How to dye jeans at home manually and in the washing machine

Dying can restore your jeans to their former glory. You just need to be careful about the process and follow all the paint manufacturer’s recommendations. And by succumbing to a creative impulse, provided that you have talent and experience in successfully working with artistic brushes, you can become the owner of a completely unique thing. A little luck won’t hurt either - after all, houses are not factory conditions for painting.

How to increase your chances of success?
Powder dye
Is it worth using an automatic car?
Hand dyeing jeans in an enamel basin
other methods

How to increase your chances of success?

By choosing a pigment suitable for the fabric and properly preparing the jeans:

Synthetic fibers are not dyed with substances for cotton and linen. Is there a high percentage of artificial thread in the material of the pants? The new tone will fall unevenly.
The paint is selected taking into account the maximum permissible temperatures when washing the product. A number of products are designed for use when water is heated to 90 degrees. But at this temperature, some jeans may shrink or stretch 1.5-2 sizes.
Are you unplugging your washing machine?
Oh yes! No
Stripes and logos are pre-stripped - the color of leather or fabric appliqués looks less beautiful after painting.
Wanting to return jeans to their original attractiveness, they take into account their weight without water. A number of manufacturers produce paints in packaging designed for use on items weighing no more than 500-600 g in dry form.
Before processing any dye, jeans are cleaned of all types of contaminants. Substances in stains from fat, berries, sauces will interfere with uniform color. In the future, in the problem area, the color of the fabric will be darker or lighter than the rest of the material.
Washing jeans is a must before restoring their color. To ensure that the conditioner and fiber softeners in the gel or powder do not affect the uniform absorption of coloring pigments in the future, the pants are moistened and rubbed with ordinary household soap or a soap with a whitening effect before washing.
To evenly distribute the pigment throughout the fabric of already clean and wrung out trousers, soak them for 10-15 minutes in a weak bleach solution based on chlorine-free powder, or in water and anti-stain soap (if this was not done at the washing stage). Before painting, jeans are thoroughly rinsed.

Jeans

How long to keep jeans blue?

In order for the color to refresh, the jeans are kept in blue for at least two hours. If you want to achieve a more lasting result, add additional time, up to 12 hours. If you need to blue a light spot on jeans, then choose a shade a shade or two darker than the original. If you choose a matching shade, the stain will be noticeable.

Important! You can make an extravagant uneven dyeing by folding the jeans into a roll and tying them tightly with braid - this method of dyeing is quite acceptable for dyeing your old favorite jeans, for example, for a trip to the country.

Is it worth using an automatic car?

Yes. This will not affect the quality of further operation of the machine. For your own peace of mind, after finishing painting, wipe the drum and rubber seal SMA with a light cloth or paper towel.

Expert opinion

Irina. Housewife.

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If suddenly there are traces of pigment on them - this happens very rarely - activate the rinse mode. It is important to consider the weight of the product: when dry, one pair weighs 600-900 grams.

Process steps:

The dye solution is poured into the drum (powder and laundry conditioner are not added).
The prepared jeans (clean and rinsed) turned inside out are placed in the machine.
If indicated in the instructions, pour a portion of ordinary kitchen salt into the drum, which acts as a pigment fixer in the fabric.
Activate the “cotton” washing mode by selecting a combination with temperature, taking into account the recommendations on the item’s tag.
The wrung out dyed jeans are immersed for 30 minutes in an acidic solution based on water and vinegar, diluted in a proportion of 1 spoon for every liter of liquid.
After the fastening procedure, the jeans are washed in a machine, adding the usual portion of powder or gel. The mode chosen is the fastest and most gentle.
Dry the item in the shade from the sun's rays, hanging it on a rope. We take into account the mass of the wet product.

Blue

How to prepare jeans for blue dyeing

The first and most important tip is that jeans must be absolutely clean before painting. If there are any even minor stains on them, they will not only not be painted over, but will also stand out even more. If it happens that there are stains that cannot be removed, you should choose a paint two shades darker. Paint matched to the tone of the jeans will not cover the stain. Washed jeans should be dry. There is no need to iron them, just keeping them clean is enough.

We recommend reading: How to wash a blanket in an automatic machine

Hand dyeing jeans in an enamel basin

This processing method is chosen if you want to improve the color of your trousers without subjecting them to harmful mechanical effects, fearing the coloring of the washing machine drum or not having it on hand. It must be said right away that the pigment is not dangerous for the machine - all its particles are washed out with water. But many jeans do not benefit from automatic washing: they begin to stretch, and the color may wash out at the folds of the fabric, which will lead to the formation of streaks on the fabric.

Process steps:

An enamel basin or bucket is filled with water. Then set the container to heat up.
The dye is mixed with water and the recommended fixative (salt, soda).
After the powder has dissolved, the liquid is filtered.
The mixture is poured into the main volume of water.
Having put on gloves and clothes for housework, the prepared and turned out jeans are immersed in a container for an hour, making sure that the water boils gently throughout the entire period. The item is systematically carefully turned over.
The painted product is transferred to a container with warm water, and then cold.
After rinsing the cooled jeans, the color is fixed by immersing them for 30 minutes in a vinegar solution (formula: per liter of water, a tablespoon of 9% product).
The product is washed again as usual.
Dry the item in partial shade, away from heating devices.

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Why is color lost?

The main reason is considered to be frequent washing.
Water and washing powder make the fabric of the product lighter and lighter, washing out the paint. To preserve the color of things at home, it is necessary to use special detergents for black clothes when washing. This helps keep the jeans in their original condition for a while. When purchasing, you should rub your jeans with a cotton pad. If the quality is poor, there will be paint stains.

Shedding is another reason. Some things sometimes stain the water they are in. Although the phenomenon does not mean that the jeans are defective. Natural dyes can also fade. When clothes are first washed, coloring pigments are released. They may also remain on the skin or tissue in contact. In addition, if jeans are worn constantly, including to work, walking, or relaxing, they will lose their original appearance. Also, prolonged exposure to sunlight leads to color fading.

Therefore, it is important to monitor the condition of your clothes so that they last longer.

other methods

Creative people are not able to neglect informal color options for their favorite jeans, so ancient and newly invented methods are used.

Blue

This product is usually used to enhance the attractiveness of white items. But if you play with the concentration of the coloring solution, then as a result it can give the thing a pleasant, rich blue tint. In this way, the degree of bluing can be adjusted.

True, the resulting color has a short lifespan: after washing, the color of the jeans will be one step closer to what it was before the procedure. Over a series of cycles, it is restored.

Process steps:

The coloring liquid is poured into lukewarm water. The more intense the color of the solution, the deeper the shade.
To make the paint stick better to the fabric, the same water is turned into “sea water” with 3-4 tablespoons of table salt.

Jeans are immersed in the solution for 4 hours. Uniform color distribution is achieved by frequently turning the item over.
Rinse it in acidic water, adding a spoonful of vinegar for each liter.

Hair dye

To understand how acceptable this method is for dyeing coarse fabrics, it is advisable to carry out the first attempt on “denim”, which has already seen its fair share of wear and tear and can then be thrown into the trash without much mental anguish.

Steps in the process of applying hair dye:

The product is washed and rinsed.
Four portions of dye, previously thoroughly diluted to a liquid state, are dissolved in 7-8 liters of moderately hot water.
Dip the product into the solution and leave it to soak for an hour and a half to two hours. Periodically squash the jeans in the water and turn them over.
At the end of the allotted time, the “denim” is soaked in an acidic medium with the addition of salt - a spoonful of each component (the second is 6-9% vinegar) per liter of water.
After all the manipulations, the item is washed in a delicate mode using a small amount of gel or powder.

Are you using citric acid?

Oh yes! No

How to use aerosol sprays?

There is no need to completely paint over the fabric on the trousers with spray paint - it is better to use it to create color accents by dividing the entire surface of the product into sectors or highlighting individual areas using a stencil.

Technology:

Thinking through the design.
Prepare the trousers (get rid of stains, wash, dry thoroughly and iron).

For sectorial application of paint or when using a stencil, cover untreated areas with paper.
The painted elements are allowed to dry thoroughly, following the product manufacturer's recommendations.

Is it possible to dye jeans blue?

Water-soluble and water-insoluble dyes can be used as a blue for dyeing jeans. These can be liquid or powder.

It could be:

Prussian blue;
indigo carmine;
Paris blue;
ultramarine;
anilic dyes.

All these types of dyes can be used when dyeing jeans, you just need to take into account some of the characteristics of the dyes. For example, Prussian blue can only dissolve in water together with oxalic acid. Anil dyes become discolored in the sun, some of them acquire a reddish color when ironed. Ultramarine is quite cheap, but it does not dissolve. Insoluble paints stain fabric worse and are more difficult to work with. There may be difficulties due to uneven dyeing, especially on heavy items: insoluble crystals can stain clothing in the form of stains.

It should be taken into account that if there is embroidery on jeans, it will inevitably deteriorate and turn blue. The item will look washed out and untidy, and bright embroidery threads will have a dirty effect.

Denim items in shades other than blue cannot be dyed blue. Blue and light blue shades that need to be refreshed or re-tinted can be used. It is acceptable to dye white and light gray jeans, which will turn blue when used with bluing. The final shade will in any case depend on the original color.

Recommendations

When painting with blue, you must remember that:

High-quality blue does not stain your hands or bathtub. If traces of bluing remain, the item can be damaged during bluing - the fabric will become stained.
Blue cannot be called a permanent dye - the item will fade with each wash, and the procedure must often be repeated again. To obtain a lasting effect, you should use special fabric dyes.

To preserve the natural blue color of the item longer, you can add a little regular table salt to the water when rinsing.

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Household blue is a mixture of dye and starch, which is sold in powder or liquid form. Typically, bluing is used to add freshness to bed linen or white shirts made of cotton and linen, and less often - to tint fabrics.

Blue comes in two types: with soluble and insoluble dye. Insoluble dye is cheaper, but is only suitable for refreshing laundry. Soluble can be used for dyeing fabrics.

Care after coloring

Dyed clothing must be carefully monitored and cared for. Incorrect washing or drying can change the resulting shade, the item may fade and will have to be thrown away.

After dyeing, you need to properly care for black things

I will share with you some simple tips:

Dry your clothes where they are not exposed to direct sunlight to prevent them from fading.
Wash separately from other items for the first 2-3 washes to prevent the new paint from fading.
Add vinegar during subsequent rinses, it serves as a color fixer.

Vinegar will help the color last much longer.

When washing, use only powder for colored fabrics. White laundry powder contains bleach.

Black jeans go with any outfit

Denim dyeing products: features, advantages and disadvantages

Today, in order to quickly and efficiently dye jeans in the desired color, the following preparations are used:

Blue. The most affordable ingredient. The advantages include the ease of use, the disadvantages are the low degree of color fastness. It starts to wash out immediately and requires regular updating.
Potassium permanganate. Not the easiest coloring method, requiring some skill. But as a result, you can get “boiled” jeans that never go out of fashion.
Aniline dyes. Easy to use, the main thing is to strictly follow the manufacturer's instructions. You can mix several product colors to create unique shades.
Acrylic paints. They are distinguished by increased durability compared to aniline. After the first drying, they stop reacting to external influences, including washing with powder and boiling.
Powder dyes. Can be used while running items in the washing machine. They cause the least amount of hassle, but are not pleasing with the variety of shades.

In addition to specialized products, denim fabric can be treated at home with hair dye or preparations to change the color of ordinary fabrics.

Precautionary measures

As with any other dyeing, bluing also requires precautions.

All painting manipulations should be carried out only with rubber gloves.
When working with blue and vinegar, you must protect your eyes and mucous membranes. Acrid fumes can cause irritation. Therefore, it is appropriate to wear a medical mask.
After dyeing an item using bluing, avoid washing this item with other clothes in the future due to the likelihood of shedding.
All painting work should be carried out in a well-ventilated room.

Where to begin?

In Soviet times, the range of clothing was not particularly diverse, so for our grandparents such a procedure as dyeing pants with their own hands was par for the course. Reliable and inexpensive means - blue and white - helped to stand out. It was then that the word “varenki” appeared, which was used to describe fashionably bleached jeans.

Modern clothing stores do not know the word “shortage”; you can find jeans in any colors and textures, with or without decoration. But even today, many needlewomen are happy to use grandmother’s proven recipes, wanting to extend the life of their favorite pants, with which they have gone through both fire and water.

So, how to dye jeans yourself? First of all, two questions need to be resolved:

How can you dye jeans?
How to do this - manually or using a washing machine?

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Steps

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing jeans for dyeing

1
Wash your jeans.
To ensure that there are no substances left on the jeans that you are going to dye that could interfere with the dyeing process, they must be washed first. Place them in the washing machine and wash as usual, following the care instructions on the jeans' sewn-in label. X Source of information
- There is no need to dry your jeans after washing. They must be wet before bleaching or dyeing.

Part 2 of 3:

Preparing the Paint

Part 3 of 3:
Dyeing jeans
1
Press out any wrinkles on your jeans.
Jeans should be wet after washing. Before putting the jeans into the pan, squeeze them out again to make sure there is no excess moisture left in them. Then straighten the jeans so that when you dip them into the dye, there are as many wrinkles as possible. X Source of information
2
Place the jeans in the pan and stir them in the solution for a while.
Dip the straightened jeans into the paint pot. Using a large, long spoon, stir them for 30 minutes or until they are as black as you want them. X Source of information
- As you stir the jeans, move them back and forth, up and down. It is necessary to ensure that the dye evenly saturates the denim fabric.
3
Remove jeans from pan and rinse thoroughly until clean.
When you are happy with the results of dyeing your jeans black, remove the pan from the stove and transfer the jeans to the sink. Rinse them in the sink with warm water. Gradually start making the water colder until all the excess paint is washed away and the water runs completely clear. X Source of information
Some dyes may come with a dye fixative for cotton fabrics to prevent fading. It can be used to treat jeans immediately after dyeing in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions provided.
4
Hand wash your jeans.
After dyeing your jeans, hand wash them directly in the sink. Use warm water and liquid detergent for hand washing. Then rinse your jeans with cool water. X Source of information
If you want, you can wash your jeans in the washing machine along with an old towel. The towel will absorb any excess paint that comes off the jeans.

The first few times you machine wash and dry your jeans, be sure to add an old towel or other dark item to them in case the dye continues to wash out. To prevent paint from fading, use cold or warm water and a gentle liquid detergent.
It is obvious that textile paint leaves behind stains on fabric surfaces. For work, wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty during the process of dyeing jeans, and also protect your hands with rubber gloves. Clear your workspace of textile items, including towels, rugs and curtains.

Be careful when wearing freshly dyed jeans. They can leave marks on light-colored upholstered furniture, even after the paint has set. Be sure to rinse them thoroughly after dyeing.
Even after several dyeing procedures, the jeans will not become as deep black as store-bought black jeans. Be realistic in your expectations.

Washing machine
Machine washable detergent
Large stainless steel saucepan
Big long spoon
Water
Latex gloves
Bleaching agent
Jeans
Disposable polyethylene tablecloths
Liquid or powder black paint for textiles
Salt
A piece of cloth or paper to test the dye
Liquid detergent for hand washing

Textile dyes

The purchased product should be dissolved in a sufficient amount of water. The next procedure is as follows:

Jeans soaked in it must be put on fire to boil. The duration of the procedure is at least an hour.
To ensure uniform dyeing, the pants must be turned over frequently.
Rinsing should also be done with vinegar and salt, after which the jeans should be dried.

Pants made from this material can be easily refreshed at home. The main thing is to choose the right tool and get your hands on a few unnecessary things.

Recommendations

When painting with blue, you must remember that:

High-quality blue does not stain your hands or bathtub. If traces of bluing remain, the item can be damaged during bluing - the fabric will become stained.
Blue cannot be called a permanent dye - the item will fade with each wash, and the procedure must often be repeated again. To obtain a lasting effect, you should use special fabric dyes.

To preserve the natural blue color of the item longer, you can add a little regular table salt to the water when rinsing.

Common Mistakes

The most common mistake is using the wrong dye. The composition must be selected taking into account the type of fabric being processed. It is not recommended to dye corduroy trousers. This fabric does not hold color. The second common mistake is that when dyeing they try to get a different color. This approach will not bring the desired result. As mentioned above, when painting in other colors, halftones are obtained.

Before dyeing, it is recommended to degrease the fabric. Third-party particles do not allow the prepared mixture to penetrate deeply into the material, as a result of which light spots will appear on individual parts of the trousers.