DIY OMBRE DENIM

I've seen this DIY on a few different blog websites, most notably Honestly... WTF. Ombre - dip dying for the layman - is hot and an instant refreshing look to your old denim. Although a nice, hot summer seems like a dream for Australian's at the moment these would make a cool outfit for all the upcoming summer festivals.

Over at Honestly... WTF they have interpreted the RIT dying instructions the US way, using gallons. I've tried my best to comprehend those measurememnts for us Aussies, or for anyone else that doesn't know the difference between a gallon, pint, yard, oz or litre.

You'll need:
- Old denim shorts
- RIT fabric dye powder in Fuschia, Violet or Purple
- Measuring cup
- Rubber gloves

How to do it:
1. At Honestly... WTF they used liquid Rit. I chose powder Rit because it was cheaper and only involves one extra step. Boil two cups of water. Mix the powder dye with the two cups of boiled water into a small container or jug and stir. Also, my shorts are custom Levi cutoff's with the pockets hanging out the bottom. I wanted my pockets to still be white so I pinned them up the top.

2. I decided to use the kitchen sink to dye my shorts. The instructions are to use three gallons of very hot water per yard. For this project I used 2 gallons which is about 7.5 litres. Fill your sink or bucket with the hot water.

A mixing bowl normally has measurements on it, which I used to fill my sink

3. Wet the shorts in the sink of water.
4. Put one third of the dye mixture (about 165mL) into the sink and stir. The way that you get the ombre is by starting the dye lightly and adding a third at a time, so the last part of the dying process has the most dye.
5. Put the shorts in the mixture, about one third of the way. Leave the first section for 10 minutes.

Wet shorts, add 1/3 dye, submerge shorts, add 1/3 dye, submerge again.

6. Add the next third of the dye into the sink and then submerge the shorts a little bit further. Leave them for another 5 minutes.
7. Add the final third of the dye mixture to the sink and submerge the shorts again. I submerged my shorts up to the front pockets. (When I pulled my shorts out after this there seemed to be quite a definitive line, so I held them in the TINIEST bit extra for another 2 minutes, which gave the perfect blended look).
8. Wash the shorts out until the water runs clear.

Hang them out to dry. Voila! Ombre dyed shorts.