It’s always a sad day when your favorite pair of jeans fade from everyday wear to work-around-the-house-wear. Sure, you can still wear them about anywhere you want, you just need to be prepared to look like Bon Jovi circa 1988 livin’ on a prayer.
Old Favorites
Normally, when my jeans have reached the end of their blue days, I hop online and purchase another pair of old favorites. I’d love to be able to run to the Gap and pick up a new pair, but 38×36 is one of those “additional sizes available online.” So, it’s off to the internets for me. …
Last month I found that it was time to let another pair of jeans fade away, so webbing I went to order their replacements. Amazingly, the price of my favorite jeans now rings up the cash register at $69.00. Outside of the sophomoric humor of the price, WHOA!, when did jeans become luxury items? This dude can’t afford fancy pants, so I needed another option.
I’ve always wondered whether or not it was possible to dye faded jeans back to their blue glory of the past. Theoretically it is possible, right? With nothing to lose, I set off into the the world of mommy bloggers to solve this mystery. If I can handle coloring The Dramatic’s hair, certainly I can wade into the waters of the stitch and bitch. The answer was simple…of course you can! Apparently this skill has been handed down from mothers to daughters for generations, they’ve just been holding out on the guys all this time.
After decoding the language of the moms, here is the best recipe for jean rejuvenation that I have found:
Ingredients Needed:
- One box of Rit Denim Blue Dye
- One box of Rit Black Dye
- One box (24 bags) of Lipton Iced Tea
Order of Operations:
- Wash and dry the Old Favorites.
- Start a small wash cycle using whatever water temperature you wish, pausing the cycle before agitation begins.
- On a stove top bring a quart of water to boil in a sauce pan, and then mix in the denim dye until stirring until the powder is fully dissolved.
- Repeat Step 3 for the black dye as well.
- Add the two saucepans full of dissolved die to the water in the washing machine, and let the agitation commence. (Sidenote, I think that is what the obstetrician cried upon my delivery into this world.)
- After 30 seconds of agitation, add the Old Favorites to the murky black-blue water of the washing machine.
- Allow the wash cycle to carry on for 2 minutes, and then pause the cycle allowing the jeans to soak for 10 minutes.
- Repeat Step 7 until the wash cycle is complete.
- Allow the jeans to dry as you see fit.
- Take the largest pot you have and fill it half way full with water and bring to a boil, and then remove the pot from the heat.
- Add the 24 tea bags to the boiling water and allow all of the dark goodness to work its way from the bag to the water.
- Add the dyed and dried jeans to the pot of ultra strong tea and stir them in until fully covered.
- Allow the tea to stain the jeans for 30 minutes, then remove the jeans and allow to dry.
That’s it. Simple enough, really. The secret to the whole process is the tea-staining. Without staining the jeans with tea, or coffee if you wish, the jeans will come out with a purpleish-hue. That’s cool, too, but not exactly the look I was going for. If you follow the steps above, you should be out about eight bucks, and have jeans that look like this:
Restored Old Favorites (click pic to view larger)
I’m out of words now…
Tags: blue jeans, bryan jones, mommy blogging
what about the step where you can put the wispy-feathered-faded look on the front?
@rob callaham, that kind of info was only available on the paid boards. sorry.
I use sand paper wrapped around a fork. Either wear them for a day and then scrunch them where your natural lines fall and sand the high points, or do it while you a wearing them (although, if you sand too much, that could be painful…) Also, if they are wet when you do this, it works a bit better.
Here is my problem, (I DO buy the expensive jeans) once they get to that faded, they are usually ready for the garbage!
But awesome to know none-the less. I think I might have to take hold of my husbands no-longer-cool-stone-washed jeans.
also, it’s called a “whisker wash”
and I could continue with sand washing, grinding, pinching and such.
Yes, I am a jean nerd.
clearly not having any such skills, i just opt for the acid washed look and tell myself that its coming back in one day…
my jeans never seem to last
long enough for the colour to
go, generally get torn some
silly way or another, lol
x
I love the way your nerdiness brings out the nerdiness in others…Kelli, who knew? LOVE IT.
@Kelli, I think I’ve figured out why your jeans wear out so fast. YOU’RE USING SANDPAPER ON THEM!
Jean nerdiness is a side effect of ‘mall dorkicus,’ of which I suffered for seven years. And I only used sandpaper on my jeans once. They were awesome. It was a pair of Silver Sisley’s and they had 24″ bottom openings. I let the hem out, died them a ridiculous color, sanded the hell out of them, (including the faux skoal ring – I used bubble tape) and wore them proudly until I outgrew them shortly thereafter.
OK, I might be a little embarrassed for having admitted any of this…
i really need to book you to do bailey’s hair……