Fun with Rit

We all know what Rit is right? For those that need a slight memory jog- Rit is that powder dye that comes in a box and looks like the logo hasn't been updated since the 1972. You see it in some supermarkets and in craft stores.

Today I dyed one of my skirts. I purchased a crinkly type white skirt from Forever XXII a few years ago (and by a few I mean at least 4) and picked up about three stains along the way. I'm not sure when or how I acquired them. I tried to treat the stains even going so far as applying the bleach from a bleach pen and letting it sit over night and then soaking it in Oxy Clean. The stains were set.

I liked the skirt and decided that it would be the thrifty and resourceful thing to do to dye it a new color. I opted for a practical chocolate brown. All of this isn't very exciting, I know, but I did do a few things the package didn't instruct, and thought I would pass it on to you since it worked so well.

I followed the directions for the stove top dying bathe. Once I was done with the bathe I decided to rinse out the skirt in the sink with cold water to try and get all the residual dye out. I must confess that I did this because I am extremely anal-retentive about my washer and dryer. When I could not get the water to run clear by rinsing and ringing, I decided that I would just wash the skirt in the sink (the box recommends putting it in your washer).

Then I decided to use the recipe for color fasting from my book entitled Lemons, Salt, Vinegar, and Baking Soda- a must own. I filled the sink up again with cold water and then added 1 cup of white vinegar (Wal-Mart's finest) and 1/2 salt (mine was Kosher). I let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. I then rinsed it off and hung it up to dry. This was not in the directions at all.

The remarkable thing was that the water was turning colors when I was filling up the sink again but as soon as I put the vinegar and salt in, the water become colorless again. Then when I rinsed the skirt, no dye came out!