Can I dye printed black/white trousers to make them plain black?

[ShadesOfPemberley]

Bought printed trousers, wasn’t paying enough attention and the print that I thought was white palm fronds is actually white lobsters. I hate them! (I love lobsters but can’t countenance having them on my trousers)

can’t return them as have had them altered to fit (the nice woman who does alterations commented on the lovely lobster print when I picked them up today and that’s when I realised…)

DD says I should try to dye them so they’re plain black. Have never dyed anything before! I know you can get in-machine dyes? Would they work to dye black/white (actually more like ecru) trousers? And do they make your washing machine churn out slightly greying clothes for weeks afterwards?!

they're such lovely comfy airy trousers! I will wear them just around the house if I can’t disguise the hideous print but I would love it if they could just be lovely comfy airy BLACK trousers, sans weird seafood print…

They’re lovely, just wear them.

The world is your lobster

Reporting back to say I’ve worn then all day (just around the house) and I think I might be a crustacean convert 🤣

They do look pretty odd in some ways but I’m leaning into the oddness. They are just SO DARN COMFORTABLE that I love them anyway.

Dont think I’ll risk dyeing them because I don’t want to ruin them and possibly end up with no trousers at all (I mean obviously I have other trousers but genuinely these are such a floaty lovely pair, weird print aside!)

DH agrees they look like palm fronds (until you see the lobsters and then you can’t unsee them) but DD age 12 thinks they’re awful 🤣

Huge thanks for the dyeing advice (and encouragement) 🦞🦞🦞

I think the black dye on the white parts would not look the same black as the original black parts. I reckon you’d still see the pattern, if only faintly.
You could try dyeing them a darker colour, like charcoal, and then the print will look deliberate but not contrasting, more of a subtle effect.

They aren't that lobstery! Had you not said, I wouldn't have noticed them straight away. Anyhow, lobsters are in and you'll look bang on trend in them. So wear them outside the house and enjoy them. This year, anyway. As nice as they are, I suspect the lobster is this year's moustache print.

@ShadesOfPemberley most sizes are back in stock in the plain black, for £22 I’d buy another pair as you love them so much!

ignore daughter chuckling, that is what daughters are for 😀.

I think with dying you are likely to end up with a grey pattern on black. I think they are best left alone. Personally l don’t do patterned trousers but l would happily wear a dress in the same pattern.

Aw, they look great op. Not discernibly lobsters either, unless you really look. Be the talk of the town and wear your seafood trews with pride!

I think they're great as they are - and yes, they'd say 'palm fronds' to me unless I knew.

You have nothing to lose by dying them if you won't enjoy wearing them otherwise. It should be possible although it may not cover the pattern entirely as the fabric is a mix, though should make it less obvious.

An alternative is to overdye with another colour (say dark blue or grey) so that the pattern is still there but less 'aggressive'. I have frequently done this successfully...but that's up to you.

I would have a go. If you aren't wearing them outside anyway you don't have anything to lose

For some reason "lobstery glory" really made me laugh and I'm trying to work out how to introduce it into everyday parlance.

Just on a general note: I should say that dying can be a really good way of making clothes wearable (the only thing it doesn't work on is pure synthetics like polyester).

I have a shirt which I liked but was a rather garish bright green. I overdyed it pink; because it is the colour at the other end of the spectrum it softened the green down without changing the overall colour. So now it is a much softer, deeper sophisticated green & I now wear all the time something I didnt really want to wear before.

I've just bought a pair because of this thread. I like lobsters.

@Futurehappiness , it can be. The thread will probably be polyester, even in a 100 % cotton garment, and print doesn't dye.

Print does actually dye however it will skew all the colours in the print; so need to think beforehand about how it is likely to affect each of the colours, also assume the dye won't take on the thread and consider whether that is likely to be a problem.

There is always the risk that it won't turn out well; but if the item isn't going to be worn as it is then you don't have much to lose. I know that I have had things that I have never worn in practice because they are not 'quite right' so it is worth the risk of trying to fix them.

It depends on the type of print @Futurehappiness ,but I'd put good money on OP's trousers being dyed black not resulting in a pair of black trousers.

@ShadesOfPemberley Those trousers are 85% Viscose, 15% Linen so yes you can dye them with Dylon machine dye.

Or you could just brazen it out and wear the lobster print, for what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours and laugh at them in our turn?

I love them but they seem to be out of stock in my size. Embrace the lobster print OP.

If you really don’t like them sell them on Vinted, then at least you’ll make a bit of money to buy something else.

I agree that they probably won't be a uniform black, but the chances are that the print will be much less obvious. If it makes the difference between never wearing them and wearing them frequently, it may be worth doing.

The alternative is to embrace the 'lobsterness' of the print and wear them regardless; but that is a really personal choice. Otherwise they could be sold and something bought instead; but it sounds as though the OP has gone to a lot of effort to personalise them by having them altered.