Hi, all. I got an e-mail from someone asking how to tie-dye converse all stars... any suggestions? I have never attempted to dye shoes, so I told her I would put out the word to you guys.
Thanks,
Judy
I've done this! You can't tie em, obviously, but you can get great results.
I soda soaked the shoes, then used foam brushes to apply dyes here and there. I did try to make the shoes match a bit... but the dye will run more here than there, etc. DO make sure to get a lot of colors on the shoelaces... I leave them in the shoes while dyeing. To me, the laces pretty much make the shoes, lol! After done applying dyes, I poured a ladle full of soda soak water in each shoe and then let them sit in the hot sun all day to process. The extra soda soak water was to keep em damp while curing... I didn't want to try to bag them.
Try not to get too much dye inside the shoes, it's much harder to rinse out of insides. (I ended up with some dye transfer to socks the first time wearing, from the insoles, NOT the shoes) After my shoes cured, I just tossed em in the wash with other dyed items.
I need to do more shoes. I've got a BIG box of shoes here to dye and I keep forgetting them when I am working on stuff. But they are quick and easy and FUN FUN FUN.

I have a photo somewhere... These were my favorite shoes along with my painted and stamped shoes. Except that since I've lost some weight, they give me blisters because of being too big. :::sigh:::
Vyx