Some time ago I blogged about a linen jersey top I dyed, because the original white just never made it out of my wardrobe. It didn’t turn out the way I envisaged, a bit meh, but I still wore the top a lot because it had a relaxed vibe good for weekends and the linen jersey was nice and cool on hot summer days.


But after a while I couldn’t help plotting how I could improve the look. Block printing did not look a promising option, black wouldn’t show up very well and any other colour wouldn’t look much good either. But I had been thinking about whether colour could be removed altogether if one of my dyeing experiments turned out disappointing. Having something like THAT up my sleeve would be such a bonus!

My favourite dye supplier, Batik Oetoro, sells a discharge agent called TUD, which removes Drimarene K and Procion MX dyes. Success is not guaranteed, but I thought the above shirt would be a good candidate for a trial. Following instructions I boiled the linen jersey on the stove in the mixture for the time instructed, and the result was a dirty white, with orange patches where the black had been previously. Not great to wear as is, but perfect for redyeing!

I used a strong turquoise and was quite pleased with the result. The orange patches went to green and blended with the turquoise to a tropical undersea landscape. All it needed now was a block print to complete the picture. I chose this Maori turtle symbol I found on Google, transferred it and carved ot out of Eazycarve.


Here is the result.