My Socialbliss Experience: August 2012

DIY Ombre Tights Click the image to open in full size. Posted by Misty Spinney in Style

It's no secret that we love adding color to anything and everything, and our clothes are no exception. We've color blocked our heels, our jeans, and ombre'd our nails, and today we're pumped to introduce DIY Ombre Tights. Best of all, this project takes under 30 minutes with just a few simple materials!

Materials: - white tights (tights, not hose!) - Jacquard acid dye - rubber gloves - permanent dyeset concentrate - large pot (cannot be used for food after) - ladle (cannot be used for food after) - bucket or plastic container for cold water Fill your pot about halfway with water. Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add about half a teaspoon of acid dye. We used a popsicle stick and eyeballed it. Add it to the water and let heat for 2 minutes.

1. While it's heating up, pre-soak your tights in cold water. Squeeze out excess water gently. 2. Turn off the heat, and dip your tights all the way in the pot. Be sure to squeeze and dip again a few times so you eliminate any air bubbles or spots where the dye might not get to. 3. Take them out and dip in cold water bath. Ring out and set aside. Now, heat up another 2 "scoops" of dye. 4. Turn off the heat, and dip your tights almost all the way in. Leave about 8 inches out of the pot to maintain the lightest hue in your ombre gradient. Repeat the cold water bath step, but leave the light part of the tights out of the bath. 5. For the last step, dump the rest of your dye in the pot and heat up. Turn off the heat, and dip, leaving about 18 inches out of the pot. 6. Pull out an additional 8 inches or so, and let the rest of the tights stew in the pot for about 10 minutes to get a super dark end hue. 7. Now, rinse the whole pair of tights in the cold water bath, wring out all the excess dye. 8. Soak in the permanent dyeset and hang to dry. We rigged up a clothesline with two adhesive hooks, string and clothespins over the tub. Then grab a friend with purple ombre tights to match, and get silly on the roof. With the brisk air in San Francisco, these tights couldn't be more perfect for springtime!