Name: Heather

Country: USA

Message: I have looked for the answer on your website and have found things similar but not exactly the same as my problem. I bought a pair of levi's 100% cotton on-line. They were advertised as like new but when I received them they have a slightly worn white area down the front of the legs and in the seat. This looks as if it might have been done on purpose for "style". It is not a severe bleaching, but the areas are noticably lighter and it appears the jeans are not "worn out" in these ares.

Can I return these to a solid original blue, or will this color disparity always remain? The rest of the jean is still rather dark and I am not sure how much dye they will absorb as well. I think they may be saved with dying but do not know what color to use, especially after reading information on vats. (Yikes) I thank you in advance for your help.


Most new denim jeans these days have purposely been roughed up, before they were sold for the first time, to meet the requirements of fashion. It's difficult to find new denim jeans that have not been sanded, abraded, acid-washed, enzyme-washed, stone-washed, or in some other way treated to give a false appearance of age and wear.

If you dye denim, it will end up nearly a solid color, and won't look at all like new denim. The 'look' of denim is created by weaving white yarns in one direction with blue yarns perpendicular to them. If you dye your denim navy blue, then all of the threads will be navy, and there will be no white threads at all. What you'll get will look like a solid-color blue twill. The lighter parts of the jeans will always stay a bit lighter than the darker ones, but if you dye them a dark blue or black color, with a lot of dye, the difference will be slight.

If what you want is solid-color navy or black jeans, then it will be easy to go ahead and dye them. Don't use an all-purpose dye, such as Rit or Tintex, because the dye will fade quickly, and it will bleed in the laundry, often ruining anything you wash the jeans with later on. Instead, you'll want to use a fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. You can buy this dye economically by mail-order, or you can go to a crafts store and look for Procion MX dye, Dylon Permanent Dye, or Tulip One Step Fashion Dye. For the Dylon or Tulip dyes, follow the package instructions carefully; for the Procion MX dye, you can most easily dye your jeans in a top-loading washing machine, with salt and washing soda, without harming the machine; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".

If, instead, what you want is the denim blue-and-white look, as most people do, then don't try dyeing your jeans. The only way to get that denim look is to dye the yarns before weaving, so it's too late for dyeing after the jeans have already been sewn.

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