I’ve had two light colored polo shirts that were stained, but I hated to throw them away because they were pretty new (as in they got stained on one of the first wearings). I washed them, rewashed them, treated the stains, retreated the stains, washed them some more, but nothing worked. So, they’ve been sitting on my sewing desk waiting for me to figure out what to do with them. Then, I wondered about dyeing them. I chose purple because it’s darker and I’m hoping that it will cover the stains. For about $2, it’s a pretty cheap way to remake a shirt!
I opted to dye them in a bucket (an old kitty litter pail). I filled it about half way with hot water and added some hose water. Although the directions said to add 3 gallons, I didn’t measure. The only thing I did measure was the hot water to mix the dye.
I heated water on the stove, soaked the shirts and then added the whole mix to the dye.
When I dunked it in and then lifted it right back out I wasn’t sure I was going to like it.
About 20 minutes later when I checked it and the color was so much better!
After about 25 minutes, I was happy with the color. I dumped my dye and then rinsed the shirts in clean water. I kept rinsing until the water was clear. Then I hung it over a chair to drip dry. When it stopped dripping, I tossed it in the dryer…then I re-read the directions and saw that I was supposed to wash it first. Oh well. I’ll just wash it separately for the first couple times.
So, because I didn’t wash it right after I made it, I washed the dyed polo shirts with our towels. I don’t care so much if the towels come out with a purple tint. Although the the water did get a little purple, my towels were OK. I’ll probably continue to wash them with towels until they don’t make the water purple though. Better safe than sorry!
The dye covered the stains pretty decently, but not the thread.
It did make slightly darker spots where the stains were, but I don’t think they’re very noticeable. Definitely not as noticeable as the stains before I dyed the shirts.
Have you ever dyed anything? Did it work out?
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