Project Success!

In no way would I consider myself a "fashionista", but more of an admire of fashion for 2 reasons...number 1, I can't seem to bring myself to pay over $40 for a single piece of clothing (unless I absolutely love it and even then it's a rare occasion that I actually buy it) and number 2, I'm not brave enough to try some of the things I see other women wearing that I love.

However, there has been one recent fashion trend that I haven't been able to get off my mind....COLORED PANTS!

This picture from an awesome new blog with inspiration on how to be fashionable on a budget! The Dime Diary

 I'm kind of obsessed with them at the moment (keeping in mind that I actually don't own a pair). I see them everywhere and always am looking for them in stores, but never found any with the perfect fit or price. So the other day I came across this tutorial on pinterest of a girl who bleached some jeans and dyed them. I couldn't believe I have never thought of this before!! One day after learning this I was anxious to try it out and so I grabbed a pair of old pants I had and went to work!

I apologize for being awful at taking "before" pictures, but I snatched an original picture of the pants from Old Navy.

They are your basic khaki bootcut pants, which when I first bought about a year ago I wore a lot, but stopped wearing them a few months ago after they lost their flavor and after being 3 months pregnant and just barely being able to fit in them again now that I am not.

So I started out by trying to bleach them, but even after letting them sit for 3-4 hours nothing was happening. I then bought some RIT color remover and that didn't even lighten them. I decided to just go ahead and dye them since they were light pants anyway. I went for a coral type color since I am also very obsessed with coral clothing now as well. After dyeing them I made them into straight-leg pants by laying a pair of straight-leg pants I already had over them, pinned them, and sewed! They were already pretty fitted in the thigh so I just took in the pants from the inside seam from the knee down.

Thanks to Sara who let me talk her into modeling them for me, here is the final product!!

Can you believe she had a baby only a month ago?!?!

I absolutely LOVE how they turned out and feel like I have a whole new pair of pants for only $5 which was the cost of the dye! (I had to mix two different colors of dye. I used RIT dye for $2.30 each which I got from Hobby Lobby.) Infact, Sara and I loved them so much we bleached a jean skirt Sara had and dyed that too!

It seems that I am more likely to try projects when I know someone who has tried it...so for those of you on a budget and want cute colored pants for summer take it from someone who has done it and TRY THIS!! It is so easy!

Here are a few tips

1. The thread on the pants will not bleach and dye so make sure it's a color you don't mind showing up once you've dyed your pants. My pants and the jean skirt I dyed had tan stitching so it blended really well with the color and gave it a little detail.

2. Bleaching jeans, especially a dark wash jean takes 4-6 hours if not more! When we did Sara's jean skirt we let it sit in hot water with bleach for about 6 hours. We changed the bleach water 3 times to keep the bleach process going. We were also pretty liberal with the bleach!

3. To skip the process of bleaching and trying to find a pair of pants with a good thread color go find a pair of white pants on clearance or at the thrift store!

4. Pants that are mostly in not all cotton bleach and dye better. Mine were like 95% cotton and 5% spandex.

5. Once the pant's are bleached to where you want them throw them through a cycle in the washing with laundry detergent. Once that is done you are ready to add some color!!

6. I wouldn't recommend dyeing your pants in the bath tub or a sink if it is not stainless steel. It could dye them so if you don't have a stainless steel sink use a plastic tub to put in the sink. I've also read that some people did it in the washing machine, but after trying it I'm glad I did the sink.

7. This brings me to my next point, which is...dye is messy and get's everywhere if you aren't careful! One little speck of dye powder on your finger and you could have a nice dye spot on the next thing you touch. So wear gloves and have an clear area! I felt like in the sink I had more control over what I was dying and didn't run the risk of having some dye get leftover in the washing machine and bleach all my clothes! Plus it was easy wipe up of any that got on the counter.

8. RIT dye has an awesome website! It has a color formula guide to get just about any color you could ever want! Check it out HERE.

I hope some of you give this a try and let me know how it goes! As for me...I am enjoying my new "fashionable" pants :)