Lately I have been experimenting with repurposing some old clothing to give it a new life in my wardrobe! I’m always for a sale and love it even more when it’s free (or nearly so). I recently made a scarf and up-cycled an old sweater and wanted to try some other projects! That’s when I remembered a skirt I had dyed last year and I realized since my last adventure was such a success, why not dye some pants too! The whole process is so very simple too – just follow the instructions on the package of dye you’re using and you’re good to go. *One recommendation, however, would be to use a “real” pair of gloves (like surgical or latex gloves) instead of the flimsy plastic ones they sometimes provide as you will indeed get dye on your hands otherwise!* So let’s get started…
Skirt
I’ve had this skirt for over six years now and it is still going strong! I love the length of it and the pockets & how it flows – pretty much everything about it sans the fact that it was rather on the see-through side without a slip. So instead of finding a slip or sewing something in, I just never wore it. Well last year on a random day off work, I thought, “why don’t I just dye that skirt?” I know, such a seemingly obvious solution took me years to even think of. Well, I picked a color that was timeless and I loved and now my old skirt has a new life!
Before:
Since I didn’t take a before picture of the skirt when I dyed it, I tried to find a good picture of me wearing it & this is all I could find. The first one is from 2010, and the second is from 2006. Needless to say I didn’t wear it often enough as I could only find 2 days over the past six years!
After:
I was a little apprehensive at first since I got the skirt on sale at Target that it wasn’t going to hold up for long but it has done so well! I love the way it came out, especially with the buttons and thread remaining white – it gives it a great accent. And it’s perfect for a casual day in this crazy heat & yet still long enough to be relaxed and comfortable!
Pants
Now I didn’t have any white jeans on hand (and EVERYTHING I’ve read about bleaching denim to dye has made the idea itself seem disastrous) so I went on a mission for a cheap pair to use. I ended up finding a pair for $3 that I couldn’t pass up!
Before:
The pants were a tad (ok a lot) long and flared so I wanted to cut a a bit off and roll them to make a different look. They are a thin denim and have some stretch as well so they seemed perfect for a lightweight fun color.
After:
The color I used was orange, but they actually turned out to be more of a peachy-pink color which has turned out to be even more versatile than my original hue choice! There was just too much fabric still even after cutting a good portion off that the rolled up version looked simply like I was avoid a rain puddle, so I decided to take another step & cut & sew the lower portion of the legs into “skinnies”. They do bow a bit, but I think they turned out well! They’re great rolled or down as ankle length for a casual look for running errands or exploring the flea market.
Overall – I am a big fan of repurposing old or super sale clothing to make just what I’m looking for and dyeing is such an easy way to go! The next task I’ve discovered is going to be how to change a too short shirt into a cardigan. I’m pumped!
