Mr Imma just asked me this and I have no clue, so I would love to hear if anyone here has tried this.
He basically wears bandshirts every day, including to work, and he’s quite attached to a lot of them as they were gifts from bands he befriended on the road or bought at a special show etc. So he really doesn’t want to get rid of them. But he will turn 35 this year and he feels he should look a bit more mature. He bought leather shoes today, he shaved his hair off because it was getting thin, he has decided he’s not going to wear his Simpsons socks anymore, and he confessed he’s quite tired of wearing faded bandshirts too. But he’s hard on clothes so most start to fade after less than a year. He doesn’t want to buy new shirts all the time.
So his question is, if you dye a black cotton bandshirt in the washing machine with standard black washing machine dye, would that affect the transfer print on it? Our gut feeling is no - this is what we do with his black cotton pants too, the black dye only colours the cotton fabric and the polyester thread doesn’t change colour. I know nothing about dyeing - we use the cheap tins of dye you can buy at the grocery store, the brand that’s widely available here is called Dylon.
I’d love to hear if anyone has tried this. If not we’ll probably try soon with a few older shirts.
It depends; some dyes may tint some types of printing inks.
Hot water dyes are more likely to be a problem.
Light colored inks, ditto. Those thick, rubbery inks seem kind of porous, they might suck up some dye.
I would expect that the prints on many shirts would absorb at least a little dye and look splotchy or dirty.
Any time I have overdyed, it’s stained the parts that resist a little.
Maybe some plain coloured cotton shirts for work that can be re-dyed again and again and save those favourite band shirts for home (or for a memory quilt!)?
The inks are indeed those thick rubbery inks, and they do indeed appear to be a bit porous, over time they kind of crumble. So maybe it’s not such a good idea after all… Pants usually look fine after overdyeing but I haven’t really paid that much attention to the parts that resist. If they look dark-ish instead of faded that’s good enough.
The word “memory quilt” is considered blasphemy in this house. I’ve tried, there are also two garbage bags full of shirts that don’t fit anymore under the bed. They can’t go because they may fit again at some point in the future and then he’s going to wear them again I can’t really complain because he has very few personal possesions that aren’t records, music gear or bandshirts. He has two pairs of shoes, two pairs of pants, two pairs of shorts, and one million bandshirts (well, at least 100).
He’s a musician and also works at a venue so bandshirts are what almost everyone wears. They get company logo shirts too, but they are only issued one short-sleeved shirt and he sweats a lot in his work, so he wears his own clothes on most days. For some reason they can’t just issue him with more shirts?
He’s a pretty hygienic guy, he doesn’t want to smell, so that means that he often changes his shirt halfway through the day. My clothes fade very, very slowly, but I can wear my clothes several times before they need to be washed & I wash them cold with very little laundry detergent. He goes through 11-15 t-shirts a week, way more if he plays gigs, his clothes need to be washed at least at 40C and if it’s really bad they need to be treated with vinegar or soda before washing.
There are dyes on the market that are both a disperse and reactive dye. In the US the common brand is RIT which you can buy but I believe its pricey to get over there. But, maybe looking for a 2 part dye that lists both these types. That would then give the pants a true color as it will dye both the natural and synthetic portions of the fibers.
For the band t-shirts it will be harder because over time the transfer cracks as well so what may not be as noticeable when faded becomes highlighted as large gaps when dyed so leaves it looking over dyed, if its a sublimation transfer then the dye will actually take the place of the colors and all but wipe out the transfer. So unfortunately I don’t know a way to dye the shirts and keep the image.
But, to help with the washing look for an enzyme cleaner to spray bits like the pits. Puracy and cleaners like that. You can spray on when sorting then when you have enough wash a load in cold to help prevent the fading in the future but will eliminate the stains and odors.
I think its cute but sad he’s given up his Simpson socks! I work in a more conservative industry so all the Sr leadership believes in the full black or dark navy suit with ties and dress shirts, but I catch the ones with the funky socks and love it!! Professional doesn’t mean he has to give up his socks!!!
Some work is just hard on clothes. Perhaps save the beloved band shirts for gigs and personal time (think how long 100 would last then!) and get a bunch of plain tees for the day-to-day? Then jazz it up with Simpson’s socks!
Sounds like they can’t be saved. So he’s going to have to decide whether he wants to wear scruffy shirts or buy new ones. There is a complicated ranking in those shirts, some are kept for “best” for a while, but there are so many of them it’s hard for me to keep track of. When he was still playing gigs in the before times, I would indeed let those smelly t-shirts from his backpack soak in a bucket with enzyme based laundry detergent. The before times are so long ago I almost forgot.
I am fine with the Simpsons socks being thrown out because I’m honestly not sure which century they are from ! But I do hope he keeps his Grinch Christmas socks. I get what he’s trying to do - over a certain age you start to look scruffy instead of cool when you wear old, wornout clothing. Imagine a 55-year old Kurt Cobain, still dressed like in 1993 but balding, greying and with a beer belly… I can’t blame him for wanting to age more like Dave Grohl instead. Some of his friends, especially the men who have been married or in a relationship for a long time, are starting to look increasingly scruffy, and I’m not a particular fan of the “I live in my mother’s basement” look.
Lol, Robert’s boss told him to tidy up & look “more office, less Ozark”. He has hair nearly down to his butt & a beard. I like it trim & pointy so he keeps it that way now. & I manage his eyebrows, those get shaggy like an elderly professor without maintenance.
He wears tie dye & Phish concert shirts a lot. He’s even got a Greatful Dead dress shirt, & a John Lennon . He’s funky even when he gets tarted up for meetings.
I’m the Grateful Dead fan in our house so I definitely approve of that shirt! We have an IT guy at work who will wear Hawaii print shirts when he’s asked to put on a shirt.
Hey now, I’m 57!
I’m just kidding you.
(I do look scruffy though, with my hair becoming so thin and grey, whereas I used to have a big bunch of reddish blonde curls. Ah well… I’m still here!)
I can’t really complain because he has very few personal possesions that aren’t records, music gear or bandshirts. He has two pairs of shoes, two pairs of pants, two pairs of shorts, and one million bandshirts (well, at least 100).
! But I do hope he keeps his Grinch Christmas socks. I get what he’s trying to do - over a certain age you start to look scruffy instead of cool when you wear old, wornout clothing. Imagine a 55-year old Kurt Cobain, still dressed like in 1993 but balding, greying and with a beer belly… I can’t blame him for wanting to age more like Dave Grohl instead. Some of his friends, especially the men who have been married or in a relationship for a long time, are starting to look increasingly scruffy, and I’m not a particular fan of the “I live in my mother’s basement” look.
. He’s funky even when he gets tarted up for meetings.