Change the Color of Your Bikini - Green to Blue

I'm getting ready to pack my things in a little backpack for a summer trip. We're flying economy and everything needs to fit under the seat in front of us. This means packing light and taking my smallest swimsuit. My favorite white bikini top takes up a lot of space with its thick padding and sturdy underwire. The problem with my packing-friendly small bikini top is that it's...really green. Neon green. It's a fine color, but I'm not a fan of wearing it. I thought I could tone it down with some Rit DyeMore. 

Rit DyeMore is designed for synthetic fabrics. I was very excited when it came out because I loved playing around with regular Rit dye - which works great on cotton and other natural fabrics but not so much on polyester.

I had already used half of my bottle of Rit DyeMore in Sapphire Blue for successfully turning a hot pink scarf burgundy. (The underlying color of whatever you're dying always contributes to the outcome color).

I decided to use the rest of my bottle on my electric green bikini top. I started by heating up water on the stove top while soaking the bikini in warm water in a separate bowl. The pot and wooden stirring spoon I use for dying is used never used for food, by the way. It's pretty handy to have a large pot for crafting and cleaning purposes only.

When the water was almost simmering, I poured the half-bottle of dye into the water and stirred it in. Then the bikini went in. I stirred for a little while and kept the bikini top moving. If this was a good diy tutorial, I would give you exact times and measurements, but I eyeballed everything. The bikini top was in the hot water for about fifteen minutes.

After that, I rinsed the swimsuit in warm water in the sink until most of the dye had run out. It's a good idea to wear gloves to keep your hands from getting stained. I didn't use gloves but I lifted the bikini out with my wood spoon. Also, be careful not to burn yourself with the hot dye water.

Finally the bikini went into the washing machine with a little detergent.

Here was the result:

I was so pleased. I never know how things are going to turn out after dying. Interestingly, the lining stayed perfectly green.

There were some small areas on the ties that the dye missed. I could have avoided this if I had moved the cup area of the bikini around while I was dying, but it's not too noticeable.

It was a fun project - if you're not too worried about potentially ruining a bathing suit, you could give this a try for a color change. Just remember the color wheel and that your underlying color will always add to the final color. Also, there are lots more detailed instructions on the Rit website for dying other items.

Happy dyeing!

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