You guys know i love dying things – and I’ve done a lot of projects over the last few years using my beloved RIT dye. One of the most common questions i get asked every time I post about a dye project is how the dyed clothing holds up after lots of washes. Up until now i had no idea, because I tend to keep my clothing on a wide rotation, and so no individual items had been washed enough yet to be a good test.
But since I’ve been wearing my pink jeans almost once a week since i made them, I finally have a good comparison for you!
The verdict? YES the jeans have faded! Am i upset? Absolutely not. The funny thing is, until i looked at these photos i didn’t realise they had faded at all. How funny is that?? Anyway – it took about a year for them to fade from a dark pinky/maroon to the lighter pink they are now. I could probably redye them to get them back to the original colour – but i must admit, i actually like their current colour best of all (happy accident).
I think the real question is whether they would have faded so much if I’d used some sort of setting agent. RIT recommends adding salt to the dye bath to help with setting – and to be honest i’ve never done this, because i always forget (naughty meg!!). Anyone had any experience with using setting agents in the dying process?
Even after this, i really don’t feel too stressed about the idea of my dyed clothing fading for 2 reasons:
- As I mentioned before, these jeans are on HEAVY rotation in my closet and get washed way way more than anything else i wear. I’ve dyed many other things that haven’t faded much and i believe it’s because they don’t get washed/worn as much.
- Every piece of retail clothing i’ve bought that started out a bold colour has ended up fading over time too. I bought a pair of black gap jeans 3 months ago that are now dark grey, so i think this is an issue that goes beyond home dying.
