Dip Dye Shirt

I got this new shirt and I liked almost everything about it except one of the colors in it. So, I decided to let this be the dip dye project that I have been waiting for.

It’s a longer tunic top and it feels lovely and chiffon-y. The bottom starts in a charcoal black and moves up into gray. The top color is kind of a yellow stone color. It is beautiful, but not especially flattering or special. So, I decided to make it a pale pink.

I used my 5 gallon paint bucket and, for good measure, I did it in the bathroom. The directions are Rit-ten (punny)  for a solid dye job. They say explicitly to “stir the project continuously”. I stirred the color in the bucket until it was dissolved, but, in fact, I did not stir the project consistently. If I were repeating the project, I would follow that direction more carefully.

The color I choose is Rose Pink. It is lovely, soft and kind of “smokey” with just a touch of gray in it. Uhm. That is not exactly what I got. What I got looks a lot more like the color of the water in the bucket.

Here is the tank that came with the top. This was the yellow-stone color too.

I sat in the bathroom and hung these over the edge of the bucket. I had a timer on and I moved them up out of the water in intervals. The exact effect I was going for was about 4 very subtle stripes of shaded color. I was not able to do subtle stripes.  In the end, I left the top portion on the tank in for a LONG time (hours) and the result is a strange saturation pattern in the top part. I bet that is the result of not stirring enough, but the “line” is really crooked too. That area does not really show when I wear the layers together so it’s not a tragedy. I am also wondering if the color on both pieces will soften a bit with time.

Here is  the top. There is not a “line of demarcation” on it, so I feel more successful with that. I like the new color. It is more flattering with my skin tone, so I mark it in the success column. I wish the pink was a little bit more “smokey” and not so bright, but for me all pink is good, so I am happy. It was fun to try it! I had a good time and I am happy to report that nothing got unintentionally stained in the process! Not the bathtub, my hands, or the bucket. That is the ultimate success. Have you done anything with dye? Would you try?