How to Dye a Straw Hat + an old dress

This was just going to be how to dye a straw hat, but then I decided to toss in the old dress and make an outfit of it! And here we are!

I loved both of these items, but rarely wore either of them. Both were a tan or nude color and I am a VERY pale-skinned person. They just weren’t doing it for me and, as a result, spent a lot of time in my closet.

AND (as you can see) I shaved all my hair off! So I’ll be needing a good hat to protect my head from the brutal Oki sun this summer.

See that painted lamp in the mirror?? Yup! I painted that and I have a post for it too! Painted Lamp Shade Tutorial

The Hat

Anthony purchased the hat for me when I first moved out to Okinawa with him. I was sad because I had to leave all my hats back home (I own wayyyy too many hats, no lie) so he picked this one from a little vendor inside the BX (military Walmart) for me. I love the style of it, but again with that color… I’m sure someone else would rock it, but a NUDE hat has no business being darker than my skin.

Real talk, this post is a little bit of a lie. It’s not a straw hat. The tag inside of it says “100% Paper”. But isn’t it more about the style of hat anyway?? If I get my hands on an actual straw hat I will absolutely dye it and update this post for all of you sticklers.

(Note, I realize there is an actual straw hat in the picture above. But no, I will not be dyeing that one)

The Dress

This dress is oldddd I’m not really sure how old, but I think it was my mothers before mine. Maybe I should ask her….

But the construction is beautiful. The shape and style is really unique, and it has pretty floral details in the bodice. The dress was much longer when it came into my possession. If I remember correctly, it was ankle length and I shortened it.

I used to enjoy wearing this dress. It felt “old fashioned” but lately it just feels run down. I don’t feel pretty in it, I feel like a tired mama that doesn’t know what else to wear…. Ick.

Random-story-time: One fine Sunday afternoon in August of 2018, on our way home from church, my brother and I decided to go for an impromptu hike up a mountain to see a fire tower. And would you know, I was wearing that dress! So yeah, it’s been through a lot.

How to Dye a Straw Hat

I found very little information from others about dying straw hats. I found lots about dying different kinds of hats (specifically wool hats) and I found people painting straw hats.

So without much to go off of, I just went for it. I decided to treat it the same way I would any natural fiber clothing.

For a more general list of dying tips see my other post 11 Dyeing Tips for Lasting, Vibrant Results

I made my dye bath the same way I suggest in the link above. I added salt, not vinegar, it just seemed to fit better for the hat. Also I’m guessing the dress is cotton (there are no tags in it) and I wanted to be able to dye them together.

It was half a bottle of RIT dye and a few gallons of water. Enough water for the hat to be completely covered in my wash bucket.

The dye process was really simple, and honestly not too different from dying clothes. I basically just submerged it, stirred it around, and let it soak.

I WAS nervous about submerging a “PAPER” hat in water… but nothing bad happened, so I think it’s fine.

I let it soak for about an hour, maybe a little more.

To rinse it, again, I did the same thing I suggest when dyeing clothes. Rinse with hot water then switch to cold water and keep rinsing till the water runs clear. The biggest difference is that I didn’t toss it in the wash after. I just rinsed it extra and set it out to air dry. I’m hoping this doesn’t come back to bite me…. like… am I going to get caught in a sudden downpour and green water is going to run down my face and I’ll reenact Fiona’s transformation???? “But you are beautiful”

(UPDATE I have worn it a good few times now, so far no green dye has dripped down my face)

Dyeing The Dress

As little as I really had to say about the dyeing process for the hat, I have even less to say about the dress. Any advice I have, I already gave in my other post. I let this dress soak with the hat, but took it out at about 40 minutes. And it did go through the wash.

I contemplated altering the dress, and I still might, but I couldn’t settle on an alteration. The top doesn’t fit me just right, and the sleeves… I don’t know. Something is off, but what do I do about it?

Whatever it is, I love it so much more now that it’s green.

Final thoughts

I love this set. I don’t usually wear green, but I even love the color! I feel confident in the full outfit, and check it out! I even found green shoes to match. Thank you clearance rack!

The colors are not an exact match. It makes sense that would happen, the dress was more of a nude while the hat was “tan”, so clearly, the hat is a darker green than the dress. But it’s all cool. They’re both definitely green.

And now I know how to dye a straw hat, so that’s cool.