Leotard tip

[BankruptMum]

For faded black cotton leotards which are still in good condition a tip from a friend if mine is to buy a black dye and re-black them - she does this before exams, they come out looking like new.

 

Not tried it myself but thought it may be useful to know!

[RosaMac]

I usually do this with hotpants or dance shorts too.

[Anna C]

Oooh! Good tip! :-)

[dancerbabe82]

I've done it too - works brilliantly!

[rowan]

Can you dye tights that have lost their colour? We seem to be drowning in tights which are, apparently, too faded or grey to use.

[taxi4ballet]

Wash them with red socks?

[Ecarte]

Wash them with red socks?

 

 

Really, honestly?

 

[Anna C]

I wouldn't! :-). You'd probably get streaks.

 

You can dye tights because EYB had dyed some pink tights to get a grey mottled effect for the mice. :-)

[taxi4ballet]

DD's school uniform is red, and she has quite a few pink clothes, so I tend to put tights in that wash.

[Anna C]

Does it make the tights more pink, taxi?

[taxi4ballet]

They seem to stay pink and don't really fade

[Pups_mum]

Inspired by this thread, i have just ordered some pink dye from ebay. Once it arrives I will experiment with some of my dd's large collection of "grink" tights and see if it is possible to restore them to something approaching their former glory. I will report back with results in due course!

[Anna C]

"Grink" - what a great word! :-)

[Boogalou]

As we are on the topic of dying please can anybody confirm that if I dye white pants in tea they will come out flesh coloured? I need flesh coloured pants for my 9 yr old dd and can't find any anywhere but heard tea is good?

[ballet0]

Have you tried Primark for the flesh coloured pants they come in small sizes xx

[Boogalou]

Have you tried Primark for the flesh coloured pants they come in small sizes xx

Thanks I'll have a look.

[rowan]

I've used tea to dye white elastic for shoes very successfully!

[Pas de Quatre]

The tea dye (without milk) is an old standard. I have even used it on bras to get the right shade. You can vary the strength of tea to match skin tone too.

[spooky]

As we are on the topic of dying please can anybody confirm that if I dye white pants in tea they will come out flesh coloured? I need flesh coloured pants for my 9 yr old dd and can't find any anywhere but heard tea is good?

 

Have done this many times. Seems to work on most fabrics but colour takes strongest with more cotton-rich facbrics and less on those with high synthetic content. If garment/material to be dyed is new it's a good idea to wash it first to remove any dressing in the fabric then soak in tea whilst still wet. Only minor problem is that sometimes the stitching/trim will take the dye stronger or less than the main facbric. Tea staining is also fantastic for gving costumes a 'dirty/well worn' look if they are too pristine or colours are too bright!

[Pups_mum]

The pink dye has arrived! If the weather holds I will be starting my experiments this week end and will report on the success or otherwise of my tight resurrection programme.

[porthesia]

I have been wondering about dying tights for ages. Looking forward to hearing your comments on how they come out.

[spooky]

Ballet tights take dye VERY well. If the pink dye is quite a strong colour it might be worth usung a little less podwer or increasing the volume of water. I would also wash the tights to be dyed in something (e.g. soda crystal sloution) to remove as much greyness as possible before dying. The 'greyness' is usually colour that has been picked up from other garments either in the wash (with dark leotards) or from wearing tights under dark coloured trousers - dark blue demin jeans seem to be the worst for this!