Has your favorite jacket faded in the sun or changed color during the washing process? Want to revive old jeans somehow? Do you feel like experimenting with a white t-shirt? In all these cases, we advise you to turn to the dyeing of clothes in order to realize your plan. And you can do it at home! Both special dyes that you will find in stores and natural products like berries, vegetables or spices are suitable for use. Both that and another to use economically. So let's get down to business?
What fabric can be dyed?
If you are going to paint your clothes at home, first of all pay attention to the material from which the thing is made (see the table for information).
| Cotton, Wool, Linen, Silk | The fabrics most suitable for the procedure. |
| Mixed textile | These are compounds in which there is a share of cotton and wool - you can also experiment with them successfully. |
| Polyester and other purely synthetic fibers | The coloring process is time-consuming, and the result will not really impress you - the color will be dull and uneven, the product will fade strongly with each wash. |
| Outerwear | Painting outerwear is a rather difficult task, and even more so for a novice master. On your own, you risk spoiling the thing. If there is a need for painting, then the best option is to take the coat or jacket to a professional dry cleaning service. |
| Denim | One of the most suitable materials for home experiments! |
Also see what kind of product in front of us. It is best to experiment with t-shirts, shorts, jeans, skirts, light-cut dresses. Tablecloths, towels and napkins are great. But the painting of leather clothes is already carried out by specialists.
How to independently determine the composition of the tissue?
If there is no label on things, then we will present to you folk methods that will help to know its composition. It is only necessary to carefully pull one thread from an inconspicuous area, and then set it on fire. We look at the result:
- Natural fibers (flax, cotton) or rayon burn out quickly. In the air, the characteristic smell of burnt paper.
- Wool, natural silk do not burn well. Burnt wool fiber will emit the smell of a singing horn.
- Artificial fibers are melted - a burnt ball remains in their place.
Choose a tool for painting
The surest option is special powder and paste-like dyes, which you will find in a hardware store or a market for needlewomen. To choose the right paint you need to know the material and color of the product.
The easiest way is to color the white thing - the shade is the same as that indicated on the packaging of the product. With colored products is more difficult. It is advisable to wash them several times with bleach before painting, to wash off, weaken the native shade. Otherwise, we can get a "gray-brown-raspberry" result.
If you just want to refresh the color of your clothes, then choose a dye several shades darker. For example, for blue jeans - blue, for a yellow T-shirt - orange. But do not compare with white - on it all colors will look brighter, brighter and cleaner.
It is wonderful to dye colored and even colorful clothes in black - this tone absorbs all the others. However, on a very bright thing, he will still have its shade. Therefore, it is better to carry out home coloring not once, but several times - to set the desired color.
Also at this stage, we suggest that you decide on the purpose of staining:
- Light shades. In this case, the chemical dye is used to a lesser extent than the recommendations on the packaging. It can be replaced with a natural component (see selection below).
- Saturated shades. A chemical agent is better. In some cases, it is even advisable to take risks and exceed the recommended rate.
- Coloring a white thing. Follow the instructions of the manufacturer of the product.
- Updating the old color. It is required to take the dye slightly less than normal.
Natural substitutes
But do not rush to apply "chemistry" to dye clothes! Surely you have one of these safe and effective natural remedies at home.
| Yellow | Use turmeric, zira, carrots, wormwood, poplar buds, nettle roots, bark and birch leaves, and orange peel. |
| Orange color | Suitable turmeric, bark of wild apple trees, celandine. |
| Red color | A rich shade will help to obtain elderberry and blueberry, beetroot and wolfberry leaves. |
| Brown color | Henna mixed with basma, onion peel, coffee, cinnamon, tea, oak bark will help here. |
| Green color | Such a cheerful tone of clothing will give the bark of bird cherry or poplar, spinach, sorrel, juniper berries, elderberry leaves. |
| Cyan / blue color | Here we turn to red cabbage, blackberries, quinoa seeds, sage, Ivan da Maria flowers. |
| Black color | Painting clothes at home in black is the prerogative of natural coffee. |
Now we will pass directly to the embodiment of the process.
What do you need for work?
To paint clothes at home, you need to prepare the following:
- The thing that we will paint.
- The required amount of dye.
- Water.
- Capacity for the procedure.
- Wooden spatulas, sticks.
- Protective rubber gloves.
- Water.
Product Preparation
We need to pre-prepare the thing for the procedure - remove all impurities from it, remove the pellets and hairs. All of this can affect the overall result of the work. If you use a stain remover, be sure to rinse the product thoroughly. The substance may react with the product for dyeing the clothes, which will affect the final shade. It will be useful to iron a thing.
If the stains do not want to be washed off, then the problem can be solved with dye - but only in dark colors. Light can not paint over the pollution.
Be sure to remove the metal decor or iron buttons from the item. As well as all the accessories and decorations, that is not desirable to paint.
We prepare different types of fabric in our own way:
- If you dye a new cotton or linen item, it will surely be starchy by the manufacturer. This treatment should be removed by boiling clothes for 20-25 minutes in a soda-soap composition. Remember to rinse the product thoroughly after the procedure.
- We prepare the wool by rinsing in a water-ammonia solution (2 tbsp.spoons of ammonia in 12 liters of water). If you dye yarn, it is advisable to do this in skeins so that it does not get messed up. You can string it on a thin rope - to make it convenient to turn it over.
Toolkit Preparation
Now we must prepare the necessary for work:
- Be sure to clean the container from contamination!
- Enameled, galvanized and aluminum containers are suitable. From the last two you need to remove all scale before painting.
- The vessel must fit the size of the item. That is, the product in it is maximally straightened - folds, crumpling can affect the result.
- Sticks for turning the fabric must be smooth, without knots and splinter. Also, the tool should be strong enough and long.
- We need only soft water! Bottled, rain or thawed snow is good. You can soften your own and ordinary tap: 1 tbsp. teaspoon of 12 liters.
Chemical painting
If you have chosen a chemical paint for dyeing clothes, then proceed as follows:
- Pour dye into a small container.
- Gradually add small portions of water to dissolve it.
- Strain from lumps and pour into the container where the staining will be done.
- According to the instructions, dilute with the required amount of water, put on the included burner.
- Now load the item into the container.
- During staining, turn it over with sticks, stir in a circle.
- We finish the procedure when the product is painted uniformly and there will be a shade, a couple of tones darker than intended.
- Then very carefully rinse the thing. After the last rinse, clean water should drain from it. Otherwise, the product will fade strongly during washing.
- We send the thing to dry, but away from the sun and heaters.
Natural painting
First, it is advisable to test the substance in an inconspicuous area of tissue. And here is the basic instruction:
- Pour the natural component with water 1: 2.
- Put on the stove, bring to a boil.
- Let us insist - the more time passes, the richer the shade will turn out.
- If you color with berries, then let things lie in saline (1/2 cup of salt per 2 liters of water), if vegetables - in vinegar (1 part vinegar to 4 parts water).
- We place the products in the dye - it is worth taking out when the shade is a couple of tones darker than desired.
- It is best to dry on a hanger in order to avoid stains.
That is the whole procedure. Good luck with your experiments and bright colors!