Restoring a couple of good ole' soles | Dying my Toms

Lately, with all of this warmer weather we've been having, I've been ditching my boots and breaking out the flats.  I usually default to my Toms b/c they are the most comfortable, but I've been embarrassed to wear them this week!  I have the gray ones which are AWESOME looking when they are brand new, but they turn a puke, yucky, faded, gross color over time.  My kids at school have been saying, "Mrs. Granderson... (looking down at my shoes)....(pause)....I like your Toms." [When they say this they are only acknowledging the fact that I have Toms]  Then they say: "what color are they?"

Good question.  I'm not sure what color they are now, which is sad because I'm an art teacher... so I decided it was high time I did something.  Corey and I both agreed that I couldn't mess them up.  Anything would look better than how they looked now.

I spent an hour on the internet and couldn't find anything on the topic.  Not even a youtube video.  Come'on, has nobody tried this and documented it??  I'm sure I'm not the only pioneer, but here is my method using RIT DYE from Walmart.  (It costs like $1) 

I chose black for several reasons:  

1) In theory, it should overpower any other color.  

2) I wouldn't mind having black Toms.  

3) If it fades maybe they will look gray again!    OK... here we Go:

Before Shot.  This doesn't do it justice.  (They only look darker b/c I just washed them  (in the washing machine) and they are wet.  Oh, yea... that's STEP ONE: wash them.

STEP TWO:  Mix up the dye.  I used a 6 quart cooking pot.  I poured in the whole dye packet, filled it about 3/4 the way with hot water, added 3/4 cup salt and then added a tablespoon of dish detergent.  (The instructions are on the Rit Dye box, but I didn't follow them very closely.)

                                                                    
STEP THREE:  apply dye using paintbrush.  I didn't want to fully submerge my shoes because I didn't want to dye the soles or the tags, so I used a paint brush to apply the dye.  Action shot:

                                                  
 Notice the baggies on my hands.  Safety first.  I'm cheap resourceful like that.

STEP FOUR:  Let the dye soak in.... I don't know... say, 20-30 minutes?  (definitely more time if you really want the color to be dark.  In fact, I might even add another coat 1/2 way through.)  Below is a before and after shot... only not in that order.  (the one on the left has been dyed)

                                  
 STEP FIVE:  Rinse them out like the box says with warm water, then cool water, until the water is clear.   STEP SIX:  Wash shoes with laundry detergent.  Soak 20 minutes.  Rinse.

 STEP LAST:  Dry.

Here is the finished product.  They turned back to gray!!!!  This makes me excited.  I wish I had taken a better "before" shot so that you could REALLY see the difference.  Corey can testify.  In conclusion, if you want the color to be darker you may want to let the dye soak in longer and apply more than one coat.  If you are wanting to dye your Toms a color it may only work with white Toms.  In this case I just restored my gray Toms back to gray.