One of my boys has an affinity for hats. He always has a hat on his head – sometimes even when he sleeps!
His favorite hat is a black driving cap he bought with his own money. He wears this hat everywhere. And it was starting to show some wear.
The hat had gotten dirty (he is a boy, after all) and despite a label that said “Spot Clean Only,” I had washed it a few times. So now it had a few spots and it was really faded. In fact, it almost looked brown.
He wanted a new hat. But with my pledge to live greener this year, I didn’t want to rush into buying something new. I didn’t want to toss a perfectly good hat.
I wanted to bring some new life to this old thing.
I decided that the best way to do that was to dye the hat. We found some good ol’ fashioned black Rit fabric dye
I read the directions on the package (there are four different ways to use the powdered dye) and opted to dye the hat in an old ice cream bucket we had. I made sure to wear a pair of latex gloves for the job. You’ll also need either salt or vinegar depending on the type of fabric you’re dyeing to help set the dye.
Note: Check the bucket for cracks in the bottom BEFORE you put the black dye in it. Learn from my experience!
I dyed the hat and then rinsed it (per the directions) and then hung it out to dry. The dye process only took about 1/2 hour, and the hat dried fairly quickly outside.
The pictures don’t do it justice, but it is a big improvement!
My boy is thrilled to have his black hat back again.
And I am thrilled to have found a solution for less than $5 that kept something out of a landfill.
So before you toss something out, take another look. Consider bringing new life to old things. Perhaps there’s something you could do with that old sweater or an old t-shirt. Fix it up, clean it up, upcycle it, recycle it, and save money, too!
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That’s awesome and the hat looks great! Good work. Hopefully the dye job lasts and also that the material holds up. I would have to think that the constant wearing, washing, and dye process would eventually cause the seams to start wearing out or for rough spots to develop, but maybe that will lead to another fun hat restoration project!
Thanks! So far, the hat’s held up pretty well, and I don’t wash it all that often – only when it’s embarrassingly grubby! I’ll have to think of a good way to repurpose it when it’s finally done.