Jean therapy:
3 Ways to revive faded denim

• Denim is set to do another stint as a fashion staple
• Indigo and black are the denim colours of the season
• Revive and upcycle old, faded jeans, denim skirts and jackets with DYLON dye.
• DYLON Jeans Blue and Intense Black were designed to bring your denim to life

As ever, the fashion universe is delivering loads of exciting new denim looks – high waist, indigo, colour-blocked, embroidered, oversized and dip-dyed everything is where it’s at. Raggedy and faded denim, not so much.

So if your denim favourites have flat lined, it’s definitely time to intervene. Unsure where to start? Don’t worry, we have you covered. Here are three ways you can use DYLON’s range of dye to resuscitate your denim and bring it in line with the trends of the day:

What you need:

• DYLON Hand Dye
• Salt
• Craft glue
• Rubber gloves
• White cotton shirt

How to Batik dye a shirt

1. Pre-wash the shirt and allow it to dry.
2. Use a washable craft glue to create a design. Traditionally, Batik uses swirls, dots and lines but draw anything you like.
3. Dissolve a packet of DYLON Hand Dye in 500ml of warm water.
4. In a bucket, stir 250g of salt into six litres of warm water, then add the dye and stir well.
5. Dampen the shirt and place it into the dye bath, gently stirring.
6. Leave the shirt in the dye solution for one hour, rinse it under cold water until the water runs clear then pick the glue off.
7. Wash in warm water with your usual detergent and hang to dry.

Blue, black and grey are all great. Really. It’s just that there are so many other shades that denim looks good in, it’d be a shame not to give them a chance to shine. Especially since soft gelato hues are set to take the world – and street fashion – by storm. If you’re ready to join the trend, give your denim hot pants a delicious gelato makeover. For best results, start with white (or a faded denim as close to white as possible) shorts, then choose a sweet and playful colour like DYLON’s Dusty Violet or Peony Pink, to dye them to a tasty new finish.

The future is trendy; we’ve seen it. It’s full of bold reds, glittery shoes, checkers and – you guessed it – oversized black denim jackets and front-buttoned black jeans skirts. Yup, black is back! So whether your jeans jacket or skirt is faded to an unacceptable degree or just needs a general update, now is the time to get your hands on DYLON’s Machine Dye in Intense Black and get dyeing. Use a more diluted concentration over dark denim and revel in its blue-black glory or take light-coloured jeans full black and don’t look back.

“Can I really save the planet with my old jeans?” you ask doubtfully. No need for doubt. The answer is a resounding, yes! Aside from rescuing your favourite denim from the brink of destruction, another compelling reason to turn to DYLON dyes instead of a jeans store when updating your wardrobe, is because it is much more environmentally friendly.

Making your old jeans look fresh and fabulous only takes three wash cycles, which is a fraction of the 8,000 litres of water that it takes to irrigate cotton fields in the production of a new pair. So by choosing to upcycle rather than buy new, you’re not only saving your poor old jeans but the environment as well.