Thoughts on (how to) overdye your own denim.

[Souper]

Although I've searched extensively, I cannot seem to find a good source of info for this. I was wondering if it can be done in such a manner that the weft threads are not dyed(aka, no washer)

From the research that I was able to do, here is what I planned on doing.

1. Pick up some cheaper raw denim,(leaning towards new standards.)
2. Purchase Industrial black dye from dharmatrading.com
3. mix(proportions? Hot water?) , load in airbrush, airbrush jean
4. Let Sit 15 minutes
5. Hot rinse
6. Dry


Repeat 3-6? yes? no?

What I wanted to do is have a black over indigo overdyed jean that still has white weft threads. I would not do this myself if I had more choices for this other than slim jim dry black and 45RPM sumis. But I don't. Anyway, I was wondering if the above method would yield a black jean with hints of blue that eventually fades to white/dark blue(with the least distressed areas remaining blackish). That's all I'm really looking for, but all suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by Souper

I was wondering if it can be done in such a manner that the weft threads are not dyed

What I wanted to do is have a black over indigo overdyed jean that still has white weft threads.

What you mention here is not overdying. The weft threads on overdyes are the same color as the wrap, if you overdye denim all the threads will become the same color. What you are talking about is impossible unless you want to make your own denim.

 

[ghulkhan]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

What you mention here is not overdying. The weft threads on overdyes are the same color as the wrap, if you overdye denim all the threads will become the same color. What you are talking about is impossible unless you want to make your own denim.

I dont think that is what overdye is. Its commonly mistaken for that though

 

[Hawkeye]

give it a try, post pics.

 

[Souper]

Like I said, I planned to airbrush the outside of my jeans instead of doing it in a washer or hand dipping it. Someone suggested this and I thought it was a good idea; I guess I'll just have to see how much dye the jeans retain to see how many times I'd have to rinse then repeat.

I am definitely not looking for a garment dyed black /black warp/weft jean, (nor am I even a fan of blue/blue.)

 

[Hawkeye]

I guess it's worth a try, and I would really like to see what happens. Maybe if you spray them really lightly a few times... or if you sprayed from below the denim so that the dye cant travel up to the weft so fast, but I still think it will go up, the dye will travel and stain the weft i think...

 

[ghulkhan]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Do tell...

I'm just at a loss as to how he plans on dying a pair of jeans black while keeping the weft threads white. I do believe this is impossible, but I have been wrong before.

Over dye is basically what it says. You take a pair of jeans that youve dyed indigo and then dye them in black to have a different color dyed over the originol. This is not the same as what you think where the thread is dyed before weaving...

 

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by ghulkhan

Over dye is basically what it says. You take a pair of jeans that youve dyed indigo and then dye them in black to have a different color dyed over the originol. This is not the same as what you think where the thread is dyed before weaving...

You are right, I realized that after I read the post agian, I think I sort of trailed of at first glance and didn't really think about the spraypainting, I was thinking about dying in a bucket or something, sorry.

 

[Slamdog]

what would also be cool is to take a vintage levi 501 that's so washed out that it looks white, and dye it with natural indigo so its like a new dry repro.

 

[Souper]

Yea, I definitely am not looking to saturate my jeans with color to the point that the dye starts to totally stain the weft. I figured I'd use a higher concentration of dye, spray lightly to coat, let sit for a while, rinse out in running water and then go from there.

This seems like a fun project for me to do, I'll be stalking the b/s forum looking for some cheap jeans. No sense in paying retail.

I'll post pictures,method and all that when I'm done. I might take a break from my new 5EPs and wear these hard if I'm satisfied with how they turn out - I'm so curious to see how they'll fade.

Anyone selling size 33-34 raws? xD

 

[j]

Just try it. I'm sure it won't turn out too badly, though it might not do what you want exactly.

 

[TyCooN]

post a pic of this stuff. thx

 

[zacharydschroeder]

Originally Posted by Souper

I figured I'd use a higher concentration of dye, spray lightly to coat, let sit for a while, rinse out in running water and then go from there.

Or, you could skip the rinsing, and they'd be pseudo rigid.

 

[v84]

I have some APC overdyed / garment dyed new standards, you can just make out the selvedge underneath all the black, I found em on ebay, maybe you should look around abit, maybe some would pop up for you.