The Perfect Solid Dye - Recipe One

Want the perfect even solid dye to revive a piece of clothing? We all have that perfect fitting tee or shirt that is just the wrong colour. If you want to be sustainable and create something that you WILL wear we have the right recipe for you! 

What you’ll need:

1. Your garment (best if more than 50% made of natural fibers or you will have a muted color result);
2. Large pot (large enough to dip and move the garment freely or if you are dyeing a large garment you can use a plastic storage tub);
3. Water (bring it to the maximum temperature the fiber can resist);
4. Salt or Vinegar (Salt for plant based fibers, vinegar for animal based fibers);
5. Dye, choose the right colour for you!
6. Heat resistant gloves and I use another layer of other plastic gloves, the more the better (if not a pair of long kitchen tongs);
7. Washing machine.

Here is the secret to the perfectly even solid dye, and it's in the preparation. For an almost industrial solid dye you should wet the garment as evenly as possible, so when it's time for the dye to penetrate it will do so evenly. To do so, you havto to rinse and spin the garment before dyeing. The mechanical spin of the washing machine will make sure the wetting is balanced. Because dye penetrates through water, if the garment is evenly wet before dyeing, the dye will penetrate uniformly and give you an almost industrial result! It is quite important that in addition to this pre-step you move the garment (by dipping, lifting and stirring) while in the dye bath too.  

Easy Steps:

1. Boil or warm up the water;
2. Put your garment in the washing machine for a cold rinse and spin cycle, don’t let it dry, as soon as it comes out of the washing machine it has to enter the dye bath;
3. Prepare the dye bath, add water, salt or vinegar and dye. Test the concentration of dye with a tissue, if the color is not dark enough add more. The heavier the garment the more you shall add.
4. Once the garment is out of the washing machine wear your gloves or prepare your tongs and dip the garment. Keep dipping and lifting out or move the garment around with the tongs. Do it for as long as possible, the dye will act the best for the first 20 minutes. 
5. Don’t leave to long to rest in the pot without moving or stirring. 
6. Take the garment out after 30 to 40 minutes. 
7. Rinse with cold water or in the washing machine with 2 or 3 rinse cycles, put to dry and iron! 
8. Voila, your best solid dyed garment is ready! 

 Questions? DM me on Instagram!

Tried and didn't work? I can fix it or help you fix it! DM me!