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Saturday, June 30, 2012

DIY - Dying a Tank Top


I bought a pack of 5 Men's Hanes Tank Tops in large the other day.  I did it with the intention of dying these tanks to use as tops, and also to use some as tops to sundresses.  Right now I am just going to go into the process of dying these tanks.

I buy them large because since I will be dying them, they will be in very hot water, so, no big surprise, they are going to shrink.  Sometimes they will have packs for women, but I could not find any, so the men's shirts will be fine.


For this project you will need:

Rit Liquid Dye, or whatever dye you want to use
tank tops or t shirts
metal pan
metal spoon
vinegar


The first thing I do is add very hot water to a pan, and then turn the stove on.  So that the water stays really hot.  I then add half a bottle of the dye to the pan and stir it with a metal spoon.  Next, get the tank wet with cold water from the sink, and squeeze.  You just want to put a wet tank in the dye bath, so that the dye takes evenly.


Now you will put the wet tank in the dye bath.  Just turn the heat on your stove down to low to keep the water hot.  Stir the tank in the dye bath to make sure that it is being dyed evenly.  I will stir the tank about every 5 minutes.


The tank will be done after 30 minutes.  Pour the dye bath out of the pan and add cold water.  Rinse the tank in the cold water, then fill the pan with cold water and add 1 cup of vinegar.  This is to set the dye.  Let it sit for 30 minutes.  You can now put your tank in the dryer to finish setting the dye.

Once dry, you are done and you have a new tank in whatever color you want.  You can also mix dye colors to get other colors that you might like.


I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at anytime.  I would love to hear what you think about this project.

Have fun!!!
Debi

16 comments:

  1. I've really been wanting to dye some things! I have some black and brown that I've been planning on using to bring life back into some of my work slacks but I definitely need some pretty colors =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kristin,
      It was pretty easy. Let me know what colors you get.
      Debi

      Delete
  2. Great idea. Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party.

    Holly

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  3. I seem to end up with everything that same shade of pink, just by virtue of having two preschooler daughters whom I share I laundry with - LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is funny. I had to dye something to get that shade. Thanks for commenting.
      Debi

      Delete
  4. Hi Debi - this reminds me of being a kid and dying just about anything I could get my hands on. Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never dyed things as a kid, but I did with my kids. They were always tye dyeing. Thanks for hosting the party.
      Debi

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andi,
      I am not sure what happened, but I accidentally deleted your comment. I am so sorry. Would you please post it again.

      Lace is a great idea. I will need to try that.
      Debi

      Delete
    2. Now I don't remember exactly what I said! :) I'll try...

      I recently dyed some items with RIT and now I am excited to do this more often. I really want to find something with lace, because it takes the dye differently, and I've seen other blogs where it looks really cool!

      Delete
    3. Hey Andi,
      Thanks so much for sending me the comment. I am so sorry. I do not know what happened. I like your idea. Thanks for telling me about it.
      Debi

      Delete
  6. Oh!! I'm sooo going to try and do this! I have never dyed anything before.

    Thanks for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality! I can't wait to see what you link up this evening! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Christine,
      Thanks for hosting your party. I do not have great internet right now. I will try to link up if I can.
      Debo

      Delete
  7. I love diy stuff like this! Rit dye is a life saver! We'd love it if you'd share this at our link party - Home is Where the Heart is! http://www.homesteadsimple.com/home-is-where-the-heart-is-link-it-up-wednesdays-1/
    and any other posts you'd like to share that have to do with homesteading and homemaking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Erica,
      I have saved your link. I will be happy to share when I get home. Thanks for the invite.
      Debi

      Delete

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