The DIY (dye-it-yourself) short is prepared for dye and ready for you to make them your own.ย You can tub dye them to match your favorite skates or sneakers, tie-dye them to get a little funky, or plant dye them using foraged plantsโฆthe possibilities are endless! ๐ญย
How to dye
There is no one way to dye your Hammiesย but most methods involve these three steps:
- Scour or pre-wash: Even though your Hammies are brand new, you wantย theย fabric to be clean ofย oil, dust, and even fingerprints before dying because these can affect how the fabric absorbs dye. You can use aย professional textile detergentย butย any old detergent will do.
- Dye: There areย manyย different types of dye and dying techniques. Ifย you're dying for the first time or interested in an easy, inexpensive, and predictable type of dye, we recommend reactive dyes (specificallyย Procion dyes from Dharma Trading). If you're interested in going deeper,ย you can tryย natural/plant dyeย (a good place to start is withย pre-reduced indigo from Dharma Trading). As for techniques, there isย tub dyeย (for solid colors),ย tie-dye,ย ice dye, transferย dye,ย discharge, etc. Most methods require a fixer such asย soda ashย to fix the color and prevent it from washing out.ย
- Wash: After you're done dying, it's very important to wash it out so that you don't accidentally dye the rest of your clothes! Most techniques involve rinsing with cool water until the water runs clear and then washing with hot water and detergent by itselfย (or at the least with very dark colors that won't be affected by the dye that you used).ย We suggest washing and drying on a hot cycle to shrink them to size.
It isn't difficult or expensive to dye your own Hammies andย after you dye your first pair, odds are you will start dying everything in sight!ย ๐ธ
The DIY shorts will fit about aย halfย size too largeย before you dye them.ย See our notes about "sizing" below.
If you have questions, send us a message using the chat in the bottom-right corner and we will be happy to helpย ๐
History
The Hammies short is an old short for a new generation. This short style was popularized in the 1970s in Southern California and for a decade it was the staple of skateboarders, surfers, rollerskaters, camp counselors, Tom Selleck, and many more. In the mid-1980s, shorts got longer and pants got baggier and for the proceeding 3 decades, the shorts were forgotten (a period also known as The Shorts Dark Ages). Fast-forward to 2017: Hammies has revived the once forgotten shorts in all of their primary-colored and wide-waled corduroy glory and once again, all was right with the world.
In short, the Hammies short is a homage to a time when shorts were shorter, fuzzier, and more colorful. These are your dad's shorts!
- ๐ฑ Stretch corduroy (98% cotton, 2% Lycra)
- ๐ 3" inseam
- ๐คธโโ๏ธ Elastic waist
- ๐ Copper snap
