the right color. I may try this in a few weeks with white jeans. I just need to decide on a color :)