So, you have a damaged piece of clothing; no need to throw it out! All week we have been discussing ways to deal with holes, snags and stains but today we are going to specifically discuss using Clothing Dye Sprays to hide stains.

Before we get started, here's some statistics that might blow your mind! According to data presented by Nosto at a recent Growing Your Online Funnel Webinar, personalization is a HUGE deal right now!  People love Customized items:

• 43% of purchases are influenced by personalized recommendations or promotions
• 75% of consumers prefer brands to personalize messaging, offers, and experiences
• 94% of companies see personalization as critical to current and future success

So, with that in mind, you might get even MORE for a customized item than you would for a straight-out-of-the-box. 

DEALING WITH STAINS

The first option is always to try to get the stain out.  We have a great post that provides a ton of ways to remove different types of stains from different types of material.  BUT, assuming you have already tried stain removal, here's your paint and dye option:

The first thing you need to evaluate is what color the stain is.  Light stains are easy to cover with almost any darker color:  Medium stains can be covered with darker colors. Dark stains will have to be color-matched or go with black.

TULIP Brand “Colorshot” Spray Dye are a super cool product that are favored by many online sellers. 

These kits come in all different colors. You can also buy only 1 color by the piece. Here’s a tutorial showing how to use the Tulip Colorshot sprays:

You can also opt to go for a “punk look”.  I don't like the shirt the guy makes in the tutorial below but I do love the overall idea / concept and it would indeed be perfect for hiding a chest-area stain!:

If you’re not the creative type, there’s tons of Stencils for sale on Amazon or at Hobby Lobby, JoAnns, etc.

If you are going with stencils, make sure you get some tape to hold them down because if the stencil shifts while your spraying it will look terrible.  Never use Duct tape, God forbid Gorilla tape.  Painters tape and masking tape are perfect.  Masking tape is always cheaper than painters.

Tulip also offers a “Mini Spray Paint Kit”. The directions are the same as the Colorshot kit, so it really just depends of you want to spray a wide area or a tiny area, which will also depend on your stencil size and goals.

There’s also the option of completely dying. The most famous dye brand is RIT. RIT is usually very inexpensive and a single bottle will last many dyes. You will want to pick a dye that matches the stain; black ink? Get a black dye. Red Sharpie? Go with Red RIT. Blue-only-God-Knows-WTF-this-is, go with Blue dye. Kapish?

If you have never dyed anything, it’s easy! Here’s a tutorial for you created by the RIT company:

Another alternative is to tie dye.Tulip also makes excellent quality tie dye kits that come in tons of color combos. Of course you do not need to go “rainbow”, you can even pick just one color or two, based on the imperfection.

And finally, if the stain is small you can consider a spot-touch-up. There’s great permanent dye pens or you can use a small paintbrush and the RIT dyes we discussed above. Just make sure the markers you choose to buy are made for fabric and also are permanent, like these:

These are great if the garment you are trying to fix is a standard color; true black, true blue, etc. But if the garment is a unique color this is probably the most difficult option because there are just so many shades. TIP: You can test the dye before you apply it. Make sure it is a genuine match.

Alternatively, you could use a small paint brush and a dab of RIT then spot-wash. These are FANTASTIC, cost effective paint brushes that do not lose bristles and come in a fantastic size assortment:

There are also small sized dye assortments available. This is great for using with your little brush and especially if you do not know specifically what color you need:

If none of these options will work for you, then you are left with two final options:

You can Destroy it for a custom look (which is VERY popular) or you can Upcycle it.