Overdyeing Overalls

I wear overalls pretty much all the time unless it is too hot.   I love hickory striped overalls with an important color modification... I over dye them , which means I tub dye them in a bucket of dye.  The blue part stays pretty much the same color and the white part takes the color of the dye.  You CAN use Rit dye but the color fades pretty fast, which can be cool.  If you want the color to last longer use fiber reactive dye.... I get mine from Dharma Trading and I followed their directions for tub dyeing.

Start with this

And get this

I didn't get the color I really wanted... I wanted more of a wine color than a grape color but I think I just chose the wrong color.  I wanted a new color and this is too similar to my old ones.  I can always dye them again....

Hanging out with my others (new ones on left)

My overall overalls history

I've been wearing overalls all my married life, which is most of my adult life.  I've been wearing them and dyeing them and modifying them and even making them from scratch.  I have quite a collection from all those years, even though several pair are no longer with me.

I even wore a pair on my wedding day, not during the wedding but when we went for a romantic walk after the wedding.  They were over dyed railroad stripe overalls and they happened to be my first pair of overalls. It was pretty much love at first sight.

Overalls on my wedding day

From then on, I wore overalls.  I wore other kinds of clothes as well back then.  These days I hardly wear anything except overalls.  They are the ultimate comfort clothing.  I like having my pockets in the bib where objects are handy but don't bother me when I walk.  I've grown to dislike waistbands and tight clothes.

For years I wore OshKosh overalls but they stopped making adult sizes years ago so I had to switch brands.  These days I wear Dickies that I modify to suit my needs.  I cut off the hammer loop which gets caught on things.  I remove the front zipper which serves no purpose for me and is uncomfortable.  I remove the adjustable strap hardware and sew the straps to the length I prefer.  I take a tuck in the front bib, sort of like a bust dart.  I open up the crotch seam so I can use the toilet without taking them down (this is a great modification).  I also shorten them.