DIY Project: The Ombre Effect

Last summer, I was searching for cool outfits that I can wear for my vacation getaway. Ombre-detailed shirts and jeans are so in this season(or this year) and so I rummaged the entire city for some. I saw this cotton jean shirt with a ombre detail from Oxygen, a mid-high end clothing store  and costs 1, 799. That will hurt my sensitive pocket obviously, so I thought of just searching for a button down jean shirt from thrift stores or widely known here as ukay-ukay and just dye it. Lucky enough, I managed to get one which just costs 200 bucks! Plus I bought 5 packets of powdered dye.

             This was that shirt from Oxygen. by Mark Ammerson Pagaoa’s Lookbook account

For the dyeing process, I consulted YouTube and searched for some legitimate instructional videos. Aside from this, I also made some extra research in various dyeing techniques.

You will need:

Dye, a color of your desire

Non-stain basin - It should be wide to accommodate the fabric to be dyed.

Table salt

Fabric or shirt

A pair of Gloves

Cup

Hanger or a rod

and some creativity!

Step 1

Wear gloves. You may also want to wear an apron or dark-colored shirts to prevent staining.

Dissolve the powdered dye and salt in a small stainless container. You need to put on 2 tbsp. of salt for every gallon of water in the dye bath. In my case, I used the powdered form but there are liquid dyes available of course. It depends on how dark the effect you want to achieve with the amount of dye you will use.

Step 2

Pour in water into the stainless basin that can cover up the entire fabric and boil it. While waiting for the water to boil, wash the fabric to remove any finishes that may prevent absorption of dyes.

Step 3

When the water boils, pour in a small amount of dye.

Step 4

Using a hanger or a rod, dip dye a part of the fabric to create the lightest shade. Then quickly move it up and down into the dye bath.

Step 5

Then pour in the remaining dissolved dye and stir it continuously. Then dip the mid-section of the fabric that was dyed for 5 minutes, gently lifting and lowering it to create lighter and darker shades or until desired shade is achieved.

Step 6

Take out the fabric from dye bath and squeeze out excess dye. Wash the fabric under running water, holding the lightest color at the top. This will let the dye to seep through to the darkest area. Run it through the water until the water runs clear. Wring out the fabric for excess water and iron it until dry.

And there you go, a cool new look for you this season! Enjoy!