Shirt.Woot

Very interesting. I don't think it would be worth the hassle of having to wash dyed shirts separately though. I already wash whites separately; a third load is very unappealing to my laziness.

On the plus side, this technique could leave you smelling wonderful. Mmm, Kool-Aid.

So... tips like these are going to be a regular feature then?

Woah that surely is interesting, I need to go experiment.

Hmmm some step by step directions with pictures of the finished products would be cool... id be more willing to try it....


Even more willing of woot paid for the shirt

and don't forget onion skins. . . shed those skins from cooking onions, add cotton (preferably) shirt, water, and brew up some great deep yellow shades. Complements of my early days as a girl guide/cgit/canadian neophyte. Oh la la, pre tie-dye, to die for.

kool-aid is natural????

Kool-Aid makes a good hair dye, too.

yknow, I was wondering what to do with my "all is calm"... that white thing kills it... seriously adds nothing to the design. What's it supposed to be, snowy? Looks like I'll be getting some grape kool-aid... my shirt color choice will work WAY better than the original designer's

eHalcyon wrote:Very interesting. I don't think it would be worth the hassle of having to wash dyed shirts separately though. I already wash whites separately; a third load is very unappealing to my laziness.

On the plus side, this technique could leave you smelling wonderful. Mmm, Kool-Aid.

So... tips like these are going to be a regular feature then?

id rather not smell too fruity/sweet in the summer time
cause that will attract bees in my neighborhood

AdderXYU wrote:yknow, I was wondering what to do with my "all is calm"... that white thing kills it... seriously adds nothing to the design. What's it supposed to be, snowy? Looks like I'll be getting some grape kool-aid... my shirt color choice will work WAY better than the original designer's

how 'bout "herd? what herd?"? i'm totally down with purple sheep. baaaaa!

AdderXYU wrote:yknow, I was wondering what to do with my "all is calm"... that white thing kills it... seriously adds nothing to the design. What's it supposed to be, snowy? Looks like I'll be getting some grape kool-aid... my shirt color choice will work WAY better than the original designer's

I wonder if this means there's going to be a derby with only white and creme shirts entered...

Is it possible to dye non-white shirts successfully?

My Irony shirt is, not ironically, green as all get out. I thought it was going to be a little bit duller, but it's pretty much neon green instead of that faded color I was expecting.

Any suggestions on what I could do besides washing it?

TheDreadling wrote:Is it possible to dye non-white shirts successfully?

My Irony shirt is, not ironically, green as all get out. I thought it was going to be a little bit duller, but it's pretty much neon green instead of that faded color I was expecting.

Any suggestions on what I could do besides washing it?

Bleach. Just a little bleach in water will fade bright colors. Someone had a step by step they posted a long while back where they used mildew remover on their coolbreeze shirt... You could probably google up more info.

TheDreadling wrote:Is it possible to dye non-white shirts successfully?

My Irony shirt is, not ironically, green as all get out. I thought it was going to be a little bit duller, but it's pretty much neon green instead of that faded color I was expecting.

Any suggestions on what I could do besides washing it?

I have successfully over dyed fabrics for craft projects. A navy blue would tone down the green, most likely to a forest green but I can not be sure. Hard to make an educated guess without actually seeing the color. then there are always things that happen that you don't expect. If you try, water down the dye a lot and keep an eye on it until you have some idea of how quicky the color is transfering. make sure the shirt is completely wet and clean before dying and has enough dye to completely submerge before adding it to the mix.

Pink dye would most likely give you a brownish color but it is really risky.

Without removing the current color, the most you can do is go darker. There are color removers at fabric stores that will not damage the shirt much and give you wider palet to work with for a new color.

Bin4givn wrote:I have successfully over dyed fabrics for craft projects. A navy blue would tone down the green, most likely to a forest green but I can not be sure. Hard to make an educated guess without actually seeing the color. then there are always things that happen that you don't expect. If you try, water down the dye a lot and keep an eye on it until you have some idea of how quicky the color is transfering. make sure the shirt is completely wet and clean before dying and has enough dye to completely submerge before adding it to the mix.

Pink dye would most likely give you a brownish color but it is really risky.

Without removing the current color, the most you can do is go darker. There are color removers at fabric stores that will not damage the shirt much and give you wider palet to work with for a new color.

I could probably go for the forest green. That would be better than this neon color, anyway. Not sure where I could ask around in Orlando, though. :/

A helpful tip: add vinegar to whatever you are soaking your shirt in and boil it for about five minutes or so, let it sit in the hot water (after you turn the burner off) for 30min-1 hour, then rinse in cold water until the water runs clear. I find that with dying that Ivory liquid hand soap (the stuff you wash your dishes with, comes in a white bottle) helps the dye to set if you wash the shirt in it beforehand and then use that to wash it after dying the shirt. This method works especially well for Kool-Aid and beets. The vinegar acts as a mordant and will fix the dye to the cotton fibers, reducing the chance that it will bleed and will help keep the dye colorfast over time. And after you rinse it your shirt won't wind up smelling like vinegar, which is nice.

In addition to Kool-Aid, cake frosting dyes and food coloring works really well. Beware, though! Some of the dyes (like black) will separate into the individual colors that are used to make it, so you will wind up with something like a peacock effect. It's actually pretty awesome.

TheDreadling wrote:I could probably go for the forest green. That would be better than this neon color, anyway. Not sure where I could ask around in Orlando, though. :/

I usually get my dye at Jo Ann Fabrics, a major fabric chain I am pretty sure is national. Any major fabric store should carry it. Worst case, if you leave the shirt in the dark blue dye too long, you end up with a dark blue shirt.

TheDreadling wrote:I could probably go for the forest green. That would be better than this neon color, anyway. Not sure where I could ask around in Orlando, though. :/

Pearl Art Supplies (not sure if that is right name) has a lot of fabric paint; I don't know how knowledgeable staff is, though.

Dreadling ,

Check Walmart's craft/sewing department and the section where they sell laundry detergents & stain removers.
Many department stores , some grocery and dollar stores sell dyes.(usually Ritz.) They may not have awide variety as craft or sewing stores. But they usually carry basic colors like black and blue.

KidCam wrote:id rather not smell too fruity/sweet in the summer time
cause that will attract bees in my neighborhood

Two things:

1) Use unsweetened Kool-Aid.

2) Wash the shirt before you wear it.

You won't attract any more bees than you usually do.

I've spent a lot of this summer trying to figure out the technique, and I just am not satisfied with Kool-Aid. I used 8 packets for plain white mediums soaking and stirring for an hour, and it just doesn't give a bright hue. Plus at $.20 per pack for Kool-Aid, $1.36 for a thing of dye from Wal-Mart is cheaper. RIT fabric dye - I've only done pink, but I like it a ton more than Kool-Aid.

someone add photos! i wanna see some results! especially coffee... if i get around to dye 3d lion, ill post pics...

flipmeister wrote:someone add photos! i wanna see some results! especially coffee... if i get around to dye 3d lion, ill post pics...

I agree - if someone's actually attempted this, I'd love to see some pictures of the results.

'Using a commercial vegtable coloring it (The Encyclopedia of Country Living
By Carla Emery) says to use 1 drop red, 2 drops green and 1 drop blue which should equal gray. '

I know anyone can go out a buy a gray dye packet but I wonder if this would really work? If you used the right color of tea, flowers or fruit etc and mix your own up it might come out gray. I wonder how it would look? Sometime later I will try this out and post what items I used to get the reds, green and blue. Looks like I have a science project to figure out.

RIT dyes are awesome. You can mix their colors to make different dyebaths. I used it on a polyester unitard.

Just take note that what you have on your fabric with these natural dyes will be different once you wash it - its not very washfast. You may lose some color. And yes, it will bleeeeeeed.

...llo! I love woot staff! =D