Neon Spring
The West Coast of Canada has just two seasons, summer and grey. Our fall is grey and rainy, our winter is grey and rainy, our spring is grey and rainy. Bleh is all I can say. As west coasters, we spend an awful lot of time wondering why we’re so tired and bummed out. I’ll tell you right now it’s because we live most of our lives in greyscale. Now we’re adding all this weird Covid19 craziness. No more my friends! No more! This grey spring is going to be BRIGHT! We’re having a Neon Spring. Let’s add some happiness with some indoor activities.
The back story that does not relate to the actual project.
Instagram tells me it was 55 weeks ago that I first saw January Jones wearing this AH-mazing bright bright pink sweater. So solidly before the imaginary toilet paper shortage of ’20. This is a pretty good indication of my procrastination level but also how long I’ve been longing for a vibrant and fun outfit. Now, I’ve tried to find one I could just buy off the rack but I don’t have a JJ budget and my mall expeditions offered no treasure. The shopper’s defeat plus bleak bleak weather plus not supposed to be going out anyways was not a fabulous combo. Back to the drawing board.
I’ve dyed clothes before and generally been quite successful but last Halloween I was bested by a stupid power suit that refused to cooperate with me. Shaken confidence aside I really really want this pink sweater and I’m not about to be stopped. Please see the picture of what was supposed to be a baby pink but was instead a puke green with pink highlights:
The researchy boring (but essential) part.
A very wise friend informs me that my endeavours will be more successful if I actually read and follow instructions. Needless to say, I am convicted, I have a charge ahead attitude with my projects. While I appreciate the mindset helps me start projects and attempt things I’m not sure I will be able to accomplish I think it’s time to adapt my approach. There are projects I would love a lot more if I gave a little extra time to them during the planning phase. Look at me! growing and learning and stuff.
Turns out the type of fabric you choose to use is super important! (I hear your judgement and I accept it but I had just assumed I could dye anything) Natural fabrics like cotton, linen, denim, etc are easy to dye. Some synthetic blends you can dye with specific products but the results will be less neon spring. Also important to note that most fully synthetic fabrics cannot be dyed at home (hence the power suit failure) and need to be done industrially. Learn from my Halloween failure and don’t attempt. So the first lesson is to buy natural fabrics or a blend with a high percentage of natural fabric. Most mass-manufactured clothing will be a blend of natural and synthetic.
With my new-found knowledge and accompanying power, I trekked to my local thrift store to find my sweaters. BEFORE you judge me I got these back in February, I told you I procrastinate. If you’re stuck inside you can use clothing items you already own. Just make sure the type of dye properly corresponds to the fabric type of your clothing.
In my normal life, I never wear white because I am a walking disaster, so I’m not sure if the luck of the thrift gods were with me or there is always a TON of white sweaters at the thrift store. Regardless, I found not one but TWO white sweaters made of natural or natural blend materials. On to the next challenge!
Picking colours and waiting for amazon deliveries.
As hard as I tried I couldn’t find all the colours I wanted from one dye company. I’m obsessed with Rit Dyes Neon collection, so obsessed that I bought a bottle of neon green even though I was after a neon pink! As much as I love them RIT doesn’t have the bright bright bright pink shade I want. So this project has become a bit of a compare and contrast. Luckily Dylon’s Passion Pink has a colour I’m mostly sure will work! Good news both can be bought online for social distancing. Even better RIT Neon Green can be delivered with Prime! Now just pour yourself a cup of tea and wait for your supplies to arrive.
RIT Neon Green for Daaaaaaaays.
RIT seems the easier of the two and so I decided to start here! It comes back to following the instructions! READ THROUGH THEM BEFORE YOU START! It feels a little like brewing potion as you add your salt and hot water and dye together. The ratio depends on your fabric type. I followed the instructions for a natural fabric garment. You will feel like you are adding an impossibly large amount of salt just an FYI.
Saturation level is determined by 1) how much dye you add and 2) how long you let the items sit in the hot dye bath. I left a sweater in for the recommended amount of time for full saturation and a shirt in for about half the time. With dye, it’s important to remember that if you don’t leave the fabric in for long enough all the colour will wash out. Once you’ve left them in for the desired amount of time remove the clothing items and rinse in cold water before putting them through a wash cycle
The ONLY downside of this dye is that this sweater is so bright it’s difficult to photograph! Exactly what I want for the dull grey days in self-isolation! Neon spring is a go ahead!
If a beacon of light isn’t what you’re going for with a sweater brighten up some bland white socks to have a colourful pop in your wardrobe!
This shirt is still bright and neon but a little more subdued. Maybe I’m just ecstatic about overcoming my dye fails but I think these fun items are already brightening my day. Starting to feel ready for spring!
Dylon don’t let me down!
But now on to the main event, my most coveted pink sweater. There are a lot of petal pinks and rose pinks out there in the world but finding a bright pink was so tricky! Plus I’ve noticed the colour options on Dylon’s website are often different from what you can buy in-store. So I don’t know what’s up with that, it’s just very confusing.
Dylon has these nifty pod type things that you can just pop into your washing machine and it does all the dye work for you. I can’t buy this because I am terrified to use any dyes in my washing machine. My head fills with images of accidentally dying everyone’s clothes. So, of course, I went with the most labour intensive option! The particular variety of dye comes in a packet that needs to be mixed with a small amount of hot water to dissolve. Mix until fully incorporated and add the dye mix, and salt into a bucket (or sink) of hot water and then mix.
Once you have the mix ready add in the garments you’ll be dying and then stir and stir and stir and stir till you regret every choice in your life that has brought you to this moment. SO. MUCH. STIRRING. Seriously put on a movie or a podcast or something because it takes awhile.
Let that sweater sit and stir occasionally for the time specified on the package as this may differ depending on what you use. The purpose behind all the stirring is to ensure the garment dyes evenly. The same as the RIT after the times up rinse with cold water and then put through a regular wash cycle.
IT WORKED! Let’s breathe a collective sigh of relief. Pleased is an understatement! I can’t wait to wear this sweater and bask in its brightness once we can all go out again!
Happy Spring, Happy Dying, Happy Self Isolating!
-Hannah
P.S. If you need a spring snack check out the Rice Krispies Birds nests from last spring!
