Tutorial How to Dye Printed Clothes

This post is a tutorial on how to dye printed clothes. A floral blazer is an example for illustration of the process and concept, including a free infographic on dyeing cotton prints. Furthermore, it provides care and styling tips.

Contents

White Clothes Are the Easiest to Dye
How to Dye Printed Clothes?
Use a Stainless Steel Pot
How Do You Decide What Color to Use?
Stir Regularly for Equal Color Uptake
Set the Color with Vinegar When Dyeing Printed Clothes
Care Instructions for DIY Dyed Garments
Styling the Dyed Blazer

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White Clothes Are the Easiest to Dye

When you are a regular reader, you know that I dyed a lot of sweaters and cardigans last winter. It was one of those years when I could not find a sweater or cardigan in a color that worked for me. You know, there are these years when all pieces do not flatter you. In those years, I often bought white items to dye them. Thank goodness, in craft stores, the dyes are independent of what Pantone dictates as the year’s colors. Consequently, you can get a new item in one of the fashion or neutral colors by DIY dyeing. Dyeing has a long history in fashion.

How To Dye Printed Clothes?

I share how I dyed my floral summer blazer into a deep, darker color. First, I checked the percentage of natural material, as synthetics are hard to dye in a predictable way (see the linen of the blazer later in this post).

Floral blazer prior to dyeing — Notations floral blazer before dyeing with L.K. Bennett wedge patent leather pumps, Oliveo striped leather skirt, Esprit bag, Hermes collier de chien cuff, August Silk top.

How Do You Decide What Color to Use?

Decide on what you want to achieve color-wise. In other words, you must consider how the existing colors will look when dyed with that color (see the infographic for a broad idea of color mixing on prints with different dyes.

infographic showing approximate results of print color after dyeing

My idea was to go for a more muted and darker version than it was before. Note that you first must remove the old color when you want to go lighter. There are color removers in craft stores. I was thinking about navy blue, which would have led to a blue background with purple, brown, green, and hunter green florals. This color combination would have gone with my closet’s denim or black pieces. Therefore, I decided on burgundy, which I hoped would lead to some dark burned orange, purple, black, and dark brown pattern on a burgundy background.

how to dye printed clothes preparation of large pot with Rit dye — Large pot with Rit dye.

Use a Stainless Steel Pot

You need a stainless steel pot as plastic, wood, and enamel take up color. I put one package of burgundy dye into a huge 1.5-gallon pot on the stove (Photo above). I can’t tell which brand is the best, as I have never used anything other than Rite. Note, it is the only dye you can get in Fairbanks. I filled the pot 2/3 with water and dissolved the dye by stirring (Photo below).

burgundy dying solution in steel pot — Heating the dye solution to the highest temperature the garment can take without shrinking.

Since any chemical reaction increases with temperature, I heated the solution to the highest temperature at which one can wash the blazer. Then I put the blazer into the solution (Photo below).

putting a floral print blazer into the dye solution — The floral blazer to be dyed burgundy is put into the dye. By occasional stirring, make sure the piece takes up the dye evenly.

Stir Regularly for Equal Color Uptake

The package shows how long it takes to keep the fabric in the dye. It is essential to turn the fabric around occasionally to obtain an even uptake of the color. I always try to keep the temperature constant. I had the blazer in the color bath for nearly two hours. The photo below shows the color uptake after 10 minutes.

dyeing printed clothes after 10 min — Blazer after being in the dye for 10 minutes. At this time, the white background has turned pink. The print has also taken up some color, but most original colors are still recognizable. This means you can check for the color-uptake and take the item out before it has the intended color when you like what you see, for instance, a pink background.

Set the Color with Vinegar When Dyeing Printed Clothes

Once I was happy with the color uptake, I rinsed the blazer until the water ran clear. Then, I set the dye with half a liter of vinegar.

The photo below shows how the water-vinegar mix turns pink again.

#DIY dyed blazer in acid to set color — I dyed the blazer in an acid solution to set the color. I used white vinegar that I bought at Sam’s Club. I also use this vinegar for pickling and cleaning.

After 30 minutes in the acid, I rinsed the garment again until the water became clear. I hung the piece in the garage as I don’t mind when the concrete takes up some color.

Note that the dye also dyes enamel and plastic. Do I have to say that it also colors your skin? Thus, only use stainless steal items in the coloring process and avoid to get into contact with the dye.

drip drying the dyed blazer — Drip drying the dyed blazer. The formerly white polyester lining turned pink in the dying process because it is polyester. Note that polyester barely takes up Rit dye. Make sure that you cover the floor so you won’t get discoloration. A plastic trash bag with old newspapers or kitchen paper towels to take up the drip water works well.

Care Instructions for DIY Dyed Garments

As with all dark or dyed clothes, some color may rub off. Think of a new pair of dark jeans. Thus, do not hang the dyed item next to something light. The same applies to wearing until you are 100% sure there is no more color rubbing off.

When washing the dyed item, wash it separately. Add vinegar to the soap-water mix to set the color.

Styling the Dyed Blazer

The photos below show how the jacket looked after the coloring. Its vibe changed from girly, fun, and casual to posh. The burgundy dimmed the contrast of the colors in the print.

This dimming causes the stark difference in the look.

floral dress with dyed floral blazer — Front view of fit-and-flare blue and red floral print dress with dyed blazer.

influencer in posh dyed blazer with floral dress — Here’s a back view of the dyed blazer. As expected, the print’s colors burned orange, purple, red, and brown. The blazer took up the dye nicely, and there are no lighter spots to see.

#maturefashion Floral dress and dyed blazer — Notation blazer (colored), Karina Dresses floral print dress, L.K. Bennett open-toe snake-patterned pumps, Hermes collier de chien bangle, Hermes enamel bangles, Seiko watch, vintage bangle, and Jaeger tote.

I styled the dyed blazer with my floral print dress. What a difference the blazer makes!

mature fashion blogger in Karina dress styled for the weekend — Karina dress navy with red floral dress with sun hat, Gloria Vanderbilt open-toe pumps, collier de chien bracelets, and Chanel quilted bag.

back view summer office look with linen trousers and cotton 3/4 sleeve tailored jacket — Office outfit inspiration for a sultry summer day: Notations 3/4 sleeve tailored jacket with straight cut linen trousers.

A Light Blazer Is Great for a Professional Look in Summer

A light pair of linen pants and a top always look good and professional when you add a blazer. This means a linen pants—blazer combo makes for a great business casual work outfit. You can even go with a short-sleeved or 3/4-sleeve blazer.