Leather Dyeing DIY

I finally found the perfect summer sandals…in August.  Which totally works for Texas.  They’re black, and strappy with a slight but comfortable heel…I always like a little heel in my sandals.  I wear them almost daily.  So when I saw them in a tan color on clearance I jumped at the chance to buy a second pair for super cheap.  However when I saw them in person I wasn’t in love with the tan color.  So I googled dying leather and lo and behold came up with a great recommendation: Tarrago leather dye.  People raved about the results and the pictures seemed to speak for themselves.  Besides it’s Italian so you know it’s got to be good.  I decided to give it a go.  I ordered the dye from this company–best color choices and cheapest shipping.  It seems a little silly to call this a DIY because I bought a kit and followed the directions…but I still thought others might be interested for those shoes or that purse with the shape you love, but the color you hate.  And besides, I did it myself...DIY.

Before:  Here are the original color of the shoes.  It says you can even go from a dark color to a lighter color…but some people seemed to think the color wasn’t as authentic.  I chose a metallic called “platinum” and I was skeptical as to how well it would cover over the tan.

The dye kit:  It’s a small bottle, but I still used so little.  Even people dying purses say they only used half the bottle…so don’t worry about the size.

It’s also supposed to come with a prep. solution but mine was shattered during shipping.  I called and they sent a new one ASAP, but the guy also said if I didn’t want to wait I could just use nail polish remover.  The preparer is to remove dirt and other leather polishers…I wasn’t too worried about my shoes so I went ahead with the nail polish remover.  I just wiped the shoes clean using the remover and some cotton pads.

 Next I stated sponging on the dye.  You can use the brush, but that was more for the details like around the buckle, the sponge gave a nice even coverage.  As you can see the leather takes the dye really well.

After one coat:  Covered but you can obviously see sponge strokes and brush marks.

After a couple coats and some touching up, voila!  They’re completely covered and you would never guess I dyed these at home!  I love the results.  However…I’m not crazy about the color.  They feel a little middle-aged-woman-shopping-at-Chicos.  But the results are great and I can just order another color and try again right!

I seriously can’t wait to dig through my closet and look for more shoes and even purses to dye.

Yay for dying leather!