I absolutely adore Halloween and so do my kids. We usually attend a few parties, and we like to do family themes. I tend to go a bit overboard with costumes, I love trying to get them as perfect as possible. This year my girls wanted to so a Batman theme. I was able to grab a most of the costumes ready made this year, but we couldn’t locate a costume for my 8 year old. We narrowed her costume down to Poison Ivy and I got to work.
I was able to put together her costume with help from the dollar store, but in the end I couldn’t find green tights. So, I decided there must be a way to dye them. Checking online, I found several ways to dye tights including Kool-Aid and food coloring instructions. I was out of Kool-aid so I improvised with lime jello.
DIY Dyed Tights
- White Tights
- Jello in color desired (or Kool-Aid or food coloring)
- Vinegar
- Water
Select a pot large enough to fully submerge tights. Fill pot with enough to cover tights. Add 1/4 cup vinegar. Add jello and tights (once jello is dissolved). Bowl tights for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove tights from water and rinse in cool water until water run clear. Hang to dry.
I could not believe how well the jello worked. I substituted red food coloring to give Harley Quinn one red knee high as well. When adding food coloring, make sure the water is the desires color before adding the tights. Experiment with other shades of tights to help get the perfect color you need to take your costume to the next level.
Cheryl Reinhardt
Monday 27th of October 2014
That is the first time I have heard of dying with koolaid, that is really cool ! The Costume turned out awesome!
Dandi D
Thursday 23rd of October 2014
This is a good tip to remember--I didn't know you could do this!
ellen beck
Wednesday 22nd of October 2014
Thats clever to use jello and something that would be on hand than trying to find dye. I think this would be fun to do any time of the year actuallyy- or at least the time of year tights are worn!