I have something fun to share with you today! Up until recently, I've been exclusively using dyes for synthetics so it was a nice change to play with a much more user friendly version. Lune was sent a selection of Dylon Dyes this year to test out and share with our readers. I am more than happy to oblige. Dye is one of my favorite mediums!
I love the pouch vs. the old style puck (shown above) for these dyes. So much easier to open and get every last drop of dye in the pot. These are warm water dyes, which is fantastic! It is so much easier to set up, and doesn't fill the room with the pungent smell of hot boiling dye. Bonus! You can use Dylon on cotton, linen and viscose which will dye to the full shade shown on the pack. Mixtures of these with polyester will result in lighter shades. Polyester, Nylon and other synthetics can not be dyed.
We're using our old faded denim, a very suitable material. I chose a blend of Amazon Green and Tulip Red on a light wash pair of old skinny jeans from h&m. To get the boldest color on denim, use the lightest pair you have. Dark denim is like dark hair, you cannot dye over it with a lighter color. Color blending rules apply, and you must include the original color of your garment in this equation. For example, if you choose pink or red dye on a light blue fabric, your results will have a purple hue.
The process of dying with warm water dye is pretty fool proof. Use a large pot (preferably one you don't plan on using for cooking) or bucket and fill it with 6 litres of warm tap water. Determining how much dye to use is based on the weight of the item. A pair of jeans is approx. 600g (1 1/4lbs) and requires a minimum of 2 packs.
DIRECTIONS
1. Weigh dry fabric. Wash thoroughly. Leave damp
2. Using rubber gloves, dissolve dye in 500ml warm water
3. Fill bowl/stainless steel sink with approx 6 litres warm water (40°C)
4. Stir in 250g (5tbsp) salt. Add dye & stir well
5. Submerge fabric in water
6. Stir for 15mins, then stir regularly for 45mins
7. Rinse fabric in cold water. Wash in warm water and dry away from direct heat & sunlight
| LUNE TIP: I cannot stand to waste dye, so I often dye my first round of product in the full solution, and then submerse additional items in the left over dye overnight. I personally have had very good results with this method. |
It's always a little torturous for me to wait for the full wash cycle, and the drying time to find out what the end result of my dye session was! Make sure to run an empty cycle with a bit of vinegar to rinse out your washer. It is unlikely that the bit of dye left over would affect your wash considering how diluted it would be, but just in case - I don't want your white towels to have a tint because I forgot to mention it.
The final result of my dye job! An ombre wash of light to deep purple. Ombre effects are easy to achieve. Simply leave the lower half of your jeans in the dye solution for a longer period of time than the upper. If you choose denim which already has a faded wash, an ombre will occur naturally.
I hope you enjoyed this dye tutorial! Do you have any questions about dying in general? Let me know if you're interrested in seeing more dye based tutorials here on Lune!
> Product for this Lune Tutorial has been supplied by Dylon Dye <