After discussing how to stop indigo jeans from fading, I must have developed quite a reputation! Perhaps I should give up on bicycling and chase my true calling in life of working for Levi’s Jeans? 😉
Because I got this “Ask Levi” question in my email:
I know that every body wants to know how to fade jeans. But I want to know how to put dye back in them. I have a pair of Levi’s that are faded in the butt and the front legs. I just want them the same blue jean color. Do you know of a dye I can use? Thank you.
As I’ve said before, I’m not exactly an expert on blue jean dye, but I have learned a few things about dying clothing and painting logo t-shirts, so I’ll give this a shot…
Let’s find a reputable dye company and see if they have anything for blue jeans. I’ve heard good things about RIT Dye for crafting and designing, so let’s check that out.
Browsing their site, I see they just happen to have quite a few dyes for fabric. Liquid is usually your best bet, and we’re in luck – a bottle of “denim blue” colored dye for $3.79 per bottle.
Then follow whatever instructions they give you; something like putting the jeans, dye, salt, and hot water in a bucket and letting them sit for a while.
Watch this video to see how:
Hopefully that helps! Oh, and if you need help with any special wool or polyester bicycling clothing, come on back! 🙂
Levi Bloom is an experienced endurance athlete who has been training and competing for over 17 years. A former Cat 1 road and mountain bike racer (professional class on the regional circuit), he is now a cycling coach (USA Cycling Level 3 Certified) and sports nutrition coach (Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified).
cheers levi! its good to see there more to you then just cycling! lolz
Yea, Rit dyes seem to work ok. But aint worn jeans kinda hot?
I think I would agree with you Jim. Although I’m not qualified to give fashion advice 😉
Nope, this doesn’t bring faded blue jeans back to original indigo blue. It leaves the jeans looking like ‘a mistake’. After the first wash it leaves the jeans looking like a big mistake, sort of a faded grey blue.
@grace
Like I said, I’m an endurance sports coach, not a fashion expert 🙂
Why people ask me about blue jeans, I’m not sure…
Hi there! We do custom indigo dyeing for our customers at our natural dye studio in Nashville, TN. Depending on the weight (we charge per pound of fabic), you can get indigo dye service for $35 per garment. More details here: http://southernhues.com/pages/natural-dye-plants
Thanks and good luck!
Sarah
Hi,
If you want dark jeans and you have faded blue go with the navy rit dye. Just remember that you must keep the mixture constantly stirred. If you want to have something different get the royal blue. I used the navy liquid entire bottle and the jeans came out looking like a fresh pair off the shelf.
I used the rit denim color it worked great even color just one problem the denim is not the levi color my mistake but denim color is kinda wierd
Once you dye jeans how can you make it permanent. Cause I heard of someone who dyed their jeans and when they wore them for the day when they removed them they had blue legs and also the white pockets liners turned blue also.
Rico. washing with Vinegar will set them. Also drying in the drier on high heat will help the setting process. Good luck! Nothing you can do about the pockets though…
how much should i pay for used levis is the price the same if their 501s 0r 550