Dying Kastel sunshirts - before and after - UPDATED 7/6 with experiment results!

[Jo]

Hi guys,

I decided to dye a white Kastel sunshirt that I never wore… because it was white. I posted about it in a FB group and someone let me know to use RIT dye for synthetic fabrics.

https://www.ritdye.com/type/dyemore-for-synthetics/

Turned out great! Posting a pic in case anyone wants to try it. I got the RIT dye at Michael’s with a 40% off coupon and it was about $4. If you give it a whirl, make sure you follow the directions - it involves stirring constantly over almost-boiling water for 30-60 minutes. I did mine for 40 minutes.

[MissCoco]

looks great! Thanks for sharing the result!

[vxf111]

Pictures don’t show for me

[Suspiria]

That’s pretty cute with the pink zipper!

[Jo]

@vxf111

Pictures don’t show for me

Try this?
https://i.postimg.cc/wjn9YKcy/Kastel-B-A.jpg

[vxf111]

@Jo

Try this?
https://i.postimg.cc/wjn9YKcy/Kastel-B-A.jpg

Cute

[HJdaydream]

Very cute! That turned out great! I have some older Kastels that are various pale colors, I wonder if I could give them a “refresh” by dying them! I have one in particular that is a light grey, but just looks dingy white :no:. Do you know if it’s possible to dye them a slightly more vibrant color?

[largo]

I’m considering dying my faded light pink sunshirt after seeing this. Has anyone dyed a shirt other than white?

[Redlei44]

@largo

I’m considering dying my faded light pink sunshirt after seeing this. Has anyone dyed a shirt other than white?

Safest bet would be to stick with the same color family (like red or purple) and/or go significantly darker (like navy or black).

@HJdaydream RIT has a fair selection of colors, but re-dying commercial fabrics is a pretty inexact science. Similar recommendation - don’t try to go lighter/brighter than your starting color.

[HJdaydream]

Thanks @Redlei44 ! I ordered some purple dye from Rit. My grey shirt has a light purple collar. Excited to see how it turns out.

Great idea OP!! What a fun little project :yes:.

[springgreypony]

Ooh so pretty! Might have to try it…

[JustTheTicket]

@HJdaydream

Very cute! That turned out great! I have some older Kastels that are various pale colors, I wonder if I could give them a “refresh” by dying them! I have one in particular that is a light grey, but just looks dingy white :no:. Do you know if it’s possible to dye them a slightly more vibrant color?

You want just a slightly brighter/more refreshed grey? I’m not an expert, but I think you can just shorten the amount of time the garment is in the dye to control vibrancy.

[Jo]

Alright friends! Who was asking about extreme color changes?

I had this neon coral Kastel that bled like CRAZY, despite all attempts to get it to stop. Like - I would be hosing a horse, my arm would get wet, and I would be bleeding orange dye. I stopped wearing it and shoved it to the back of the closet.

I decided I had nothing to lose, so I grabbed the Peacock Green color - thinking that at best, it would be a nice hunter green and at worse… well I just would still have a Kastel that I never wore.

I’m actually really pleased with how it turned out. The boiling did remove some of the rhinestones, but they were already falling off prior to my experiment so I went ahead and picked them off before the final wash.

Lest you think the spring green shirt is not the same coral shirt, I’ve included a pic of the zipper which doesn’t hold the dye.

Bonus photo, a light gray turned a gorgeous purple for my barn owner.

[Jo]

@largo

I’m considering dying my faded light pink sunshirt after seeing this. Has anyone dyed a shirt other than white?

Check out my reply above!

[trubandloki]

Wow! Those came out great!

[blue_heron]

I love the olive green!! Does the new dye stain at all when you wore it?

[Jo]

@blue_heron

I love the olive green!! Does the new dye stain at all when you wore it?

This one didn’t. My BO wore her purple for a lesson over the weekend and didn’t have any dye leech… I did run that one through an extra rinse cycle on my washing machine just to be safe…

[BayBondGirl]

@Jo those look amazing!

[ParadoxFarm]

Love the new colors. I have a yellow one that I’m not overly fond of. Hmmm…

[Training_Cupid]

Just a PSA - I saw a bunch of different colors RIT at my local Safeway today! (I’m in Northern California)