Post by whiskeyriver on Jul 26, 2015 9:44:15 GMT -6
Alright, so I got a pair of Gustin #173 Zimbabwe Superlight jeans from one of the grab bags. Since I received them, they've just sat in my closet. I really didn't like how BLUE and crispy white they were. Gustin describes them thusly: "...this 10.5oz example has a dense, smooth hand that's surprising for this weight of material. This helps give the fabric enough body. The shade and grain of this version are spot on. A bright indigo warp is contrasted by a crisp white weft. There is nice slubbiness in both warp and weft, which results in crosshatching throughout the surface. You really see nice highs and lows. A pure white selvedge ID finishes it off."
No, sorry Gustin. These, despite the purported high-quality cotton used, were super Plain Jane. There was very little "slub" to these jeans under the definition of that word as they were when they came from Gustin. They were pretty smooth, crisp, uninteresting jeans. I just didn't see myself wearing them much, if at all.
Plus, they just sorta looked dorky to me:
Mine:
So they sat there for a few weeks. Then I decided to do something about it. I decided to dye these suckers. Specifically with green tea. I got the following tea from an Asian market nearby, and grabbed my large stock pot:
First you soak your jeans in cold water:
Get the tea boiling:
Don't mind if I do...
I let the tea boil and steep for about 30 minutes to get a nice dark green tea color, and then pulled all of the tea out:
And in they went:
Soak, my pretties...
I let them sit in the tea water overnight. For the first two hours, I pulled the jeans out and repositioned them in the pot to ensure everything was getting dyed. Woke up this morning and hung them outside to dry:
And presto, a nice greenish-yellow-brown overdye to once "crispy" jeans:
You can really see the brown on the bags, tags and selvedge IDs:
And in the process, the hairiness has really come out in these jeans. They feel denser and less annoyingly crispy too:
So, there you have it. Green tea dyed denim. It was a fun project and I was happy with the results. I definitely see myself wearing these things way more often now with how they look.
No, sorry Gustin. These, despite the purported high-quality cotton used, were super Plain Jane. There was very little "slub" to these jeans under the definition of that word as they were when they came from Gustin. They were pretty smooth, crisp, uninteresting jeans. I just didn't see myself wearing them much, if at all.
Plus, they just sorta looked dorky to me:
Mine:
So they sat there for a few weeks. Then I decided to do something about it. I decided to dye these suckers. Specifically with green tea. I got the following tea from an Asian market nearby, and grabbed my large stock pot:
First you soak your jeans in cold water:
Get the tea boiling:
Don't mind if I do...
I let the tea boil and steep for about 30 minutes to get a nice dark green tea color, and then pulled all of the tea out:
And in they went:
Soak, my pretties...
I let them sit in the tea water overnight. For the first two hours, I pulled the jeans out and repositioned them in the pot to ensure everything was getting dyed. Woke up this morning and hung them outside to dry:
And presto, a nice greenish-yellow-brown overdye to once "crispy" jeans:
You can really see the brown on the bags, tags and selvedge IDs:
And in the process, the hairiness has really come out in these jeans. They feel denser and less annoyingly crispy too:
So, there you have it. Green tea dyed denim. It was a fun project and I was happy with the results. I definitely see myself wearing these things way more often now with how they look.
