DIY Tuesday: The scariest DIY ever!

Reminder: This is the last day of the blog this week, see you on Monday!

I had a light pink cashmere sweater that I never wore. I'm just not a pink wearing lady. I decided to either donate it or make it wearable. I would rather wear it. 

So I decided to dye it. 

I know. What? Dye a dry-clean only piece of clothing?

No, really, you can do it. 

Here's what happened: 

Grab sweater. 

Measure the sweater. Top to bottom, side to side. Sleeve length and width. This helps you when you block it to dry so it doesn't shrink or anything. 

Acquire dye, I used RIT black. 

Mix dye. Take a bucket or some other container. Put the dye in, a cup of plain vinegar, and fill halfway with hot water. Stir to dissolve. Then add cold water to fill the bucket about 2/3 of the way full. 

With a rubber glove on, feel the temp of the water. Or, if you are more high-tech, use a thermometer. 

Then try and match the water from your faucet to the same temp. Keep it there. Temperature changes will be the things that make your sweater stretch. 

 Then, carefully wet the sweater, being careful not to pull or stretch the sweater. NOTE: In the above pic, the sweater is already wet. I matched the water temp already to the bucket, so no worries about shrinkage.  It might take a long time to wet the sweater, as cashmere does not like to be wet. Persevere!

Ignore the white sweater in these pics, it's another sweater (non cashmere) that I dyed at the same time. If i'm dyeing, i'm dyeing everything that I can. 

Stick the sweater in the dye bath. Stir gently and press all parts of the sweater under the dye. Stir every thirty minutes, for 2 hours total. 

Now, match temperature of your water in the bucket to the faucet flow again. Once you got that on lock, carefully dump out the dye bath and start rinsing. This is another thing that will take a while. Do not pull or stretch the sweater in any way. Be as gentle and patient as you can. 

Rinse the sweater until the water runs clear. Then--very gently--fold the sweater and press some of the water out. 

Then place your sweater on a towel. Using the measuring tape, match the sweater to the before measurements. Let dry. This will take several days. I really like how it turned out a dark charcoal grey. 

I like knowing that this is a possibility, and if I find something cashmere at the goodwill that's not my color I might try this again. It was totally a nerve shaking experience though!