Don’t Throw Away Your Old Tees—Dye Them!

Welcome to “What Can You Do With a Tee?” Vogue Runway's Earth Month series exploring exciting ways to reimagine our old stuff. Throughout the week, designers around the world will be repurposing old t-shirts into new garments and accessories.

My introduction to Dauphinette came on a seeded piece of paper. “Thank you for gardening!” read a small note at the bottom of the invite for designer Olivia Cheng’s first-ever fashion show. Cheng got into fashion and sustainability sideways: A lover of art and nature, she started off adjusting vintage garments with feather cuffs and preserving flower petals in resin earrings before starting a fully fledged brand. She now operates her own pop-up store where someone else’s detritus is hand-painted in her whimsical butterfly and floral designs. 

Asked to upcycle an unloved tee, Cheng decided the best option would be to dye it with natural materials. Armed with a bundle of flowers, vegetables, and leaves, Cheng shows that, much like the spring season, a familiar tee can bloom into something newly beautiful. 

Here, Cheng shares her directions for naturally dyeing your own t-shirt.

You will need:

• Vintage t-shirt or fabric scraps—wool, cotton, and silk work best.
• Large stock pot
• Old wooden spoon—you should not use this to prepare food after using for dyeing!
• For protein fibers such as wool or cashmere, you will need a pH neutral detergent. Most dish detergents work. For cellulose fibers such as cotton, you will need soda ash or alum
• Iron or copper modifier (detailed instructions on how to make your own below!)
• Dowels. There are many options here: You can use a stick, a wooden dowel, or a copper pipe. I ran out of dowels and bundled together the stems of my eucalyptus leaves with a piece of string.
• Cotton twine
• Cooking thermometer
• Rubber gloves
• Kitchen scale
• Steamer basket
• Old plastic grocery bags, deconstructed—please don’t use virgin plastic for this!
• Variety of leaves and botanicals. My favorites include eucalyptus, sumac, and onion skins.

Step 1: Scour your fabric.

Scouring fabric thoroughly cleans the fibers and prepares them to accept the natural pigments. Typically, fabric will weigh less once it has been scoured as waxes and other build-up from the milling process is cleaned away. This is an easy-to-follow, thorough guide to scouring.

Please note that protein fibers, such as wool, will be scoured differently from cellulose fibers, such as cotton. Silk generally does not need to be scoured unless you are using a raw silk.

Step 2: Prepare your modifier bath

Ready your botanicals by dipping them into a modifier solution— common ones include iron (my favorite) and copper. This alters and significantly improves the leaves’ printing clarity and color payoff. To make your own iron modifier, you can use rusty nails or ferrous sulphate powder. I took iron supplements from the pharmacy and crushed them, adding water and white vinegar. Dissolve the iron powder in 1 cup of white vinegar and 2 cups of water. Store the modifier in a quart size glass jar with a loosely capped lid. If you use rusty nails, you will need to soak the nails for 1-2 weeks before your modifier is ready.

Step 3: Prepare to dye!

Pre-soak your botanicals in the modifier solution for at least twenty minutes. Longer is fine. Meanwhile, lay your t-shirt out onto a flat, protected surface. Prepare cut pieces of plastic to cover your t-shirt; use old grocery bags, an old shower curtain, just don’t use virgin plastic! You can also reuse the plastic if you plan on dyeing more garments. Using a non-penetrable, waterproof material prevents the colors from running and will help you achieve clearer leaf prints.

Wearing gloves, remove leaves from the modifier bath and blot off excess liquid. Arrange the botanicals in any design you wish, then fold the t-shirt in half before folding the sleeves over. Many leaves will print on both sides, and this will create a beautiful mirrored print. Alternatively, you can cover the entire t-shirt with botanicals and skip the folding step. Carefully layer on the cut plastic and place the dowel at the t-shirt hem. Roll the t-shirt tightly around the dowel, bundle, and wrap tightly with cotton twine.

Step 4: Steam bath

Adding about 1 inch of water to the bottom of your stock pot, place in your steamer basket and t-shirt bundle. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Steam for 1.5 hours for silk and 2 hours for wool or cotton. Wearing oven mitts, remove the pot from its heat source, carefully crack the lid so steam can escape, and allow your bundles to cool before removing.

Step 5: A generous reveal!

Untie the bundle and carefully unroll the fabric to reveal your eco-printed t-shirt! Compost the leaves, rinse and reuse the plastic sheeting, and hang dry your t-shirt. I’ve stitched mine into a wrap. Enjoy!