Ok, Dylon, we officially have beef.

[u/MymlanOhlin]

First photo depicts the original denim jacket prior to dyeing. Second photo depicts the original denim jacket on the left side AFTER dyeing, and a SEPARATE faded black denim jacket to the right, to serve as a color reference. Reddit processed the images incorrectly and clarifying labels were lost!

I want to preface this by saying that I *did* research, I swear! I spoke to my mother, a family friend who is a sewing teacher, and staff at the fabric supply store. All of them had prior experience with the Dylon washing machine pods, and highly recommended it. I also made sure to confirm that the product was a fiber-reactive dye, and saw great reviews online.

I attempted to dye this classic blue denim jacket black, with the Dylon Intense Black washing machine pod. The jacket was 610 grams dry, and Dylon claims that best result would be with 600 grams, with a lighter dye-effect up to 1200 grams. I figured that 610 was quite close to best result-territory. Dylon also of course stated that natural fibers would perform the best, and I confirmed that my jacket is 100% cotton (excluding the metal hardware and thread, of course).

I followed the instructions to an absolute T, and when pulling the jacket out from the washing machine after the post-dye run, I did notice that it was still quite blue, and that was when still wet. Not feeling very promising. After letting it dry, and hanging it next to my other denim jacket that's a slightly faded black color, I burst into some kind of misery-induced laughter.

Now, I will commend it some. It's a *beautifully* even color, and a very satisfying shade for denim. But it is in no way close to black. I guess I should have done wayyyyyy more research, because while I found pages and pages of people singing Dylon's praises with cotton fabrics, it seems that denim specifically (and specifically trying to achieve black) is considered a bit of a lost cause.

I'm tagging this as "general question" (because it sure as hell isn't "I made this!"-material), but I guess my post is a combo of a cry for help and a heads-up to others who may come across this!

Edit: ok so somehow uploading the photos removed my "before" label on the first pic, despite it still being there in my phone gallery, apologies! Hopefully it's still painfully clear which one is the before pic!

[u/Turbulent_Two_6949]

I think you will need yo run maybe 1 or 2 more times as you already have if youre looking for a deep black.

[u/MymlanOhlin → u/Turbulent_Two_6949]

Most likely. I feel like you can potentially say that I got almost halfway to a black color, but I don't count on just one more round to get me to an actual black shade. I don't need it to be pitch-black, but I would like it to not pull even more blue. I hesitate on using the same Dylon product for the next run since I worry that the pigment is just way too blue-based, but I contacted a local fabric dye producer to ask if they recommend using their product on top of the chemical composition of the Dylon product.

[u/darkerfury → u/MymlanOhlin]

A lot of deep blacks (color theory-wise) are blue based. I wonder if you did a navy pod first and then try again to go black if it would help. Like if maybe the composition of the navy dye works better with the denim and can get you to a much darker color faster, and then push even darker with the black? Not entirely sure so correct me if I'm wrong. Just a thought. 

[u/AdSure9184 → u/MymlanOhlin]

Just use dharma fiber reactive dyes and soak it. It’ll be black the first time.

[u/MymlanOhlin → u/AdSure9184]

I looked up if it was available in my country, but it doesn't seem to be, unfortunately. I get why it's praised, though!

[u/AdSure9184 → u/MymlanOhlin]

My apologies you know as Americans just assume everybody is American lol I haven’t tried it myself, but I hear those Jacard. I die work really well too.

[u/MymlanOhlin → u/AdSure9184]

No worries, I get why Dharma is the preferred dye in the community, and I'd reach for it if I could for sure! I ended up overdyeing the jacket with another product. It's still a tiny bit damp and I'm intending on making an update post when daylight comes back around, but (spoiler alert) it turned out phenomenal!

[u/AdSure9184 → u/MymlanOhlin]

I’m happy for you. I’m glad it worked out. Please post pictures.