dye can do amazing things

i’ve had this one pair of overalls for probably at least 10 years.  i like the way they fit (not too tight, not too baggy), but for the past 7 years or so, they’ve been relegated to the back of the closet and brought out pretty much only for playing hockey in (i can fit my knee pads underneath them and the denim is pretty sturdy if i fall and scrape across the ice).  they’re looking a little worn around the edges and very, very faded.  almost white in spots.  here’s the only picture i can find of them (and they’re mostly hidden underneath a coat in this picture, but you get the idea)

they’re okay, but pretty boring.  i pulled them out last week for some reason and wore them around on sunday (including to church–i was in a hurry and didn’t take the time to change clothes) and realized just how faded they were and thought that maybe i shouldn’t wear them in public anymore.  but then i thought of one, last-ditch effort i could make to try to save them–dye!  when i went to pick out dye, i ended up choosing olive and navy dyes, with the idea that i would dye them olive, then over-dye them navy and then maybe get that cool denim color i’ve been loving lately.  so yesterday, i threw them in the washing machine with the olive dye (and an old potholder and a tank top that i wanted to have in a darker color).  after elongating the wash cycle three times, then letting it go through one “clean” cycle, then drying them on “hot”…. i was super excited to get this result:

i don’t think i even need to bother with the navy over-dye!  i really wish i had a before picture so you could get the full effect of the transformation.  basically, these went from bleh to wow and i’m not ashamed to wear them out in public (even if no one except farmers wears overalls anymore). woo hoo!  (oh, and the potholder and the tank top turned out great too!)