Has anyone ever dyed blue jeans?

[trumansmom]

I just found a pair at Old Navy in my size and in my preferred fit for $2.97. Unfortunately, they are a lighter wash. As an avid Stacey and Clinton devotee, I just don't think I'll be able to wear them like that. :P I hated to pass up the great deal, so I was thinking about dying them. Has anyone ever done this successfully? If I do it, should I stick with dark blue, or are there any other colors that would work? Maybe brown?

TIA-

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04

[atexski]

I bought a pair of "Seven" jeans very early in my pregnancy b/c I got a great deal on them on Ebay - but the rinse was a little too faded for my taste as well. So, RIT dye to the rescue, right? I chose the "denim blue" liquid dye & used it in my wash machine - the jeans turned electric blue! I followed the directions exactly, but the color was very solid, and looked like I had stolen a page from '80s style. Then, I dyed them again - black - I can live w/ black jeans, right? The color turned out more of a midnight blue than black - I think to get a true black, they recommend you use double the amount of dye.
Bottom line - by the time I got done with all the dying & repetitive washing it requires for the process, I ended up w/ jeans that were OK in color, but had shrunk to a point that I no longer could wear them!
I think if you found a pair that was super-cheap (you did), then go for it - but I would go for black denim - true "denim blue" doesn't seem very attainable. Good Luck!

[s7714]

I dyed a lot of denim stuff in high school using RIT, but usually to very non-denim colors like purple, etc. ;) The colors usually always turn out lighter than expected, so pick a shade darker than what you really want.

I would probably stick with something dark blue and not brown. You'll be adding color to the denim, but some blue of the denim will still be visible once dyed, so stick with colors that are complementary to blue unless you want a funky look. (I dyed a denim skirt green once and it ended up with a very mermaid-ish blue-green under the sea type effect.)

I never had a problem with any of my things shrinking, but I don't know if the ON jeans will hold up quite as well to the process as thicker denim like Levis. At $3 I say it's worth a try though!

ETA: The PPs post reminded me, if the pants are really evenly toned in color to begin with, you will end up with more of a solid color pant than a traditional washed denim look. IMO acid washed denim looks the nicest when dyed because you still end up with tonal variations, but there’s not too much of that floating around these days. ;)

Good luck!
Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Limit Tester 6/05

Our bones may be brittle, but our spirit is unbreakable.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta www.oif.org

[Tondi G]

I'd go with a navy blue color dye and hope for the best!!! http://www.ritdye.com/Color+Chart.4.lasso

Good luck