Gray is the New White - Overdyeing Heather Grey

I'm up to my eyeballs in packing boxes and all I can think about is sewing. What's that about?!? My sewing machine is 100 miles away, and who knows when it'll be up and running again, but I just want to make myself new duds. New year+ new home + new town = new duds, right? Well, in the midst of packing and hauling, organizing and planning, I snuck in a little consolation dyeing.A few days ago I dyed a pair of gray leggings. Down and dirty, quick and easy, but I made a discovery. Overdyeing heather gray is amazing. It makes the color both rich and muted in a really cool way. Fortunately, the Target clearance racks are currently littered with heather gray- leggings for $4, sweaters for $4.50, etc. I picked up a few items and a couple of hours later I have new mid-winter clothes and a general feeling of satisfaction. Not too shabby, eh?

Check out these humble beginnings.And look at how rich and textural the heather looks afterwords!I know for some people dyeing can seem like an insurmountable ordeal, but it's really quite simple. I used RIT dyes, in royal blue, teal and tangerine, doubling the dye for both the teal and the tangerine. I highly recommend it, especially overdyeing a light gray or brown as it reduces the dreaded easter egg effect. Just keep in mind that fabric undergoes a certain amount of abuse when it's dyed so don't use anything precious or delicate and know that it could alter the finish of your fabric.In related news, I've finally joined the leggings revolution. I know I'm just about the last belle to the ball on this one, but I've always suspected that I'd look pretty much like Dieter from SNL's Sprockets in leggings. Turns out, that's exactly what I look like, but these things are so comfy I'm beyond caring. Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!