WIP: garment-dyed linen pant alteration

I really don't know why I like working with garment-dyed items so much. Perhaps it is because it is a rare activity for me. 

Last week, I altered the waist of a pair of linen summer pants. As I removed the heavy thread top-stitching, the dye penetration is obvious. You can see the undyed portion the linen fabric (that was covered by top-stitching) between the white headed pin and the waistband top-stitching.  

And below are two close-ups.

The rest of the alteration was uninteresting and uneventful... but finished. I would like to try using this type of feature on a textile project sometime. I will need to do a test swatch: stitch a pattern using heavy thread, then dye the fabric, then remove the thread and see how much of the design is obvious. If any of you try this, please let me know how it turns out!