Shirts, breeches, vests and the weathering blues

[TheCursed]

A few questions here: Regarding the shirt, how have you weathered yours? I'm torn between two choices, getting a cheap shirt from CB and then trying a few methods or getting a better looking/feeling one from a re-enactors shop but that won't be cheap so don't want to ruin it.

Also, whats the best way to weather the breeches and vest?

[MadSparrow869]

i dress in my costume than drink rum,spill some, roll around in dirt, than play around the beach......i gotta stop drinking

[TheCursed]

No way man if that works then i'll do it. With Ragetti's coat I went sailing in it, swimming etc and left it out in the sun and rain for weeks on end..just unsure how it'd work on Jacks especially this new vest is different lol

[Jack of All Trades]

Oi mate! There's this stuff you can get called "Fuller's Earth". It's like makeup for your clothes that many people use for their costumes. You can also use some tannish dye in a spray bottle or airbrush in the particularly sweaty areas of your shirt, vest, etc. Also, dark roast coffee and black teas work well too. Hope that helps mate!

[TheCursed]

Wow excellent mate It won't run off will it? I'm thinking of maybe even starting as 'Rum runners Island' Jack as tbh its cheaper and I can make that costume look like the bee's knee's

[Guest]

I've used both coffee and tea for cotton and it works great IMO.
Never heard of "Fullers Earth" but I will keep that in mind, thanks JAT.

[Captain McCool]

I've now heard several people suggest fullers earth, and I badly want to try it myself. Apparently it's really good for leeching dye out of fabrics to make them look old, faded, and worn. My only problem is: where can I buy the stuff? Does anyone here have a good resource for fullers earth? And for that matter, what's the best method to use it? I've got a brand new waistcoat that needs to be dirtied up

[SFTailoring]

I think going for the cheap option is always a mistake- spend a bit of money on it and the quality will make a huge difference! If you're breaking it down, don't do it naturally- it'll destroy the fibres, and sooner rather than later, it will literally start to fall apart.
You can buy breaking down paint sprays (they are quite expensive) or you can go old school with the tea. Also, if you get a bar of soap, wet it slightly, rub it into the garment, and iron over the top- it gives a great sweaty sheen.

It will always come out to some extent in the washing machine, if you don't want to re-do it, buy some febreze. After wearing it a few time your makeup will make the collar beautiful!

[TheCursed]

I think going for the cheap option is always a mistake- spend a bit of money on it and the quality will make a huge difference! If you're breaking it down, don't do it naturally- it'll destroy the fibres, and sooner rather than later, it will literally start to fall apart.
You can buy breaking down paint sprays (they are quite expensive) or you can go old school with the tea. Also, if you get a bar of soap, wet it slightly, rub it into the garment, and iron over the top- it gives a great sweaty sheen.

It will always come out to some extent in the washing machine, if you don't want to re-do it, buy some febreze. After wearing it a few time your makeup will make the collar beautiful!

Excellent! thanks, that looks great..I'm going to buy a really cheap costume kit vest and shirt soon and practice the weathering on those. When i've found the best way for me i'll use it on the real thing. Luckily I have my own MUA so getting the right colours etc can be down to them haha

[redsleighdown]

I actually have the opposite question. I have an old shirt from Toby, and while I love the cut/fit, it it way too heavily tea dyed. I noticed that in the movie the shirt is much lighter, almost white, with some gray/soot weathering but not as much brown/tea weathering. It's definitely lighter in color than the sash.

So... do you all think that some rit dye remover will whiten it up? If anyone has experience with it, how long should I leave the shirt in for?

[SFTailoring]

I actually have the opposite question. I have an old shirt from Toby, and while I love the cut/fit, it it way too heavily tea dyed. I noticed that in the movie the shirt is much lighter, almost white, with some gray/soot weathering but not as much brown/tea weathering. It's definitely lighter in color than the sash.

So... do you all think that some rit dye remover will whiten it up? If anyone has experience with it, how long should I leave the shirt in for?

If its stained with tea, Dye Remover won't take it out- you should bleach it like you would normally bleach whites, and start from scratch. Break down a little at a time- gradually building it up is always the safest bet- if its a nice linen hopefully it should come out ok- though be careful to dilute the bleach properly so you don't turn it yellow

[blueyedjack]

I've weathered my sash using black tea and I think it's turned out just great but I then used the same method on the shirt after I had spent a few days making it from scratch. to my horror it turned out beige and did not look right, it was quickly removed with some pre-wash stain remover. looking at the film more closely it looks more of a sooty colour, I am quite tempted now to try weathering it with real soot... I wonder how it might turn out...

[Birdinthelocker]

I'd have to echo what some others have said... Don't get a cheap shirt unless you're doing a budget costume... unless you're using bleach it's actually quite hard to ruin a garment beyond repair.. Tea dying is #1.. tea dye the crap out of it.. my shirt looks like it hasn't been washed in years... #2 don't wash the dang thing (yes I know it's gross but, it's effective). If you want specific stains, ink works really well and comes in many different shades of brown, gray and black.

I had to wash my shirt recently (it happens) and it had been so long since I dyed it that it still looks filthy but, it smells nice.

[Birdinthelocker]

When it comes to the waistcoat (weskit,vest) fullers earth, bleach, the sun and a dremel tool are your friends.. careful with the bleach and only use it on the spots where jack would be wiping his hands or where the garment would be "worn".. then go over that with fullers earth or mud (that's what I did). After that I'd take a close look at any photos you have and attack the worn through spots with the dremel tool to get frayed edges and holes.. (a little less than you'd like is better than a gaping hole)

I let my pants get worn simply by wearing them but, sandpaper (light grain), rit color remover (just a little) some gray and brown rit dye (depends on the color you're going for)

[Captain McCool]

Very comprehensive, thanks Bird!

My shirt definitely gets washed on a semi-regular basis (I just can't stand BO), but I made sure to really darken it where it counts. It might be due for another tea bath before too long though.

One thing I did was to put some really dark tea/coffee mixture in a spray bottle and attack certain areas of the shirt. Mainly around the collar, the cuffs, the "v" at the neck, and the underarms. Big time on the underarms. This gives it a more realistic look, since the sweat staining isn't universal, but mainly focussed in those generally grimey areas. Real sweat of course adds volumes to this effect if you wear it long enough.

[redsleighdown]

If its stained with tea, Dye Remover won't take it out- you should bleach it like you would normally bleach whites, and start from scratch. Break down a little at a time- gradually building it up is always the safest bet- if its a nice linen hopefully it should come out ok- though be careful to dilute the bleach properly so you don't turn it yellow

And how would I go about this proper diluting of the bleach?

[SFTailoring]

On the back of your bottle of bleach it should have the correct diluting quantities for bleaching whites

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