Jazz up your your old white hose for pennies!

[Downunder Kilt]

"Several years ago I dyed a couple of pairs of off white/ecru hose with tea and coffee, which proved very successful."

~ Downunder

I have a pair of very good quality Arran Cable pure wool hose from the 70's that I haven't worn in decades. I love the idea of colouring them with either tea or coffee to better suit my predominantly brown MacDuff Hunting Modern Tank. How did you do it exactly? Both coffee and tea? One or the other? How long do you soak them for? Hot or cold, etc... How did they come out?

Thanks.

Used tea for one pair and coffee for two pair. I used some Bali coffee which is not unlike turkish coffee, though not as thick, mixed it in a bucket with warm water, lowered the hose, made sure they were soaked through. For the first hour I moved them around the bucket about every to minutes, then let them settle, occasionally moving them around the bucket (when I thought of it) then let them soak overnight, Took them out in the morinng and let them flat dry. Gave them a wash and job done.
Result

Pair on the left is how they started

Sorry don't have a photo of the tea dyed ones, but followed the same method

[Elf]

First off, good job and happy wearing. If folks don't mind, I would like to relate my experience by way of warning. I had bought a pair of rental-return socks. They had been impropperly washed and shrunk. Now with my small feet, that is a good thing, and being thicker, warmer too. The problem is that when a friend tried to indigo dye them, we realized they were a mixed fiber. The wool dyed well, but the synthetic very slightly. Here's the silver lining: the rusult was a very apealing heather effect. I am very happy with them. I hope this helps others.

[ThistleDown]

Downunder, I have several pair of 'greezie-lamb' (well that's what I heard her call them) hose knitted by a Melbourne (Canterbury) friend for me back in the 70s. I've not worn them for 20+ years. but there they are just waiting for a dye-job. What can you tell us about "greezie-lamb? I think it is wool that has not been washed before knitting and is still lanolin-rich. Yes? I'm fairly certain that the ones I have have only been washed in clear and cold water and air-dried.

[Downunder Kilt]

Rex, you are right on the money in relation what greasy wool (greezie lamb) is. As to how best to dye it is another matter. I have two pair of New Zealand greasy wool hiking socks which are a highland green colour, so obviously the wool can be dyed. Perhaps Pleater could lend her expertise.

[CMcG]

I have a pair of very good quality Arran Cable pure wool hose from the 70's that I haven't worn in decades.

If I was going to wear cream hose, I'd want ones like you've described...

[Nathan]

Good job Nathan. The colour seems to be taking quite well, so your hose must have had a fairly high natural fibre content. How does the colour in your photos compare to the one on the label of the dye?

As Tobus mentioned on that other thread, artificial yarn doesn't take colour nearly as well... at least not without something other than the basic craft/sewing store dyes. For example, I dyed my cheap cream hose in the same batch as a friend's and mine came sort of khaki while his were a much deeper green.

The colour of the hose corresponds closely to the label. My cream hose were high quality wool or cotton knits. The pair I left alone were even higher quality, a very nice wool.

[Nathan]

So here are the finished products as promised! The yellow photographed a little more canary yellow than the mustard they actually are. The colour in my original post is actually much more accurate. The blue is closer but also photographed a little lighter.

To set the dye, I ironed the hose while they were damp. Then I ran them, individually of course, through a delicate knit wash cycle in cold water with a cup of vinegar and a 1/2 cup of salt. Then I ironed them again while damp. They left no dye residue on my pressing cloth.

[Tobus]

Those turned out very nicely, Nathan. You did a great job.

At some point in the future (when I have free time and the wherewithal to do it), I might consider buying some white hose just for the purpose of dyeing them to a custom colour. There are shades of brown and green that I just can't find in commercially-made hose, and it would be fun to try to spin up a custom blend. Your method of using vinegar and salt to set the dye and then steam them with an iron is pretty cool.

[Laird_M]

Unless you want smurf-blue feet...

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...ed=0CDoQ9QEwBA

[ASinclair]

Well done, Nathan.