Newborns live in onesies but I have been looking for different solid colored onesies but can’t find any. Lucca goes through so many outfits a day. I don’t like alot of the boys clothing out there so I figured let me dye my own. I went to BuyBuyBaby and bought a bunch of onesies in all different sizes. I then washed them all so that way it would remove any starch and shrink the fabric down to the true sizing.
While I was at it I wanted to dye an Aden + Anais swaddled blanket. I had a couple white ones on hand. Buy you can purchase and cotton white blanket since the Aden + Anais are a little pricey and you may not want to try your first dying experience on one of those. I attempted to do an Ombré effect on mine. Ombré is a French word meaning “to shade” and is often used to describe a dip-dye effect given to fabric in which the shades of color graduate from light to dark.
- Then dip the next 1/3 into mix. making sure you are pulling it in and out of bucket so its not just sitting there.
Remove fabric from dye bath and wring out excess dye. -Rinse fabric under cool running water, holding the lightest color at the top. This allows the dye to flow through to the darkest area. Then rinse fabric in warm water, until water runs clear. Wash fabric in warm water with detergent. Rinse thoroughly and wring out excess water. Machine dry or hang to dry.
Dyeing Tips
• Make sure the dye is mixed well with the water
• Use a large bowl
• Make sure the water is hot. I bought Navy Blue dye and I waited too long to dip my fabric into the dye. This resulted in having purple onesies instead of Navy Blue
• Make sure your fabric is thoroughly wet and saturated with normal water before dunking it in the dye bath.
• Only rinse and wash fabric with fabrics of the same color for the first few cycles. After a few washings you should be able to wash the dyed items with other clothing as well.
Lauren Benoit 