How To Customize, Refresh and Upcycle Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses with Rit Dye

If you feel like you’ve been on the hunt for affordable bridesmaid dresses that match your color palette and fit all your gals perfectly, you’re not alone. If only it were as easy as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! The good news is, there are all kinds of creative ways to end up with mismatched bridesmaid dresses that work well together, fit comfortably and don’t break the bank. So today we’re partnering with Rit Dye to share a “How To” for dyed bridesmaid dresses that mayyyy just be exactly what you’re looking for. Ready to dive in?

mismatched bridesmaid dresses with pastel colors using Rit Dye

Rit Dye recently celebrated their 100th year in the biz, and we can attest to the quality of their products having created many a DIY using their non-toxic dyes and variety of color formulas. Throwback to this dyed cheesecloth backdrop!

Rit Dye products for a mismatched bridesmaid dress project

With over 1,000 color combinations using their tried + true dye formulas, the sky is the limit for a parade of dyed bridesmaid dresses that look like sisters, not twins. The best part? You don’t risk your bridesmaids showing up with dresses in colors all over the spectrum, resulting in more of a hodge podge look than stylishly mismatched. Trust me… “varying shades of pink” can mean 100 different things. So give your girls direction with specific formulas to stick to from Rit Dye’s list or better yet, throw a DIdye party and make this a fun bonding activity everyone can look forward to! Don’t forget the hot chocolate bar to boot 😉

convertible mismatched bridesmaid dresses in pastel colors

How to Dye Bridesmaid Dresses

For this project, we purchased these bridesmaid dresses on Amazon to see how we could customize the color to the inspiration colors of the mood board for this shoot. It’s a great way to customize anything to the colors you’re looking for!

You can also upcycle old bridesmaid dresses by dyeing them a different color. Darker dyes work best for this since you’re starting out with a different color, and we love the idea of refreshing vintage bridesmaid dresses! We used and recommend Rit DyeMore for dying dresses with polyester fabrics or polyblend materials. Most vintage dresses will have some polyester in it, so this is the dye that will absorb the fibers.

dyed bridesmaid dresses with Rit Dye in front of a silk flower and dried grasses ceremony backdrop for a modern minimalist wedding

Recommended: If the dress you are dyeing is cotton, wool, linen, ramie or rayon and already has color, you don’t necessarily have to go darker. Instead, you can use Rit Color Remover to remove the color, creating a white or off-white canvas. From there, you can dye it to whatever color you’d like!

You can also use Rit DyeMore to match bouquet ribbons, table linens and napkins, as the dye bath can be reused a few times, too!

one shoulder wedding dress with a navy groom suit and silk flower bouquet

The best way to evenly dye bridesmaid dresses is to get the water HOT and keep the same hot temperature for the amount of time mentioned on the bottle instructions. Ideally the water should be 200 F or greater. This is best achieved on a stovetop, so make sure whatever you’re dying will fit in a pot!

I recommend buying the largest pot you can find to dye polyester fabrics. I used this large pot that can easily fit a floor-length dress in it with enough water and dye to fully soak the dress and allow it to move freely as you stir it.

Once the water begins to simmer, you can add your well-shaken DyeMore and stir well. Next, you’ll want to add your dress to the dyebath and stir slowly and continuously. The first 10 minutes are the most important. Stirring will ensure an even color on the dress with no splotches. The dress can remain in the dyebath from 30 minutes up to one hour. Keep in mind that Nylon tends to dye very quickly and much darker than other fibers so the actual time needed in the dye bath is less.

mismatched bridesmaid dresses with Rit Dye in front of a silk flower and dried grasses ceremony backdrop for a modern minimalist wedding — from the left: RIT DyeMore formula “Lavender Lake“, “Harbor Morning“, and “Lotus Petals” on the right.

Once the desired color is achieved, remove the dress from the dyebath and rinse until water runs clear. When the rinse water starts to run clear, you can wash the dress in warm water with a mild detergent, rinse and dry.

We couldn’t be more in love with how versatile these mismatched bridesmaid dresses turned out using Rit Dye’s pre-calculated formulas. Sticking with a convertible style not only allows everyone to choose the silhouette that flatters their body type best, but eliminates the guesswork from the bridesmaid shopping game when it comes to aesthetic consistency of the mismatched bridesmaid look. Head over to Rit Dye to explore their gorgeous range of color options from Golden Chai Latte to Smokey Rose next. And tell us, which colors will you choose for your mismatched bridesmaid dresses?

This post was sponsored by Rit Dye. All opinions are our own. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!