I know Winter white is a bit of a trend this season, but I think I took the Summer White trend to the max, and quite frankly, I’m a little bit over white right now. In fact, I’ve been lusting after all shades of purple and deep pinks so when I saw my white wool trackie pants hanging in the wardrobe the other day, I knew they were destined for a dye job. I also wanted to update their style a little.
Despite being (dry-clean only!) wool suiting, reckless-Debbie had still prewashed the pants fabric prior to sewing. The prewashing changed the texture of the fabric slightly. It also meant that I could happily launder them or dye them, to my heart’s content. My first attempt at dying them didn’t work, but only because cautious-Debbie was trying to be gentle with the fabric by keeping the water cold. The dye just didn’t take. So I let reckless-Debbie back in the house. She threw caution to the wind, bumped up the temperature to scalding, added vinegar with the salt, and the wool dyed beautifully. The fabric did not shrink or change at all.
I also refashioned the pants a little by:
- cutting away the silk lining, because this took up the dye too strongly and it was dark beneath the pants
- unpicking the outside leg seam to widen the legs as much as possible for a more trouser-like look. Wide leg and flared pants are very hot right now.
- cutting off the elastic cuffs. I sewed in some new cuffs to lengthen the pants a little, but these were dyed in a separate batch (as an afterthought) which accounts for the different shade. I might still shorten the cuffs a little because these pants are meant for flats.
I’m super happy with these pants. I love the way they look layered with my Nani Iro top. It’s such a snuggly, comfy outfit and it makes me especially happy to know that I can now wear my Nani Iro beyond Summer. I feel like I’ve done my dash with white at the moment. What colours do you have on your sewing table right now?
Oh, reckless Debbie! I love your sassiness so much- especially when you get such awesome results!
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lovely color!! wool needs hot water acid dyes! check out dharma trading their dyes are the best!
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What a great idea to dye something you previously made to give it a new life. I'm all into fall and winter colors at the moment, and by accident I seem to be gathering a lot of light grey fabrics… Not intentionally though, apparently grey is what my heart desires at the moment!
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These pants look great and the dye job looks wonderful.. but oh those RL Fancy Pants – I loved you so!!! Lucky your refashions are so cool otherwise you'd break my heart 🙂
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Thanks Kirsty! I'm too fickle…I think I just need a slap sometimes 😉
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Grey is good for the stash! I always marvel at how my colour preferences change with the season.
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Thank you, and yes, that obviously explains the vinegar. I'm a total dye amateur but every time I do it, it's so exciting that I plan to do more. I need to do a bit more reading I think. Good to know about dharma too.
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That reckless-Debbie….she pulled through this time thankfully. I think she has 9 lives 😉
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I tend to stick with blues, greens, purples 🙂 But I do love those pants! They look stylish, yet super comfortable. And of course I'm still in love with that top!
Reckless Debbie was pretty smart!
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