Dyeing for shoes

They were the athletic shoe of choice for basketball stars for decades because of a partnership with Chuck Taylor, and they were sported by rock ‘n’ rollers like Elvis, punk rockers like the Ramones and alt rockers like Kurt Cobain.

They were somehow representative of the mainstream and the counterculture, sometimes simultaneously.

There are two basic designs, high top and low top, for the iconic All Star, but the available color and pattern combinations seem infinite, and the company’s website offers limited and seasonal colors and options for customization.

While recently gazing down at my own pair of white canvas, rubber-toed, plain-old low tops when I decided it was time for a change.

I bought this pair years ago on sale at Kohl’s, and they had gotten a little dingy and worn, overall just tired. I wasn’t ready to give up on them, though.

I’ve been on a yellow kick lately. It’s never been my favorite color, but something about it recently has seemed appealing.

Unfortunately, a pair of All Star Classics in the color lemon chrome go for $60 plus shipping on Converse’s website, and custom Chuck 70s with vintage canvas in thriftshop yellow are listed at $105.

So, it was more out of concern for my wallet than my sense of style that I thought I’d try to dye my own.

Aiming for mustard yellow, I grabbed Rit fabric dye in golden yellow and cocoa brown and a bottle of fixative to help lock the color into the canvas.

Upon the recommendation of the helpful employee at Joann Fabrics, I decided to use Rit’s stovetop dyeing guidelines instead of room temperature tub dyeing. The extended heat helps the fabric soak up the dye better.

If you’re going to do this, here’s some advice: follow Rit’s instructions, and prepare everything you need before you start.

I didn’t have a pot large enough for three gallons of liquid and two shoes, so I halved the measurements in the instructions and dyed one shoe at a time.

To prep the shoes, I cleaned them with detergent and water and removed the sewn on All Star labels on the tongues to keep them from being dyed. Some online instructions tell you to put electrical tape over the rubber souls of shoes to keep dye off. I didn’t, and they yellowed a little, but scrubbing with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser took off most of it.

For dyeing, you bring your water to a simmer, add the dye and fabric and agitate it for 10 minutes to an hour. I put each shoe in the dye bath for 30 minutes and in the fixative for 20 minutes then rinsed them in the sink.

After they dried completely, I hand-sewed the labels back on and put new, black shoe strings in for contrast. I also bought and slipped some new inserts into them to regain some of the support that has worn out over the years.

I’m overall pleased with the result, and I think they look pretty professional. I’d recommend giving it a shot for anyone looking to spruce up their own favorite footwear.

Do you have love for your Chucks? Have you tried dyeing them? Let me know about it at nbaker@johnsoncitypress.com.