Black is a serious staple in my wardrobe... what mom doesn't use it as her go to on a bloated day? We all have these little nooks and crannies we are looking to smooth out or hide so black, despite its versatility  is a necessity. My love for black also comes with my hatred of dingy and faded clothes. It seems like you buy the perfect black T-shirt, wear it, love it, wash it ... boom it is now a dismal dark grey. 

To cure my dismal black clothing and an attempt to 

breath new life into my old pieces with this:

You can find Rit Dye... just about anywhere. I have even seen it at the gas station, weird I know... then again you never know when you might be stranded without gas and need to dye something! There are a few ways to do it some MUCH more messy than others... I prefer the less messy... 

Here is how I do it:

1. Gather all of your black clothes. Use ONE BOX per MEDIUM size load. 

(If you are doing heavy fabrics like denim do a small load of about 2-3 items)

2. ONLY add clothes that are a VERY dark grey to black. No screen printing, pattern or color details. JUST BLACK. (This works wonders on Yoga pants and black socks!) 

3. Place Dye, box is better than bottle of liquid it seems to go farther, in WASHING MACHINE. If you have a front loader place in basket. DO NOT PLACE IN SOAP DISPENSER... you will regret this later. 

4. Let fill partly with HOT, VERY HOT, water. Add in clothes and let it continue to fill. 

5. This is important... DO NOT USE SOAP! You will literally be washing away the dye you are adding. You may laugh but you would be surprised how many ask me about soap. 

6. Once the Washer starts to agitate ... let it mix the clothes up for a good 15 min then stop the washer and let clothes SIT FOR 30 Min to an HOUR. This makes a big difference at how long the dye lasts on your clothes. You don't have to but you will find yourself re-dyeing your clothes again in about a month. 

7. Let cycle finish, spin really well and pop in dryer. It is now ready to wear! 

8. CLEAN YOUR WASHER!!! Run a cycle of nothing but hot water and a cup of bleach... that is it! You are done!

9. There might be a little bit of dye left to bleed from clothes... so avoid wearing bright or white layers before the first wash. 

10. For your first wash ONLY WASH WITH OTHER ALL BLACK CLOTHES. You WILL ruin other clothes. I botched up an entire load of my daughters clothes when a black sock snuck in with her baby pink clothes... took me three days of oxyclean to return them back to normal. Wash Black clothes with little soap and COLD water... continue to stringently separate your freshly dyed clothes! 

It is pretty easy: Throw it in the washer, let it sit, rinse in cold and enjoy! 

Now go be impressed with your favorite shirt you have buried in the back of your closet! They will look as good as the day you bought them! Enjoy! 

Visit Rit.com for other Dyeing Ideas.