Black jeans are super versatile. You can use them to dress an outfit up or dress an outfit down. And you don’t have to buy a new pair of jeans.
If you’ve got a pair that you really like the fit of, then you can buy a $5 or $10 fabric dye, and hey presto - a new pair of black jeans. It’s way cheaper than buying new!
Moreover jeans never go out of fashion, and black never goes out of fashion. But at the same time you can also make them look real niche, by going for a goth look, rock look, emo look, glam rock look, indie look, or for something a little more conventional if you prefer.
Fabric dyes are readily available from online retailers, and we’ve been doing our homework to see which one is best for dyeing jeans black. After much deliberation we were able to handpick our top 5 favorites. Our reviews on them are coming up very shortly.
Following on from that we then have a handy buying guide for you, which highlights some of the key things that you might want to think about before you buy your black dye for jeans.
Then we’re going to top that off with a section where we answer some of your most frequently asked questions on the subject.
Here goes…
Top 5 Best Black Dye For Jeans
OUR TOP PICK
This fabric dye has been selling in its thousands, and comes from one of the top, dominating brands in the industry.
This particular black fabric dye has been awarded the title of Amazon’s Choice for black dye for jeans. This is a title only given when a particular product is of very good quality and is set at a good, fair, and reasonable price.
You get a good, vibrant color (well vibrant for black, anyway). It works on numerous different types of fabric (and other items), and it specifically mentions jeans in the product description.
You can either dye your whole jeans one color or get real creative with dip dying, tie dying or marbling.
It’s super easy to use. The recommended way to use it is to dissolve the powder in two cups of hot water, mix well, and then add to your washing machine. Wet the fabric, and place in the machine, and let the machine do all the work for you.
Alternatively, you could use the dye in your kitchen sink, but the easiest way to get a good, even coverage is in the washing machine.
We also recommend using salt in the dye, as this helps to drive the dye into the tick denim fabric, and helps it to set
Pros:
- Best selling fabric dye
- Good, well established brand
Cons:
- There have been mixed reports from customers
EDITORS CHOICE
Again this comes from that top brand Rit. And this one has been selling even better than their powder variety.
Overall customer feedback has been very positive, and after close to 7000 individual customer ratings on Amazon, it’s earned an average customer rating of 4 stars out of 5.
One of the things we love about this dye is the phenomenally good price.
As an all purpose dye tt works on several different materials. It does particularly well with more natural fabrics, but struggles with anything that’s more than 35% polyester.
The color is a perfect jet black and works great on denim - you should check out the example photo on the Amazon page of a dyed denim jacket.
And whether your intention is to hide a laundry accident or to revive some faded jeans, you should get great results. Provided of course that you follow the instructions to the letter.
There are a number of different methods you can use to apply the dye. Using it in the washing machine may well be the most convenient method, or for a more hands on or creative approach, you may prefer to use the dye in a stainless steel sink.
Pros:
- Perfect jet black color
- Works great on denim
- Extremely affordable
- Can use in washing machine
Cons:
- Some customers have found that the color can fade over time
EDITORS CHOICE
Dylon is a global brand, and here in the US, their fabric dyes have been selling in their thousands.
Customer feedback has been very positive for a fabric dye. For example, on the Amazon page you will see that after well over 5000 individual customer ratings, the average Amazon customer rating comes in at a very impressive 4 and a half stars out of a possible 5.
What we love about this one is just how simple it is to use - there’s just 4 steps, all laid out right on the product page for you, which we’ll repeat here for you now.
You unwrap the pod, place it in the drum of your washing machine, put the fabric in, run two wash cycles, and finally, dry the fabrics.
It really couldn’t be any easier to use, you don’t have to do it by hand at all, and there’s no measuring to worry about.
It’s quite pricey compared with many of the other leading fabric dyes, but looking at the customer ratings, we would have to argue that it is worth the price.
Pros:
- Good, well established, global brand
- Impressive customer feedback & ratings
- Incredibly easy to use
Cons:
- Premium product at a premium price
EDITORS CHOICE
This is another popular dye for fabrics, and is available at a fair and decent price too.
Where most other fabric dyes work very well on cotton or linen, this one even works on polyester and cotton blends.
You can use it either as a fabric dye or as a color booster. And once used you get a permanent and fade resistant result.
You should be able to get your jeans to match the color on the packet. However the color on the packet is not quite jet black.
Customer feedback has been very positive overall, with most Amazon customers giving it 5 stars out 5.
Please note, you will need two packets of this dye to one pair of jeans. And you will also need some salt, to help the dye to take to the fabric.
You will also need to follow the instructions word for word.
If you choose to buy this one, please ensure that you buy the black one, because there are several other colors on the Amazon page.
Pros:
- Good customer feedback overall
- You get permanent, fade resistant results
Cons:
- Not to be used in a washing machine
- Their black is not quite a jet black
- One packet won’t be enough for a standard pair of jeans
BEST VALUE
This is another black fabric dye that comes highly rated by customers.
There have been well over 700 individual customer reviews on the Amazon page, and the average Amazon customer rating still comes out at 4 stars out of 5.
And the price isn’t too bad either.
Jacquard, the manufacturer, has two different lines of their iDye, but this one for natural fabrics is the better one to use on jeans.
It’s quite simple to use, and you can either do it on the stovetop, or if you prefer, in the washing machine.
If you choose to buy this one, please ensure that you buy the black one, because there are several other colors on the Amazon page.
Pros:
- Good price
- Best line for dying jeans from this fabric dye manufacturer
Cons:
- Customer reviews are rather mixed
Best Black Dye For Jeans Buying Guide
As promised here’s a quick run through of some of the key things that you might want to think about before you buy.
Word of Caution
When you’re shopping online for black clothes dye, a lot of the options that come up are actually paints, rather than dyes.
And you also get a lot of tie dye kits coming up in the results, which is not what you’re looking for if you just one all over color.
Moreover, you will also get a lot of dyes coming up in the results that don’t even work on fabrics. And some fabric dyes are simply not good enough to work well on every type of fabric.
You have to be particularly careful with buying dye for jeans, because the denim that jeans are made of is very thick, which makes it difficult for the dye to really get into the fibres.
So, the moral of the story is to always check that you’re buying the right dye for what you want to dye, in this case jeans.
Notes
The final color of anything that you want to dye will be affected by the previous color. So if you want to dye a pair of jeans black, this will likely work best on jeans that are very dark, such as faded black or grey.
And you should put the jeans through the wash at least once before you dye them, since when you first wash a new clothing item, the color can run.
When buying a fabric dye, you should look at the color represented on the packaging. The image on the packaging is the best example of the end result you can expect to get from the fabric.
If you want your jeans to become jet black, rather than just a bit darker, then you need to ensure that color on the packaging matches the color you intend to achieve.
Liquid or Powder Fabric Dye
In terms of performance, there’s very no real difference between liquid or powder dyes. The only difference is that the liquid dye is already dissolved in water and tends to be more concentrated than the powder dye.
This means that you won’t need as much when you're using the liquid dye, which means you may be able to dye several different clothing items with just one bottle.
Brand
There are one or two brands that tend to dominate the best seller lists when it comes to fabric dyes. The main one is Rit, which has been around for many many years. And the other one is Dylon, which is a global brand.
Dying your clothes can very easily go wrong, so we would argue that going for a fabric dye that comes from a good and well established brand like these is more reassuring than just basing your decision on price alone.
How You Use the Dye
If you want to get some really creative designs and effects, then we would advise you to do your clothes dying by hand. However if you want to dye your jeans by hand then this will involve quite a lot of stirring if you want to get a good, even coverage.
For hand dying, we can recommend any one of our top 5 picks, with the exception of our number 3 pick, the Dylon Machine Dye Pod, Intense Black.
Alternatively, for a more easier method, you can use a dye that you simply put in your washing machine, and let the washing machine do all of the work, like you can with our number 3 pick, the Dylon Machine Dye Pod, Intense Black.
Some dyes, like our number 5 pick, the Jacquard iDye Black Fabric Dye, can also be used on the stove top.
Price
Fabric dyes tend to be very affordable items. But if you need to dye fabrics in bulk, for example for costumes for a play, then you may want to consider the price.
Prices for fabric dyes can vary in price from under $5 to well over $10. And of course if you’re buying online, you will also have to consider any applicable delivery charge.
Customer Reviews
Dying fabrics, including jeans, can often be quite tricky. So fabric dyes, even the best ones, don’t always enjoy rave customer reviews.
So please don’t put too much stock into the customer reviews. One customer may dye a pair of jeans and it comes out great, and the next customer could see disastrous results.
However, we do recommend that you look at some customer reviews as they can provide a great source of tips on what to do and not to do.
For example, many customers have found that although the color doesn’t always take well on fabrics on the first attempt, when they put the fabric through the process a second time, they often tend to get excellent results.
And speaking of tips, we can also recommend that you apply a color fixative to your jeans, once you have dyed them, to help retain the color and prevent fading over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you dye jeans black?
Well, this is an easy one to answer! Yes you can.
We’re not saying it’s going to work out perfectly every time for everyone, but if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter and utilise all the tips that you find, you can get some really great results.
What is the best black dye for clothes?
Many of the all-purpose black dyes that are around are intended to be used on a variety of different materials, rather than just clothes.
So, if you want to get yourself a dye that’s specifically designed for use on clothes, then we would recommend our number 2 pick, the Rit Dye All Purpose Liquid Dye.
What is the best dye for jeans?
In our view the best dye for jeans is our number 1 pick, the Rit Black All Purpose Powder Dye.
Which fabric dye is the most fade resistant?
Out of all of the fabric dyes on our top 5 picks, the one which is the most fade resistant has to be our number 4 pick, the Tulip Permanent Fabric Dye- Black. However it doesn’t really give you a proper jet black.
So your best option is to first get a fabric dye the exact shade you want, and if/when the color starts to fade, dye it again.
How can I restore my faded black jeans without dye?
We have learned of people trying to restore their faded black jeans by throwing in the washing machine along with two or three cups of black coffee.
But while this does in fact make your jeans look somewhat darker, it also makes your jeans stink of coffee, and is not quite as effective as using a dedicated fabric dye, like the ones we showed you earlier.
Can you dye faded leggings black again?
You can indeed dye faded black leggings black again, but in order to do so, you need to check the label, and ensure that you buy the right fabric dye for that particular fabric.
These days leggings tend to be made from a number of different fabrics, and that is why we can’t really recommend one specific fabric dye for leggings.
Summary
Dying jeans black can be rather tricky, but we’ve now shown you what we think are the best dyes for doing so on the market today.
You really need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions results, and if your jeans are not quite dark enough on the first attempt, you can try them again.