Thanks slim cat. I practically fainted with excitement when I pulled the teal jeans out of the washing machine. Why aren’t the stores full of teal jeans???

Thanks Jonesy. I’m so happy to have inspired you! I hope your DIY worked out.

Thanks BlueJay. That Cue mesh top is a real winner. I’d love something similar in - you guessed it - teal. (Is there a pattern here…)

Thanks RobinF.

I LOVE this!!!! Your outfits are incredible, and wow, those jeans look like something you'd see on pret-a-porter. My favorite lewks are the teal. You look like a rockstar!

I am wondering how this will work on my favorite dark wash denim dress. I love the style and fit, but never loved the color. I am going to thrift some cheap dark wash denim in the same fabrication (100% cotton), do a test, and decide about this dress.

Thanks Mary Beth. I think denim overdyes really well if you want a reddish or purplish result, or just a different shade of blue. I’ve had a lot of success with overdyeing blue items lately to burgundy or plum tones. I think it gets a bit more complicated with overdyeing in yellowish colours because the denim can start to look dirty. Of course, dirty denim is a trend in itself so that may be a good result, depending on what you are after.

As always love your color palette and bravery. I actually found burgundy chino fabric “jeans” and teal cords last year. Late in the season, so like new for this fall. Filling my jean gaps without any denim made me very happy.

Thanks cat2. Teal cords sound great! I love cords too. So nice for cool weather. I found a dark green pair of cords this year and I love them too.

WOW! These are all ultra fantastic. I especially love, love, love the teal ones. So unique! I have always been afraid to attempt dying anything in the washing machine for fear of not getting all the dye out of the machine and ruining other clothes.

I love this!,,, and am inspired to dye my long denim skirts that are modern this year but may be dated next year. The white one needs help now. It got washed with a new very dark blue denim skirt and it is now partly light blue due to fading.

Thanks Joy. I am loving the wine skirt. It feels like a different way to wear denim.

Thanks Karie. I understand! It can be an issue, especially if you wear a lot of white. You can use the stove top method but I am personally more fearful of that. I like my white kitchen without dye marks! I think some people just use a bucket of hot water outside, which is pretty safe but a little harder to get a deep, saturated result.

Having just looked at your photos on your Big Bag post, I had some follow-up questions about this denim dye-ing process…

1. Has the fixative worked long-term on your blue or very dark colors?

Hi Mary Beth

I’m not sure about the fixative. Sometimes I use it and on the first rinse virtually no colour come out (success) but sometimes lots of colour still comes out. I can’t pick it. I generally use it if the colour is really saturated and it’s an item that’s going to get a lot of wash and wear. I do notice even with the fixative dyed items will bleed a little in the wash (and quite a lot in the first wash), so definitely wash with like colours.

I have been wearing the wine denim skirt a lot in the last couple of months and I’ve washed it maybe 3 or 4 times. The colour still looks good to me. It still bleeds a little in the wash. And I would expect some fading to occur because of sunlight (I wear it a lot outdoors, walking my dog).

The light plum coloured skirt did fade noticeably after its second wash. I didn’t use dye fixative in that case so I think that could be a contributor. Also, it’s a light colour so I didn’t use as much dye. I may end up redoing it with fixative.

My machine is a front loader. RIT say not to dye too many items at once in a front loader but I’ve dyed 3 items no problems. Sometimes lately I pause the cycle to check for tangles. It uses very little water so that can help to give a saturated result.

But I would reiterate that the dye tends to hang around in the machine for at least a couple of washes afterwards. This is especially noticeable if it’s a saturated red or purple. For some reason blue and green seem to linger less. I use one or 2 colour catchers in the wash for several cycles after dyeing. Be really careful if you are washing whites afterwards!

I also clean the front door of the machine and the detergent dispenser after dyeing. And give the drum and rubber seal a good wiping. I just use detergent but I think bleach would be more effective if you want to avoid stains on the rubber seal.

Great info, and thanks! I wasn’t specific enough in my question… have you had any issues with color transfer while wearing the garment? I’ve purchased overdyed black and blue denim that’s come off onto my fingernails, tucked shirts, and suede shoes, even after multiple washings. Ann Taylor and LOFT have been the worst culprits.

Oh no! I’ve never had any problems like that! One of our lounge chairs is white so I think I would notice.

That's good to know! Thank you so much for your knowledge