Upcycling, or repurposing, is where you can take something that you would normally throw away (or find in a thrift shop) and turn it into something else. Ever hear the adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” That phrase could have been the tagline for upcycling. Upcycled clothing and jewelry takes on a new life and you can make a great wardrobe for as little as $50 and a few sewing and craft supplies.
A simple and clever way to recycle clothing is by dyeing them a new color. This is not a new concept. In fact, “tie-dye” t-shirts were (and still are!) all the rage. You can turn something plain into something great, or at least something different, by putting it in a new color.
You can find something at the Goodwill or maybe in the back of your closet or an old drawer. I keep a tub full of clothing to turn into something else.
Next, choose a color. RIT dye is probably the most popular dye out there for clothes, but you can pretty much use anything as long as you follow the directions carefully. I had some unfortunate results because I threw my newly dyed piece of clothing in the wash with everything else, and it turned everything else into funny colors!
You can dye a piece of clothing straight as a new color, or you can also tie-dye. Or you can “paint” on the colors with a sponge brush, a flicker of the wrists, or even painting like a canvas. A mix up of the tie-dye would be to block-dye it, dyeing different colors, say one pant leg in a pink and another pant leg in a green, or the top of a shirt in blue and the bottom in yellow.
You can also fade-in and fade-out colors. This is where you use the same color but varying shades of that color, and make a piece of clothing from lighter to darker in transition.
Or how about painting sleeves or trim in different colors, and leaving the rest in the original shade? That would make a really funky look.
Here are two tips that I gathered up from all my dyeing adventures.
First of all, glitter makes every fashionista into a super fashionista! After you dye something, whatever technique that you decide to do, spray on some fabric glitter and you are all set to go.
Second, leave any piece of clothing out in the sun after you dye it, to dry. This way, the color sets. If you can’t get to the sun (because it’s winter out there … brrrr!) then stick it in the dryer for a while. The dryer is definitely less frugal, but it will set the color nicely. Then, wash whatever piece of clothing you are remaking, and dry again (either in the sun or the dryer). I prefer sun-drying because the color sets much nicer. We aren’t allowed to sun-dry anything, so I have a hanging drying rack in front of my back kitchen window, where there is lots of light and sunshine!
