How to Weather & Distress Costumes

[@d1jezek]

i use sandpaper on seams and edges and designmaster spray paint where you used your bleach mixture. the ivory and almond colors are great for faded areas. Rit makes a pearl gray dye that dulls most colors in a way that reads as age, too.

[@Apollo_Blaze]

Air brush paints can be used to stain costumes too....they can easily be diluted with water and brush or sponged on where needed...always best to do this on a damp costume so the dye bleeds in and blends in with a "feathered edge" that fades into the garment. Of course coffee can be used the same way and is easier to get a hold of...coffee has a more yellow brown color to it, tea can sometime show up with a rosy tint

[@riyamalu3343]

Sir... Its really interesting...can we use any paints like acrylic or dry mediums like charcoals,shoe polishes etc for weathering.... and also i need aftertreatment details also... can we give normal hand wash, or drycleaning or anyother??? Please reply.. waiting for your vauluable response.. Thanks

[@SanzuFabrications]

I used acrylic paints for mine. They will wash out a bit with each washing. I haven’t tried charcoals, but I think they will also wash out. Fabric dye will always be more permanent. I recommend always hand washing because it will reduce the amount of paint that comes out.

[@IC3.gov4]

Hi, I made a mess of a piece of vintage clothing that is polyester/cotton. It would not dye when I used RIT and I read you can dye it with acrylic paint, which I did and now it's very stiff and basically unwearable. Is there any way I can correct this? I've been trying to dye it black. Please help.

[@SanzuFabrications]

Julie M I don’t know about correcting it, but was the due you originally used made for synthetic materials like polyester? Also did you make sure to bring the water up to the correct temperature and follow all the other manufacturer directions? With a vintage piece, I know “starting over” isn’t exactly an option. Without knowing much about the exact fabric and dye, I can’t offer much advice. If it were me, I’d ask someone at a local fabric/craft store. Not only could you get more specific, but if they know a certain dye that would work, they would probably have it there too.

[@IC3.gov4]

Thanks, I hope its not beyond repair. I read that you had to either iron it after it dried or put it in the dryer which I just did and it came out crusty.

[@SanzuFabrications]

Were you sure to wring out all the excess moisture before doing that?

[@IC3.gov4]

It was RIT and said it may not work that well on polyester. I used regular acrylic on it when It was dry. I'm thinking I can soak it in white vinegar or something..inclined to think it's fixable but I don't know.

[@SanzuFabrications]

There’s your issue. I wish I could help, but alas, I haven’t a clue how to fix it. Let me know what you come up with- Im sure this would be excellent information for anyone dying fabric.

[@Vegetius93]

I have a few questions: 1) Did you use fabric paint for the dry brushing or did you use regular paint? 2) After the weathering is complete, can the garment be machined washed, or will that remove the weathering effect? 3) The garment I'm dying is a cotton polyester blend, so would I use tea bags or fabric dye? 4) If I use dye instead of tea bags, do I use less than what is recommended in order to avoid dying the entire garment?

[@SanzuFabrications]

+Brian Mark 1) I used regular acrylic paint, but fabric paint would probably be more permanent. 2) The weathering will slowly wash out with time, with the exception of the bleach. 3) With anything synthetic (such as polyester), Fabric dye made for synthetic materials would take better. 4) Personally, if I used dye, I would use A LOT LESS than the instructions tell you to. The reason is: if the dye isn't dark enough, you can re-dye it, but if you make your garment too dark, you won't be able to go backwards.

[@SanzuFabrications]

+Brian Mark I hope that helps! Let me know how your project turns out :D

[@fire58372001]

I took a jean jacket & left it outside for 1 mo. When I came back it had bleached white.