Dying my gi black

[Wastelander]

I have always worn a white gi in karate, or a natural, unbleached gi for grappling. Unfortunately, white clothes have a tendency to look dingy and nasty after years of sweat, blood, and dirt have been ground into them! My everyday gi is fraying and starting to develop some holes, but it's still functional, so I didn't want to throw it away just because it looks gross. In my dojo, anyone with a brown belt ranking, or higher, can wear a black gi, so I decided to dye mine black and let it live out its usefulness that way.

Before dying, my "white" gi wasn't really white anymore:

http://s28.postimg.org/l233v9we5/belt_test_portrait.png

After dying, two washes with vinegar, and a tumble in the dryer:

http://s17.postimg.org/6l33d5rgv/karate_gi_dyed_black_2.jpg

I left my dojo patch on, hoping the synthetic fibers wouldn't take the dye and I could save myself the time of removing it and sewing it back on, but it ended up taking the dye:

http://s22.postimg.org/ixmucr701/karate_gi_dyed_black_dojo_patch.jpg

I took my organization patch off, because I knew it would take the dye and be ruined, and the organization only sends a certain number overseas, so I couldn't guarantee I could get another one for a while:

http://s27.postimg.org/71n6mu1ir/karate_gi_dyed_black_shorinkan_patch.jpg

As you can see, the synthetic stitching and lapel filler didn't take the black dye, at all, and remained white. The cotton also took on more of a "dark charcoal" color than a pure black. I think it has character!

[Patrick]

Thanks for sharing this, Noah! Funny how the badges each acted differently.

Patrick

[Harkon72]

I think the dark gi looks good; even the patch has a combat drab look to it now. Keep up the good work Noah.

[sensei8]

Very nice and very brave. If I had done that, all kind of terrible things would've happened to me from many avenues. Where you afraid that your sensei and/or the governing body would've gone on a tangent? Or, had you already received approval from your sensei and/or governing body?

I and/or our governing body wouldn't have been upset at all because you're at the rank that it would've been cool. Have you done this below Sankyu, I and/or our governing body would've reminded you that the black gi and/or combinations of black/white are reserved for Sankyu and above.

I really like it Noah, very NICE!!

[Wastelander]

Very nice and very brave. If I had done that, all kind of terrible things would've happened to me from many avenues. Where you afraid that your sensei and/or the governing body would've gone on a tangent? Or, had you already received approval from your sensei and/or governing body?

I and/or our governing body wouldn't have been upset at all because you're at the rank that it would've been cool. Have you done this below Sankyu, I and/or our governing body would've reminded you that the black gi and/or combinations of black/white are reserved for Sankyu and above.

I really like it Noah, very NICE!!

I wasn't worried about it at all--my Sensei and I have discussed this sort of thing before, and he has the same guideline as your organization regarding black gi and black/white combinations. Since I'm an Ikkyu, it isn't a problem. Our organization requires a white gi with Shorinkan patch on the chest, or a brown gi with Kokusai Rengokai patch on the chest, and optional dojo patch on the left sleeve for formal organization functions. They don't really care what you wear in your own dojo.

Edited February 2, 2014 by Wastelander

[sensei8]

Very nice and very brave. If I had done that, all kind of terrible things would've happened to me from many avenues. Where you afraid that your sensei and/or the governing body would've gone on a tangent? Or, had you already received approval from your sensei and/or governing body?

I and/or our governing body wouldn't have been upset at all because you're at the rank that it would've been cool. Have you done this below Sankyu, I and/or our governing body would've reminded you that the black gi and/or combinations of black/white are reserved for Sankyu and above.

I really like it Noah, very NICE!!

I wasn't worried about it at all--my Sensei and I have discussed this sort of thing before, and he has the same guideline are your organization regarding black gi and black/white combinations. Since I'm an Ikkyu, it isn't a problem. Our organization requires a white gi with Shorinkan patch on the chest, or a brown gi with Kokusai Rengokai patch on the chest, and optional dojo patch on the left sleeve for formal organization functions. They don't really care what you wear in your own dojo.

Cool, thanks!!

[JohnASE]

Ha! That's awesome! I like it. I like the dark patch, too, but I guess that's not how it's supposed to look.

Now that I think about it, someone dyed one of our heavyweights red, and the result was similar. The stitching stayed white, but I don't know about the collar padding as it was a new gi. It looked pretty good!

Thanks for sharing!

[Nidan Melbourne]

Looks pretty cool

[OneAndOnly]

since i have to wear the dobok that's given to me with the ITF logo on it. I can't try this. but maybe when I move up to black belt and get the striped dobok I will.

[Wastelander]

I think I'm going to have to retire this gi, pretty soon--at least the top. As you can see from this video, it's kind of falling apart, now. I'm pretty hard on dogi.

http://youtu.be/ZkmSg95TEsI