1. Take some old jeans. Or in my case, new jeans that I got staff discount on.
2.Move your bunny and your snacks out of harms way.
3. Cut into shorts. I favour just going "errr...THERE" then snipping in
what I hope is a straightish line on one leg, then fold them in half and
use the first leg as a guideline for the second.You can be more exact
if you want, but the hems are going to curl and fray anyway, so
precision is not essential.
4. Gather your ingredients! I'm using Dylon machine wash dye in powder
pink (RRP is £6 I believe, but you can get cheaper on ebay), Dylon hand wash dye in french lavendar (£3), salt (do not forget
this!), and I also purchased some fabric paint though I did not use it
on this occasion.
5. First you need to wash your shorts, then when they are still damp,
you put the dye powder, the salt, and then the shorts in the machine,
and run a 40 degree cotton cycle and then you wait. My machine takes
bloody ages, but I did oooooh and aaaaaahhhh at the pretty colour.
6. If you were just dying your shorts the one colour, you would then
rinse them in another cotton cycle. However as I wish for more, I did
not rinse yet. Instead, I filled the sink with 6 litres of water, 5
tablespoons of salt, and the hand wash dye which was mixed up in a half
litre jug of warm water. I then stuck the top half of the shorts in
the purpley murky mixture and proceeded to get arm ache as I stirred it
all up for 15 minutes.
7. Then you can leave them dunked in there for 45 minutes going back
every few mins for a quick stir and to check that only the parts of the
fabric you want to dye are submerged.
10. After the time was up, I gave them a quick rinse in cold water,
before chucking them in the machine with some detergent on another 40
degree cotton cycle.
11. After that I tumble dried them. I don't think you're meant to, but
it was half 11 pm by this point and I wanted quick results.
12. VOILA!!! Beautiful ombre style denim cut offs that are obviously waaaaayyy better than the ones popping up on the highstreet because they are fabulous DIY.
I've also ordered some studs off ebay to customise these further, or perhaps the next pair!
Good To Know
- Mine were obviously on white, so the colour came out really well. You can buy pre-lightener to use first, but the colour of the original fabric will affect the final result. Normal colour rules apply too-red dye on blue fabrics will have a more purpley result and a more orangey result on yellow fabrics. Common sense really!
- You need to use salt, just normal household salt (although you can get the Dylon salt, which is 500g-the exact amount you need with the machine wash box) to help the dye be absorbed into the fabric properly.
- Only the actual denim will get dyed, not usually the thread on the seams, pockets etc. I personally think this is a much nicer effect, but something to keep in mind!
