09/01/2013

Dip dye

Happy New Year, readers!

To help fight those winter blues, I’m going to show you a few projects that I did for my summer holiday wardrobe back in September, starting with a rather nice blouse.

This 100% cotton blouse is so thin it’s pretty much cheesecloth. I bought this in the St Francis Hospice Shop in Romford for a very reasonable £3.00.

It’s size 14 but I’m going for a loose fitting look so I left the size as-is.

Dip dyed garments were very popular with DIY bloggers over the summer as the ‘ombre’ look was so popular, so there are a million tutorials out there about this; here’s my take on it anyway.

You need some dye, some water and some salt plus a bucket and some old rubber gloves. Definitely, definitely wear the gloves.

Here’s what I did. I filled the bucket to about a third full with water and dipped the shirt in completely so it was all wet. Having the shirt wet before you start helps the dye take evenly. I rung it out so that it wasn’t dripping and hung it on the hanger. I wrapped the sleeves around the top of the hanger, since I didn’t want to dye them, but that’s up to you.

I stirred in a third of a packet of Dylon Flamingo Pink dye (I’m using the kind for handwashing), plus two tablespoons of salt.

For the first dip, I quickly dipped the shirt in up to almost the armpits and took it out again immediately.

For the second dip, I dipped it in not quite as far, left it for 10 or 20 seconds and pulled it out.

For the third dip, I added a bit more dye from the packet before dipping only the bottom bit of the shirt in for about a minute.

Easy!

I let this air-dry hanging up. Don’t lie it flat and don’t forget to put something below it to catch any drips.

Here’s how it turned out; I’m really pleased with it and wore it a lot on holiday. The pictures on the beach were taken at Le Treport, France. The beach is pebbles but there is a really cute lighthouse! Enjoy!

40 comments

09/01/2013 - 9:55 am Agy of Green Issues

Lovely tutorial – looks very easy. I was going to comment how summery it looks in England now but then I realised it was a holiday shot in France! Happy new year :-)

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- 09/01/2013 - 10:18 am charityshopchic
  
  Thanks, Agy — yeah these pictures were taken back in September! It is really not that great in England right now!
  
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09/01/2013 - 10:32 am Marie

This turned out beautifully, great job!

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- 09/01/2013 - 10:45 am charityshopchic
  
  Thank you! I am pretty pleased with it :)
  
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09/01/2013 - 10:58 am mancunianvintage

Ooh that looks fab – nice one!

http://www.mancunianvintage.com

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- 09/01/2013 - 11:01 am charityshopchic
  
  Thanks for the comment!
  
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09/01/2013 - 12:25 pm renata perito

Beautiful color and beautiful locations! Glad to see a new post!

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- 09/01/2013 - 12:42 pm charityshopchic
  
  Thanks Renata, I was considering dark blue at first but really glad I went with the pink! :)
  
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09/01/2013 - 1:55 pm Foster

What fabulous photos! Especially the photos by the seaside. Nice upcycle as well.

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- 09/01/2013 - 2:23 pm charityshopchic
  
  Thanks! We had a lovely day at Le Treport, I would definitely recommend a visit if you find yourself in that area.
  
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09/01/2013 - 2:01 pm BeingZhenya

A wonderful DIY and beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing!
Zhenya
http://beingzhenya.com

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- 09/01/2013 - 2:23 pm charityshopchic
  
  Glad you liked it, Zhenya!
  
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09/01/2013 - 3:38 pm Janet Friel

Thanks for showing how you did this – it’s a lovely effect. I’m looking forward to trying this out!

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- 09/01/2013 - 4:01 pm charityshopchic
  
  You’re welcome, Janet – I hope you try this as it’s really easy and quick.
  
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09/01/2013 - 3:38 pm Pillows A-La-Mode

Beautiful!!!

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- 09/01/2013 - 4:02 pm charityshopchic
  
  Thanks!
  
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09/01/2013 - 5:00 pm craftywubo

really beautiful and so wearable. In winter you could put it over a turtleneck and wear with leggings. Just curious, though. Did it wash ok without spreading into the white? Love your blog. (Portland, Oregon, USA)

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- 01/02/2013 - 9:21 am charityshopchic
  
  Thank you so much for commenting, I am so glad you like this piece. I am indeed using it for layering now that we’re deep in the throes of winter. And yes, I washed it on the handwash setting on my machine and the colour is fine.
  
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09/01/2013 - 6:18 pm Helle Zetterberg

Nice to have you back again! I always look forward to the next update, but as you put in a lot of work before each “blog subject” I totally understand why you can’t blog every day or week. Anyway, really enjoyable:-)

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- 01/02/2013 - 9:22 am charityshopchic
  
  Thank you Helle — yes it does take a while to make all these projects, and writing about them takes a while too, so I’m never going to be the kind of blogger that posts every day…
  
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09/01/2013 - 6:41 pm Galadriel

Looks great! I love the colour.

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- 01/02/2013 - 9:23 am charityshopchic
  
  Thanks! I was toying with the idea of navy blue, but I will save that packet for another time!
  
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10/01/2013 - 9:18 pm shipshapebristolfashion

Ooh, I love it – perfect for a warm summer day : )

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- 01/02/2013 - 9:23 am charityshopchic
  
  Thank you! Yes it was great for keeping the sun off.
  
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11/01/2013 - 5:09 pm mcwynar

You are my new favorite blog! I have spent hours, checking out your past blog posts and i am utterly impressed! Such great talent and look forward to future posts!

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- 01/02/2013 - 9:24 am charityshopchic
  
  Ha ha thanks! Stay tuned as there is a lot more good stuff coming soon.
  
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07/02/2013 - 1:06 pm Eszter @ Creatű

I would really like to try the dip dye, but I only came across dyes that need hot water and boiling for some time. Is this a special one for cold water or did you keep the water warm?

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- 07/02/2013 - 1:48 pm charityshopchic
  
  I’m using Dylon handwash dye, which calls for ‘warm water’. The instructions on the packet say to soak the garment in the dye and warm water mixture for 45 minutes, then rinse with cold water, no mention of boiling it or heating it up again.
  
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  - 12/02/2013 - 10:22 pm Eszter @ Creatű
    
    Thank you! I`ll check if I can get that here.
    
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    - 17/02/2013 - 4:57 pm charityshopchic
      
      You’re welcome :)
      
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17/02/2013 - 8:35 pm Amy

Love the dip-dye look, very cool! I’ve been wanting to try this in navy for ages – will be checking back to this post for tips!

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- 18/02/2013 - 1:39 pm charityshopchic
  
  Hope you do try it, it’s a great way to add a new lease of life to something old! Good luck!
  
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21/02/2013 - 12:15 am Lauren

Thank you so much for posting to Refashion Co-Op’s Refashion First Friday! I love what you did with the blouse! Always love a great dye job! :)
LaLaLauren
Editor
Refashionco-op.blogspot.com

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- 21/02/2013 - 11:52 am charityshopchic
  
  You are welcome Lauren, it was great to be a part of the co-op’s first linky party!
  
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24/04/2013 - 3:56 pm Erinn Jackson- Sticky Genius

I love how this came out! I’m about to refashion some white t shirts into a dress and I wanted to try this effect on the hem. My worry is how well it will launder. Did the shirt turn completely pink after wash? Does hand washing keep the dye from migrating? In my experience with dying, after I wash the color tends to spread to the white areas making them a light tink of whatever color I used to dye with. Just curious if you have any advice before I dive in.

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- 07/05/2013 - 1:35 pm charityshopchic
  
  Hi Erinn, I can report that this shirt laundered well. I put it in the machine on its own on the handwash setting, with a Colour Catcher sheet which catches loose dye. When the cycle was finished, the colour catcher was bright pink, but the top half of the shirt was still perfectly white. I will continue to wash this on its own, I think. Hope this helps.
  
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02/05/2013 - 5:11 am Jung Kwan, KIM

I love this fabulous work!

This is Director of Danae Ltd. who supply DYLON product in South KOREA.
And I would like to show your beautiful art work to the people through our official blog. ( blog.naver.com/dylonkorea )

Would you allow me to use your pictures for introducing your gorgeous knowhow to the people in South Korea?
These will be translated in Korean language, as well.
Also, the Link to your blog will be printed just beside your pictures.

I hope to hear a good news from you soon.

Kind Regards,
Jung Kwan, KIM
dylonkorea@naver.com

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- 07/05/2013 - 1:39 pm charityshopchic
  
  Hello, yes it’s fine to use a couple of pictures on your site provided you link back to this page. I’ll get in touch with you directly.
  
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18/06/2013 - 11:51 pm Nyssa Berhorst

LOVE your site! So cute! So clever! Keep up the amazing work!

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- 19/06/2013 - 9:32 am charityshopchic
  
  Thanks so much, Nyssa! :)
  
  Reply