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Yes! I am so happy with how this re-fashion turned out. I have been longing for mint jeans (along with the rest of the English speaking-world) all spring. So I decided to do something about it. And that something was not spending $60 on up for the available options. See my tutorial below!
First I bought a pair of white jeans for $6 at Savers. They weren't skinny jeans, just plain old straight leg.
So I quickly fixed that problem with seriously basic sewing. Which I'll explain:
I bought them because they fit in the waist and that's about all I cared about. To be clear: I did not alter the waist at all. Just the legs from mid-thigh down to the bottom.
All I did was turn the white pants inside-out, lay a pair of skinny jeans I had that fit well on top of them. I pinned the white ones right on the line of the inside where I wanted to sew them up. I sewed the straight line along where I had pinned. Then cut the excess fabric off, and they were skinny.
After that was done I used Tulip brand dye in the shade 'Green Vert' to turn them mint green.
The dye was $2 after coupon at Hobby Lobby. Just follow the directions on the package... Instead of putting in a sink or bucket like the package told me, I soaked them in my washing machine. No mess! I opted for a lighter mint so I only kept mine in for about 15 mins, but you can go pretty dark if you want to, just by leaving it in longer. And, no, nothing else turned green after that - the washing machine rinsed out on it's own.
Cue angels singing.
Here I am, uneasily taking pictures of myself with self-timer so that I can show this to you all. I am truly happy to do it. I just don't know what faces to make? Where should I put my arms? Etc.
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Update: This doesn't seem to work exactly the same for everyone. Some people report having their jeans turn lime green, and some of them have countered that by re-dying with a small amount of teal blue dye. I have not tried this personally but hopefully that helps if yours do not turn out as minty! :) Also, I am happy to answer questions, but if the answer is written in the post above I will not answer it in the comments. Please read the entire post before asking questions.
Eileen
omg i love this idea! im definitely going to try this with some of my jeans!
Margie
Some fabrics won't take color as well or in the same way as others. Generally speaking, natural fibers (pure cotton denim) will turn out as expected, while fabrics that have other fibers (like a stretch of some sort) might turn out a bit different from what you might expect. Check the label first.
Jessica @ Pretty Providence
Great advice! Thanks Margie!
Kelsey
Is it better to use the powder or liquid dye? I'm so scared to try this. I don't want them to turn lime green! I'd appreciate any extra tips! Thanks!
rokia kitouni
hello ! first you are so pretty , second did you cut your pants on both sides or only on the inter side? thnx
Monamie_rogue
Quick question: Hopefully you see this one Sarah :)... Has the dye lasted a while even after washing or do you try not to wash them as much?
Sarah
In general with colored jeans I try not to wash them very much, because I don't want the color to fade. This color in particular is difficult to do that with because they are so light that they show dirt very easily so I just wear them less so I can wash them less... haha. I hope that helps!
Amber
These are so cute! I want to try it because no where seems to have exactly what I'm looking for, and I like crafts :)
My only worry is that the dye will wash out in the machine/get on other clothes, did you have that problem? Thanks for the tutorial! :)
Sarah
I did not have any problems with the dye washing out or onto other clothes. The dye set in pretty well with my pair!
Sue
Have you ever tried Color Catcher sheets? I use them with all my colored clothes. Just throw one in the washer. If any colors would bleed, these sheets will prevent prevent it. Buy at grocery store.
Jessica
That is so genius! Thanks for sharing Sue!
Anonymous
aargh! I just got them for $50 after thinking about them the whole summer! Wish had seen this earlier..will try some other colors :) thanks for the tutorial!
Mistina Borge
If you are altering your jeans you could always use the cut pieces to 'test' the dye color before you throw your actual jeans in the dye. Then you're guaranteed to know what color you are going to get :)
Anonymous
so I am wondering did she wash them while attached to her skinny jeans and that is how they shrunk? I feel like I am missing something or there is a step missing
Sarah
No I did not shrink them I sewed them into skinny jeans and then dyed them.
Anonymous
Great tutorial, alot of ppl ask questions that you have already answered, some multiple times, ppl should read all the info already given before asking questions, it would save alot of time
Lady Whimsy
Hi there! I found you on Pinterest and featured you on my blog http://www.LadyofWhimsy.blogspot.com! Also, I hope you don't mind but I used your pic. If you want me to not use it, just let me know and I will remove it no questions asked. Great post thanks for sharing and keep up the good work girls!
Julie
Great idea! There is little chance that I will find cheap jeans that fit my waist (unless they're in the children's department), but if I could, I love the idea!
Anonymous
OK so, I read everyone's comments and was very nervous but I just did this and they turned out exactly like your picture!!! I used the green vert tulip dye that mixes into a liquid. I used one half of the liquid with a 1/4 cup of salt and ran it through the low cycle in the wash with hot water. The cycle took 14 minutes and when the green water drained I ran it through the spin cycle to get the water out and put them in the dryer to set the color. Then I ran them through a cold water wash cycle to make sure they didn't run. The color is perfect. THANKS!!
Bethany
I definitely want to try this, they look great! What type of dye did you use? Is there's certain type meant for clothing?
Sarah
It's tulip dye and it is specifically meant for clothing! It can be found at the craft store.
emily
Such a great way to get colorful jeans for cheap! love how they turned out!
Meg
Brilliant and so so cute!
megthecoolgirl.blogspot.com
Anonymous
I used Green Vert from Hobby Lobby and mine turned out a bright lime green after only leaving them in the dye for not even 10 minutes. What dye color should I try to balance them out with?
- Jen
That One Person
This tutorial made me so happy when I found it, but the way mine turned out made me a tad less excited. Unfortunately, I just don't feel like I can rock neon lime green jeans. I put it in the dye for 7-8 minutes in a bucket.
I think that it would have worked better if I only used half the packet of dye, and perhaps some more water, to water it down. I'm going to try using the RIT Dye remover talked about in the comments, and possibly try re-dying with a bit of turquoise, and see if that turns them more minty. Well, back to the dye bucket.
Kelsey
You could also try leaving them in longer, or using the opposite of what type of dye you have. (Like powder for liquid or liquid for powder.)
colored jeans for women
That is so cool!!! I am VERY impressed with this idea. I just need to get myself a sewing machine and get to work!
Dani
So.. random question!! Did the pants fit your butt and waist when you bought them?? Or did you have to alter them in size too??