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When In Doubt Dye It Out
Spice up your favorite shirt with a little dye

Posted by Dus K. • Published 9th August 2014

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Dus K. published their project Dyed Top 03 Jul 15:18

Step 1
There's not need for a tutorial on this one, since you're best following the instructions provided on the packet of dye, but one recommendation a friend who dyes lots of items for work gave me was to look for a dye that includes warm water and salt. She told me the colors tend to stay best on those (as opposed to the infamous Rit dyes), and from dyeing about a dozen tops for my shop, Mitla Moda, I can say that it seems to be true.
Step 2
This tutorial of course is simple, but if you're like me, it might be one you'd forgotten about since the days of childhood tie dye. The dye is fairly cheap, but with all DIYs, what you're really using is your time, and this one takes a few hours between dyeing (about an hour at least with the dye I used), rinsing over and again, and then machine washing (inside out for delicate items) multiple times as well to ensure all the dye is out. I used two medium sized wash bins, but if you have a large stainless steel wash bin, I'd think that would be more convenient. If you have the space to put multiple things in at once, that could be handy too, but you'd just need to remember to rotate each consistently the first 15 minutes or so (again following the directions for your specific dye). I had one bin with the dye, and another ready with clean water for when I finished (you'll need to refill the bin at lot more times than you might initially think). I did all the dyeing outside on the grass, so I easily turned the hose on, and wasn't worried about making a mess. Most importantly, make sure to not leave your item(s) in the dye too long or you could get burnt looking marks, and if you're dyeing one item at a time, you can also use that same dye batch for another item right after if you'd like something a few shades lighter.