Converse Conversions 01: Dyeing Black shoes to Red

Short "How-To" on color removal and re-dyeing to a new color for canvas and rubber shoes like Converse. Done in the Diablo Valley College Drama Costume Studio, and photographed on my iPhone while doing the dyeing. Edited in Splice app on the iPhone. ---Tara Maginnis

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Costume
• Dye
• Dyeing
• Shoe
• Converse
• Rit
• Diablo
• Valley
• College
• Drama
• Theatre

[CostumersManifesto]

Color remover only works when it is very hot. It is useless when cold. Also it won't work on paint or paint based printing. Ordinary dye does not usually dye the rubber parts of the shoe. Sometimes a little adheres to the surface but it comes off with nail polish remover or alcohol. I replaced the old scummy laces when I redid the shoes but the old laces were not dyed either because they were polyester.

[CostumersManifesto]

Instructions: Mix Rit color remover with a pot of boiling water. Drop in sneakers. Poke and stir till dye color is neutralized to a beige. Take shoes out and rinse out color remover. Boil another pot of water, add packet of Rit dye in the color you want. Drop in sneakers. Poke and stir till sneakers are slightly darker than you want. Remove and rinse. Dry. Wash separately or with like colors for first few washes. Dye will fade very slightly over time. 

[CostumersManifesto]

The dye and color remover are both Rit products you can find in any Safeway. It is usually located under the sewing notion area in the Laundry Detergent-Cleaning aisle. This was a test video to see if I could make a simple short using my phone in my left hand and the dye tools in the right.

[Rulkling]

@Rulkling fabric*

[Rulkling]

@CostumersManifesto Does it work on suede fablic?

[1ursulamom]

I tried to remove the green color for my shoes but it did not take? The directions on the Rit color remover said not to boil the water, but I'm wondering if I should? The color didn't even fade?

[CalifaChick4Eva]

how do the shoes laces and rubber not get dyed too, is it the product used?

[rawrwoot]

products used please!!!

[BerkeleyBuilt]

can you put the products you used, and where you can buy them????

[MsKatiewilson]

so the white doest dye red also?