I love the quick transformation a dip in the dye-pot brings to an item of clothing.
Yesterday I dyed a bright pink pullover and an orange beanie with rust wool dye. I had used this particular colour previously to dye a cream vintage mohair cardigan I had thrifted and adored the colour and result, so I purchased more packets of the “rust” colour dye and knew just what to do when I saw the pink sweater in a recycled clothes group I frequent on facebook. Bright pink is not really my colour but the shape of the pullover was definitely me.
Dying over a base colour will change the resulting colour and I thought it would be interesting to share these three different results with you here. See the pictures below. Conviently the buttons on the cardigan dyed to match! They were a cream colour and I just threw it all into the pot, not really knowing what to expect.
I used Cushing’s perfection dyes, these are readily available online, and I love them. I’ve tried a few other brands before but these seem to have a particularly lovely colour intensity and are very easy to use. I added a couple more colours to my little collection and look forward to trying those out too. I used it to dye a grey sweater that I loved last winter but stopped reaching for, the new black colour has suited my style this year and I’ve been wearing it frequently. A quick dying face-lift is a really simple way to update your wardrobe or make a thrifted piece a little more you.
The orange beanie is one of the first I made from my Bell’s Beanie pattern and has had some wonderful adventures. We purchased the yarn in San Francisco, souvenir yarn. Felix was very much into bright orange at the time. I knit it in time for him to go on an adventure of a lifetime, a school trip to Europe! The picture is of our last minute shopping trip before his departure. We were reminiscing yesterday as it is now exactly two years since that trip and I remembered that I hadn’t seen him wearing the hat anymore. So when I was cooking up the pink sweater I asked if he’d like it a different colour and the answer was clear. It’s satisfying to give this and the other items a fresh lease of life.
