Adventures in Dyeing a 10-Year-Old Coat

One of my very favorite coats hasn't been looking so bright and shiny. No wonder -- it's about a decade old. Normal wear and tear on a jacket I frequently  use in the spring is to be expected, I know. But even though I still regularly get compliments on the jacket, I didn't feel so great wearing it anymore.

Luckily, the fabric itself has worn nicely. And luckily that's what I love most about it. The color (mint green meets sky blue) was nice, but it was the light flower pattern that I really enjoyed.

So on a whim I tried dyeing the coat. Last week I went into Michaels craft store for buttons but came out with a container of Rit wine-colored dye. On Friday evening, I gave it a shot.

Although you can dye clothing in a washing machine, I was too afraid of the side effects of dumping dye straight into an expensive appliance. So instead I emptied out a large container, fit it into the super old double sink in our laundry room and went to work.

After 20 minutes of stirring and some additional time rinsing it, followed by a run through the washer and dryer, this was the outcome.

Love it! There are a couple of small splotches (possibly unnoticed before the dye job, or maybe caused by uneven stirring or the fact that I added the splash of detergent to the dye mixture too late!), but I'm seriously pleased with the result. Here's hoping the coat lasts another 10 years!