RIT Dye Tips for DIY and Budget Fashions
Have you ever dyed your own clothes? These tips can help you refresh your favorite skirt, liven up a plain black suit that's gotten faded, add extra color to denim, or simply hide spots or stains. RIT Dye is an affordable alternative to buying replacements just because they are starting to show their age.
Below, my top dyeing tips!
If you are a big-time dark jeans person, then you might want to go for something even darker than their indigo, like mixing up a new dark-dark blend in black and blue. One package of indigo dye and another of black helps to tone down the purplish color of the black dye, while still amping up the indigo. Indigo jeans dye used by itself usually gives you a deep blue hue to your jeans, but not the mega-dark we’re so used to seeing.
Tip: If you are particularly adventurous, you can try mixing an indigo dye with a single color, like purple or red, for a surprise hue.
The hotter you get that water for dyeing, the better off you will be. One tip I learned online to decrease the amount of water boiling and fussing with kettles is to boil a single pot of water and add it to a plastic bucket of the hottest tap water from your tub possible. As you can probably tell from these directions, I prefer the bucket dyeing method, as opposed to the washing-machine dyeing method. It’s a good way to control your dye and keep it more concentrated, too.
Tip: Check out RIT’s site, which lists tips about what temperatures are better for dyeing what. It’s so helpful!
You can make colors a lot more intense with common household ingredient additions. When you’re dyeing cotton, rayon, ramie, or linen, add 1 cup of salt to the dyebath. If you’re dyeing nylon, silk, or wool, you can add a cup of vinegar to the dyebath for the same super-bright effect. The RIT Dye company also recommends doubling up on dye in a dyebath for deeper colors like black, cocoa brown, dark brown, navy, wine, and dark green. However, I couldn’t justify the additional cost, and my dyed-black-over-black pieces came out nice and dark with just a single package of dye in a three-gallon bucket.
Tip: Freshening up your work clothes never came easier! You can make your black clothes look new again with a dunk in RIT.
I don’t like the bathtub-dyeing method for this reason: it’s too risky, and you might end up staining your tub in the process. By containing everything in a plastic bucket, you ensure that you won’t be risking surfaces with something that will never come out (especially if the color is shocking or bright, and with RIT, it’s usually one or the other.
Tip: Immediately rinse any surfaces that get splashed with dye, and wear dark colors yourself! Keep a cleaning cloth on hand to wipe up splatters. Since I live in an apartment, I have to dye my things in the bathroom, which means that things can get pretty messy.
It’s so tempting to let something soak, but it’s not the best choice if you are looking for an even dye job. I use the plastic handle of a bathroom brush to make sure my pieces are dyed evenly. I put on a movie on my phone or turn on the radio and get ready to stir for 10-30 minutes.
Tip: If you are impatient, you might want to consider doubling up on that dyebath and sticking it out as long as possible. Not all of us have the patience for standing around and stirring a vat full of dye and clothes.
Below, my top dyeing tips!
1. Get the right color.
If you are a big-time dark jeans person, then you might want to go for something even darker than their indigo, like mixing up a new dark-dark blend in black and blue. One package of indigo dye and another of black helps to tone down the purplish color of the black dye, while still amping up the indigo. Indigo jeans dye used by itself usually gives you a deep blue hue to your jeans, but not the mega-dark we’re so used to seeing.
Tip: If you are particularly adventurous, you can try mixing an indigo dye with a single color, like purple or red, for a surprise hue.
2. The hotter, the better.
The hotter you get that water for dyeing, the better off you will be. One tip I learned online to decrease the amount of water boiling and fussing with kettles is to boil a single pot of water and add it to a plastic bucket of the hottest tap water from your tub possible. As you can probably tell from these directions, I prefer the bucket dyeing method, as opposed to the washing-machine dyeing method. It’s a good way to control your dye and keep it more concentrated, too.
Tip: Check out RIT’s site, which lists tips about what temperatures are better for dyeing what. It’s so helpful!
3. Use little helpers to get your dye bright and beautiful.
You can make colors a lot more intense with common household ingredient additions. When you’re dyeing cotton, rayon, ramie, or linen, add 1 cup of salt to the dyebath. If you’re dyeing nylon, silk, or wool, you can add a cup of vinegar to the dyebath for the same super-bright effect. The RIT Dye company also recommends doubling up on dye in a dyebath for deeper colors like black, cocoa brown, dark brown, navy, wine, and dark green. However, I couldn’t justify the additional cost, and my dyed-black-over-black pieces came out nice and dark with just a single package of dye in a three-gallon bucket.
Tip: Freshening up your work clothes never came easier! You can make your black clothes look new again with a dunk in RIT.
4. Keep in mind that some surfaces will stain.
I don’t like the bathtub-dyeing method for this reason: it’s too risky, and you might end up staining your tub in the process. By containing everything in a plastic bucket, you ensure that you won’t be risking surfaces with something that will never come out (especially if the color is shocking or bright, and with RIT, it’s usually one or the other.
Tip: Immediately rinse any surfaces that get splashed with dye, and wear dark colors yourself! Keep a cleaning cloth on hand to wipe up splatters. Since I live in an apartment, I have to dye my things in the bathroom, which means that things can get pretty messy.
5. Constantly agitate your dyebath.
It’s so tempting to let something soak, but it’s not the best choice if you are looking for an even dye job. I use the plastic handle of a bathroom brush to make sure my pieces are dyed evenly. I put on a movie on my phone or turn on the radio and get ready to stir for 10-30 minutes.
Tip: If you are impatient, you might want to consider doubling up on that dyebath and sticking it out as long as possible. Not all of us have the patience for standing around and stirring a vat full of dye and clothes.
