how can i dye a pair of blue jeans red? i want red pants for football season. I've never tried to change the color of clothes before.

3/26/2006 3:49:23 PM

you can go to wal mart and get clothing dye...there will be instructions on the bottle to mix the dye in the wash with the jeans and it'll dye them. you may need to do it a few times to get it the red you want, but it's pretty simple.

of course how blue the jeans are you may get purple jeans instead...so use a light pair if u can.

[Edited on March 26, 2006 at 3:55 PM. Reason : ]

3/26/2006 3:55:15 PM

You might want to get a pair of lighter-colored pants. Khakis maybe.
At the supermarket they have stuff I think is called Rit. It should be around the laundry detergent and stuff. The instructions are easy to follow.

3/26/2006 3:55:23 PM

well the problem is i already have the pair of pants i want to dye, but they are fairly dark... could i bleach them first?

3/26/2006 3:57:08 PM

lightest pair of jeans possible
double check the fiber content - some jeans have polyester for durability, and you may end up with patterned jeans. natural fibers dye better than synthetics.

Use double the dye...maybe even triple.
for the deepest, truest color, don't use the washing machine. Do the "stove-top" method (although I usually just get a rubbermaid bin, and do it that way, and I steep the fabric for far longer than it says. When the water gets cool, i scoop out about 4-8 cups of it, and heat it to boiling in the microwave, and pour it back in.)
^no, use Rit's color remover. It's meant to take pigment out of fabric, in order to prepare them for dyeing.



[Edited on March 26, 2006 at 4:00 PM. Reason : algkj]

3/26/2006 3:59:11 PM

I would probably bleach them first, but just make sure the bleach is all over and not spotty because then the red dye would be different colors. And you guy buy clothing dye, it would be in the same place as the detergent and softeners

3/26/2006 3:59:32 PM

And you guy buy clothing dye


^^and i was hoping you'd respond, since you know about this stuff... will bleaching them then dying them work? how do i bleach them? oh... Rit... how does that work? does it work well?

3/26/2006 4:00:52 PM

i just checked... they are really dark blue, but they are 100% cotton, and made in mexico.

3/26/2006 4:03:35 PM

Rit is a brand, not just the product. It works well, sometimes. It doesn't work too well on mixed blends, but considering that it's a product made for textile dummies, it's pretty damn good. I'm trying so hard to think of any craft dyes that you could find, but i'm drawing a blank. If you're really that worried about getting something good, call up jo-anns or AC moore and ask what they have for that, and IM me with it.

the dye...dyes
as for the color remover...i'm not sure exactly how it works, but I assume you aren't interested in the hard chemistry of it (neither am i...there's a reason that's not my major ). It's meant to take what they call "transfer stains" (basically, when you wash whites with reds or blues, and you end up with patches of that on other clothes) out of clothes. It takes the blue out of denim really well
Wash them in REALLY hot water (like, put your washer on hot, and add several cups of boiling water. Use the color remover, and you might do well to add a bit [like, two teaspoons-ish] bleach to the water. do all this before you put your pants in. You might want to repeat this a couple times, until you're comfortable that they're light enough to be covered up by the dye.

If you really wanna make sure that they're really 100% cotton, go pour some battery acid somewhere on your jeans. If there's any polyester, it'll be left behind. If not, your jeans will have a hole.

[Edited on March 26, 2006 at 4:11 PM. Reason : flkj]

3/26/2006 4:07:52 PM

well that's all i really need to know i guess

i feel pretty gay for trying to plan out my football outfit already, but oh well!


thanks for the help!

3/26/2006 4:10:57 PM

All this washing and boiling and dyeing...you're gonna spend enough time to earn the money for a nice pair of red slacks.

3/26/2006 5:52:47 PM

i'm a pretty big dude... it's not easy finding pants that fit well.

3/26/2006 6:02:00 PM

maybe you should just stay at home

3/26/2006 10:06:18 PM

who the fuck are you?

3/26/2006 10:07:26 PM

if you could get some white pants they would work best... it's spring now so you should be able to find some somewhere.

[Edited on March 26, 2006 at 10:20 PM. Reason : but ambrosia seems to have covered the dye removal thing pretty well]

3/26/2006 10:17:46 PM

I dont know what size you wear but jcrew.com in the mens sale section has a couple pairs of red chinos for $20 and there are a couple of sizes to choose from.

3/27/2006 8:16:13 AM

3/27/2006 8:48:40 AM