re-dyeing jeans to make them dark again

**10/12/12 NOTE – This post is a couple years old, but thanks to pinterest it brings in a lot of visitors. I’ve received comments and emails from others who are trying to redye faded jeans. Many folks have had trouble with pants that turn out purplish…some have had better luck with using ALL black dye (no indigo or navy). I haven’t tried all black yet. My recommendation is to buy a pair of jeans from the thrift store that are a similar shade to what you’re wanting to dye, cut them into swatches, and test out different “recipes” before you dunk your favorites*******

Last week I was whining to my friend about my jeans. The cut is great, they fit just right, but they’re alllll faded.  My office is pretty casual, but even so I refuse to wear faded jeans in a professional setting. And faded jeans don’t look right for dressing up, no matter the cut. It felt wasteful to have a drawer full of totally wearable but not-dark-enough jeans. In the future, I can use preventative measures like washing them inside-out on cold, but how to return the already-faded to their former glory???

I found several tutorials online about DIY jean-dyeing. This one (including comments) was probably the best. But nobody had before and after photos. And that’s what I was REALLY after. So I decided to give it a try, and I did my best to photograph everything.

Synopsis – Re-dyeing jeans to make them dark again WORKS, but is only worth the trouble if your jeans have some stretch in them (i.e. not 100% cotton)

BEFORE, 100% cotton jeans

BEFORE, jeans with a little stretch (synthetic) in them

Mix 1 packet navy blue RIT dye, 1/2 packet black RIT dye, and hot water in a 5-gallon bucket. Get your jeans wet, wring them out, and dunk them in the bucket. Keep them in the dyebath for 30-45 minutes.

Rinse the jeans until the water runs clear (at least 5-10 min). Wash them by themselves, on cold, inside out, in the washing machine. Dry (keeping inside out) in the dryer.

AFTER – the 100% cotton jeans. Nice and dark, but the color is almost too saturated. Like trendy jeans worn by people younger than me.

AFTER – the 100% cotton jeans. I still wear them in casual settings, even though the color is kinda weird.

AFTER – the stretch jeans. The stretch fabric contains synthetic white cross-threads, which don’t accept dye…so the final color is very “realistic”. I have started wearing these to work again.

50% success rate isn’t too bad

Silk-dyed eggs

This easter, forgo the candy-colored tablets and vinegar for dyeing eggs with silk neckties. You can always find silk ties at the thriftstore (or maybe this is your chance to free the men in your life from any outdated neckwear). Dyeing eggs with neckties is one of my favorite seasonal projects because it incorporates green-crafting practices and, since you never know which ties will make the prettiest eggs, there’s a delightful mystery to it all.

My best friend’s aunt showed us this when we were kids. I remember the first time I unwrapped my tie-wrapped egg…MAGIC!!! They’re still so fun to unwrap. Martha Stewart featured this method in her online magazine in 2006, but I’d like to think that we beat Martha to it.

Anyway, on with the egg-dyeing!

Materials: raw eggs, fabric shears, sewing thread (white or light colors are best), and 100% silk neckties

Look for labels that say “all silk” or “100% silk.” Dont guess! It wont work with anything but 100% silk.

A word on choosing the ties: Blue and red are a dime a dozen. Greens and browns are rare so snatch them up if you see some. Sometimes the ugliest ties make pretty eggs, so dont discriminate

Dissect the tie, separating the silk from all of the liners and backing

With the right side facing the egg, cut a rectangle that easily covers the egg

Now wrap the egg with thread, carefully tucking the ends in like youre wrapping a present

Keep wrapping until you cant see any silk. Sometimes this takes a whole spool of thread

Boil for 15-20 minutes, cross your fingers, and unwrap!

My favorite of the bunch – an impressively crisp paisley

Blue checks with a tinge of pink (I think from the red thread)

Such pretty soft yellow dots!

All lined up

I hope this inspires you to give the silk-dyeing a try. As for what to do with your dyed eggs, I’ve read some warnings online about not eating them since the dye isn’t technically food-safe. However we’ve always eaten them with no ill effects. Maybe the ill effects are coming…reader Joan who is a fiber artist commented below to remind everyone to a) not eat these and b) dye them in a separate pot. Thanks Joan!

You can keep them in a cool, dry location and after a few years the eggs will naturally dry out inside. As long as they don’t crack (which would be a nasty, smelly affair) you can use them year after year as decoration. My mom still sets out eggs that we dyed over a decade ago.

**UPDATE**
Several commenters have asked why not hollow out the eggs first. I’ve done it both ways and in my experience, hollowing them out makes the eggs pretty fragile. The pictures transfer best when you wrap the eggs TIGHTLY, which is hard to do when you’ve hollowed them. Maybe I just don’t have a delicate enough touch…you can certainly try hollowing them first and you might have better luck than me! I’d rather just let them dry out naturally over time.

Here are links to other crafty bloggers who have used this method and notes on their variations:

- The Magic Onions (weight the eggs down in the pot with a stone…brilliant!)

- Crafting in a Green World (use different ties on the same egg for a stripe effect)

- Our Best Bites (cover the silk with a piece of plain fabric instead of thread)

- Snaps and Blabs (some of the best pattern transfer I’ve seen!!)

- Cucina Testa Rossa (suggested by Lisa; rub finished eggs with oil for impressive shine)

Deceptively simple baby hat using self-striping yarn

This month our university has been collecting food and monetary donations for the Governor’s Food Drive. My office split into teams and built sculptures out of non-perishables (photos of that tomorrow!).  The department down the hall is hosting a Silent Auction with all proceeds going to a local food bank, and I thought I’d donate some knit goods.

I’ve posted before about my attempts to use up extra sockyarn. In this case, I had about half a skein of some self-striping cotton. This baby hat pattern seemed like a strong contender. The pattern calls for alternating balls of yarn…an unnecessary step thanks to the self-striping, and I like how the subtle lace pattern meant the stripes weren’t completely horizontal. I have enough left over that I’m going to make a matching set of socks.

p.s. Pearls Before Swine is one of my favorite comics

The masculine color scheme & vertical lace makes what I hope is a gender-neutral hat

Yard art and eco-crafting

1 caterpillar, 1 ladybug, 1 sockyarn mitten

I finished up one of my leftover yarn mittens and blocked it. Despite no calculations on my part  (even knitting deserves mystery and suspense) it looks there will be enough yarn. The whole point of the project was to give leftovers a new purpose, so it would have posed a real ethical dilemma had I needed more of either color.

The caterpillar and ladybug have their own repurposing story. They were made by Leroy, a now-retired stone mason from my hometown. I met Leroy when I worked summers for the City Engineering Department. Sidenote: working for the Engineering Dept. is pretty awesome when you’re sixteen because you get to drive a boxy orange chevy truck circa 1980 outfitted with a cb radio AND you get assigned your own call number on the city frequency.

Anyhow, when Leroy retired he started making yard art out of old tools and hardware – rakes, shovels, pruning shears. He gave my dad this spectacular metal bird made of welded tools as a retirement present. Word got back to Leroy how much I liked his creations and one day caterpillar & ladybug arrived in the mail.

Here in Eugene, my neighbors use a lot of recycled and repurposed materials to create eclectic, funky, and sometimes strange yard decorations (see photos below).  My sense is that their material selection comes from a personal identification with ideas like sustainability, reducing waste, and green living. These terms are prevalent  in the marketing of yard art at local community markets and homegoods stores.

I have been meaning to ask Leroy how he defines his yard art. What are the  intentions behind his choice of materials? Does he identify with terms like eco-crafting, upcycling, or green craft? If not those terms, then the ideas and values they represent?

What about you? Was there a time when you were upcycling or eco-crafting without even knowing what it was called? Did particular people, communities, or websites inspire you to integrate these principles into your work?

 

Front yard seating area in my neighborhood

Gazing balls made from bowling balls

rainbow blanket

first final project from the mass of colorful acrylic yarn

it turned out beautiful! not sure if any of the future acrylic yarn projects will be able to top it.

maybe i’ll just make a series of rainbow blankets … or scarves as we are finally feeling the winter weather out here in cincinnati.

Tutorial from Rachel C.

 

As promised, here are Rachel’s instructions on how to bleach your own shirt at home!

Materials
 100% cotton shirt
Clorox bleach pen
Newspaper
Washable marker
Bleach-neutralizing chemical, such as Bleach Stop (www.dharmatrading.com) or AntiChlor (www.prochemical.com)

Note: Only bleach items outside or in a well-ventilated area. If indoors, use a fan if possible during bleaching. Bleach fumes should not be inhaled for a prolonged period of time.

Test the bleach on an inner seam of the shirt. A small dot of bleach should suffice. Let dry for 5 minutes

Draw pattern on dry shirt with washable marker

Place a few newpaper sheets inside the t-shirt to prevent applied bleach from leaking through to the other side of the garment

Shake the bleach pen before opening the cap. This mixes the liquid bleach into the paste. Apply bleach paste onto garment following the drawn pattern. Be aware that the thicker the line of bleach the more it could bleed over the pattern and blur your design. Thinner lines of bleach yield clearer results

Hang garment to dry for 10 minutes. In a clean bathtub or sink, immediately rinse garment in cold water. Washable marker remnants should be removed by this process. Use bleach neutralizing agent as directed on package.

If you want to bleach the other side of the shirt, wait until the shirt is completely dry and then repeat the pattern drawing, bleaching and rinsing processes.
Thanks Rachel!

Artist Feature – Rachel C.

(link to Rachel’s tutorial)

Five summers ago I took a job as “Art Lady” for a summer camp in central Ohio. Mayhem ensued. I walked out of that place with scrapes, scars, and the worst case of pinkeye the optomologist had seen in years, BUT it was also at camp that I met friend-for-life Rachel C.

a custom Rachel C. creation

Rachel has many talents, one of them being the ability to bleach beautiful designs into cloth. I remember from living with Bethany that we both liked cleaning with Bleach (she blames her upbringing, I blame the foodservice industry). So Rachel’s talents are incredibly useful. When I bleach a favorite shirt Rachel can take it from ruined to lovely by integrating the spot into an allover design.

You may be thinking that the idea is not so novel – “draw a design with bleach, got it.” But what separates Rachel’s work is the big-ness and boldness of her designs. They wrap around the shirt, extend onto the sleeves, and blur the line between positive and negative space. The artistry is in the design, and I hope her work inspires you to give it a try. Below is my interview with the artist. Tomorrow I’ll post her directions (with photos!).

1. How did you come to be the “bleach guru”?

I really think it’s the wisdom of the ages passed on to me by my ancestors. Years of study…only the finest bleach from the spring of Etheria. I jest. Clearly I’ve been watching too much She-Ra on YouTube. In all honesty, I think it’s just my relentlessness when it comes to customizing my clothing. I enjoy how bold bleached designs are!

2. What was your first bleached project?

A pair of denim jeans. I bleached them in Sept 1999. My mom was going to donate them to the thrift store and I pulled them out of the pile and freehanded flowers and covered the legs with geometric designs, quotes, the name of my favorite Swedish pop group, y’know the basics of a teenage mind. I eventually added flared panels and created all in all the wildest item of clothing I’ve ever owned. They were very very loud pants…not one shred of subtlety.

3. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?

Unfurling fern

I have a fascination with Polynesian culture, and a subcategory of that interest is the tattooing practice of sheathing the body in geometric and nature-inspired motifs. Traditionally the tattoos can symbolize the wearer’s life story, their lineage and standing within their family or community, as well as other aspects I freely admit I do not know yet. I gravitate to the idea of telling one’s story through outer adornment, and have taken this philosophy to heart with my use of symbols and natural images. I love the outdoors and think my humanity is nurtured by a connection to nature. More concretely, I borrow the stylized unfurling koru fern (see below) from Maori culture, given my great enjoyment of its symbolism of peace and growth.

4. What mistakes have you made along the way?

I’ve made the mistake of bleaching delicate cotton blend fabrics and not applying bleach neutralizing agent afterwards, because apparently the fabric just gets chewed up by the bleach over time. I’ve also erred in using watery bleach paint (mixing bleach powder with liquid bleach) and having it bleed all over pre-drawn washable design lines. Super blurry, highly annoying.

5. What is your favorite bleached project?

 

Amy and the Cloud Basket

For years I wore a lined denim jacket that I emblazoned with a bleached replica of the cover from one of my favorite childhood books “Amy and the Cloud Basket” (see below). The cover stuck in my mind because it is one of the only books where the protagonist looked like me. Apparently the book may be something of a collector’s item now since it was published in 1975 by a small feminist book collective in California called Lollipop Power Press. It’s selling on Amazon.com for more than $200.00. That’s bank!

 

buttons & birds

winter scene painting + cigar box of buttons + a field guide to Birds

its always exciting to find treasures and transform them.

a little history: when settling into our apartment in texas, ashlae and i found a winter scene painting at the goodwill in Denton. for several years it found a home on the wall in the living room. about six months ago, after finally feeling like my last long term mixed media piece was complete…

 

bubble girl

 

i found myself looking for a new blank canvas. my eye landed on the winter scene. being granted permission, i cleaned a slate and painted over the scene with a white wash.

and so the canvas sat blank – propped against the wall … then smashed between a mattress and box spring on a long trip … finally in a new home re-emerging.

the box of white buttons was a estate sale discovery. walking into a home where everything was tagged for sale – books, lamps, dishes, everything but the kitchen sink (as they say) – sat a cigar box full of white buttons of all shapes and sizes!
now stashed more neatly in a set of funky vintage cans …

 

buttons!

 

so the two came together!

the start

 

up-close

 

combined with some beautiful cut out birds …

i love field guides!

 

testing it out ...

 

i’m looking forward to some dedicated nights focused on obsessive gluing!

more to come…

circles of ver⋅i⋅si⋅mil⋅i⋅tude

while i allow all my craft ideas to simmer … i hit up my mom for an intimate interview about her most recent craft compulsion: ‘circles of verisimilitude’

vani modeling

when was this idea sparked? well last summer i worked on these small wooden platters covered with buttons- just those buttons you buy in the huge economy ‘grab-bags’ at michaels. i poured them out and sorted them by color. many people had their own opinions… my sister told me ‘did i know that people in mental institutions do similar activities’ and i agreed. my husband recognizing the truth decided to increase the size of the platters. he started bringing home the lids from large chemical vats from the factory. they are about 2′ in diameter.

'birthday celebration' close up

there seems to be a repeating pattern of using circles in your artwork, is there a reason for that? no. i got the set of circles at a garage sale and the second set of circles from my husband. all my work is based on freebies. basically. now i have my eye on some laminate samples (2″x3″) that i came upon in the basement and the circles will turn to rectangles.

the heart cans open up for small treasures

where do you get the trinkets you use to make the designs? i don’t know where i do?! junk around the house… old toys… goodwill… dollar store… people tend to give me junk. even as we sat this evening, my mother-in-law reminded me that she had emptied a baking supply cabinet and wanted to give me “the junk” (her words – not mine). thats where the word ‘verisimilitude’ (coined by my husband) comes in – for me most people’s ‘junk’ has potential.

holiday platter

what do you see the platters being used for? each platter has its own personality – their uses ranging from table tops, clocks, serving platters, and mirrors – for the time being. i’ve named them to explain their use. for example: ‘through the years clock’ – the platter has a clock in the middle where a picture can be placed at each number, so that you can chart the years of a child growing up. surrounding the clock are children’s wooden blocks, plastic alphabet and number pieces, and a variety of other children’s ‘junk’.

through the years clock

thanks mom for my resourceful heritage!