DIY: Dip-Dye

DIY?!

This was my first time at dip-dying clothes and my first tutorial so bear with me. I tried to dye a polyester blouse I had bought from the Zara sale yet had to learn the hard way that because it was 100% polyester and that polyester is a man made fibre [durgh chemistry revision] it doesn't actually dye! So I quickly ran to find another top I had wanted to spruce up and voila!

Heres just a standard tutorial on how to dye a top, for my button up shirt I did the same but with it hanging upside down instead. When I wore it out my friends loved it and now want me to dip dye all their clothes! 

Hope this is helpful and you can learn from my mistakes :)

You will need:

- The clothing you wish to dip dye

- Dye 

- Salt 

- Bucket

- A hanger 

How to:

1. Dampen your garment - you want it to be damp but not dripping. This helps it take on the dye evenly. 

2. Open your packet of dye and separate it evenly into a few different containers. 

3. To start, only put one of the measures of dye into the water, mixing according to the instructions on the packet. This will be the least concentrated to do the first immersion. Most dyes recommend using warm water and salt to set the dye. 

5. Put your garment on a hanger so it hangs evenly and dip it into the dye. The first time you dip it will be the deepest, and aim to stop roughly 2 thirds of the way up the top (adjust this to your preferences)

 6. Take the top out (hover it over a bucket to avoid spillages) and add another container of dye to the bucket and mix up. Dip the top again, this time only about 2 thirds of the depth of the first time. 


7. Add the final container of dye. Dip only the bottom few inches of the top into the dye at its most concentrated. You can even let it sit in the dye for a little while to take on more colour. 

8. Once you think it is dark enough, wash it out in a sink, making sure that no dye gets onto the top of the top. 

9. Leave the top to dry hanging over a bucket. The colour will lighten a bit once dry so you can keep the dye in the bucket so that if it dries and you find that find that it isn't dark enough you can dip once again. 

Quick snippets of the top before I headed out

inspiration: a pair and a spare 

xx

rhea