I'm relatively new to hunting, so I don't have a closet full of camo clothing (yet). In fact, I don't own a single pair of camouflage pants. I usually just wear khaki. I just bought my son a pair of camo pants for Christmas, and was feeling a little left out. Sure, I could go out and spend a few bucks on a pair for myself. But, I'm cheap. And, I already have a pair of Cabela's khaki pants that I bought on sale to wear to work, but I rarely wear them. Too many pockets and funny seams for the office environment. They just scream "camping" or "prepper" or something.
So, I picked up some green and brown dye and went to work on these pants. I started with the common "sunburst" tie-dye technique. Pinch some of the fabric, pull a few inches out, and wrap the base of that protrusion tightly with rubber bands. I mixed up my green and brown dyes, and used little squeeze bottles to paint the dye onto these protrusions. I wrapped the pants up in plastic and let that sit for ~6 hours before rinsing. The first picture shows what that looked like. Unfortunately, when I removed the rubber bands, the pants looked less like camo and more like I had played paintball against green and brown teams while wearing khaki pants. They needed a lot more green and brown.
So, I repeated the previous step, adding more green and brown sunbursts. The second picture shows the pants tied with rubber bands again, waiting for the second application of dye. This time, I mixed the green a little richer, and added black to the brown, to make a very dark brown. In addition to the tied sunbursts, I also pulled some random folds and drew dark lines on the resulting edges. I also dropped some dye down into the little valleys between sunbursts, trying to get more color on the pants.
The third picture shows the final results. Honestly, I'll be the first to say that they look pretty lame next to my son's MARPAT pants. But, hey, it was a fun learning experience. And, as far as the deer and the hogs go, this is (hopefully) less visible than a solid block of khaki against a forest background.
If I ever do this again, I might try the crumple technique, instead of starbursts.
So, I picked up some green and brown dye and went to work on these pants. I started with the common "sunburst" tie-dye technique. Pinch some of the fabric, pull a few inches out, and wrap the base of that protrusion tightly with rubber bands. I mixed up my green and brown dyes, and used little squeeze bottles to paint the dye onto these protrusions. I wrapped the pants up in plastic and let that sit for ~6 hours before rinsing. The first picture shows what that looked like. Unfortunately, when I removed the rubber bands, the pants looked less like camo and more like I had played paintball against green and brown teams while wearing khaki pants. They needed a lot more green and brown.
So, I repeated the previous step, adding more green and brown sunbursts. The second picture shows the pants tied with rubber bands again, waiting for the second application of dye. This time, I mixed the green a little richer, and added black to the brown, to make a very dark brown. In addition to the tied sunbursts, I also pulled some random folds and drew dark lines on the resulting edges. I also dropped some dye down into the little valleys between sunbursts, trying to get more color on the pants.
The third picture shows the final results. Honestly, I'll be the first to say that they look pretty lame next to my son's MARPAT pants. But, hey, it was a fun learning experience. And, as far as the deer and the hogs go, this is (hopefully) less visible than a solid block of khaki against a forest background.
If I ever do this again, I might try the crumple technique, instead of starbursts.
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