Make a plain sun hat more interesting with fabric dye. This dip-dyed sun hat takes on an ombré effect just by dipping the brim into a dye bath. Complete the look with wooden beads.
Full disclosure: this diy project was my husband’s idea. I found this plain straw sun hat on sale at JoAnn and grabbed it knowing I could do something fun with it. I showed it to my husband, and he immediately said: “what about dipping it in dye and letting the color seep up the hat.” I blinked and stared at him for a few minutes before replying… “that’s a good idea.”
I had initially thought I would paint the sun hat or add embroidered flowers or tassels or tie a scarf around it. But the dip-dyed sun hat idea was intriguing. I searched through my stash of fabric dye and found Rit’s denim blue.
How to Dip Dye a Sun Hat
Materials
- sun hat
- liquid fabric dye (I used Rit Denim Blue)
- container for the dye bath that fits the hat’s brim
- water
- embellishments (optional)
Begin by soaking the hat in the water. I did this with the hose on our backyard patio. Set the hat aside to drip a bit.
Add enough water into your dye container to fit just the brim of the hat.
Add in some dye. I used about 1/3 of the bottle. This was more than enough but I threw a couple of shirts into the dye later on.
Stir well to dilute the dye into the water.
Begin dipping the brim into the dye and slowly spinning the hat. You’ll notice the hat taking on the color immediately.
Continue spinning the hat with the brim in the dye bath. The dye will slowly creep up the hat.
Keep in mind that the hat will be a bit lighter once it dries. Once you’re happy with the color and ombré effect, place the hat on something to drip. Make sure the brim hangs lower than the head part of the hat, so the dye doesn’t continue to creep up. Let it sit for a while to let the dye set.
Thoroughly rinse the hat to remove any excess dye. I did this with a hose over the grass in our backyard. Let it drip for a while longer.
Once the hat is done dripping, place it on a flat surface to fully dry in the sun.
The final color was much more purple than I had intended, but I love it. Check out my DIY Purple Shoes that also use fabric dye.
To finish off the hat I added a couple knotted strings of wooden beads.
The result of this dip-dyed sun hat is way cooler than my original ideas. Thanks, Hunny :)
Neat idea! I love it when my husband comes up with something – usually something I’d never have thought of!