Name: Jenny

Message: I have a dress that I think is polyester -- the tag is no longer in it. I tried to dye it with Ritco dye with no success.

I don't want to change the color. It is a navy dress, and the armpits have turned pinks, I'm assuming from reaction to perspiration. 

Since immersion dying polyester is so difficult, might some of the fabric crayons you mention help with this issue, and allow me to cover the pink with navy so the dress will again be wearable?

If Rit all-purpose dye did not change the color of the dress at all, even for a few washings, then it's a good bet that you do have polyester there.

Regardless of the fiber content of a garment, it's pretty much impossible to redye a stain to match the rest of it. Dyeing to match a color is very difficult; you're apt to produce the wrong hue, or a shade that's too dark or too light. 

On the other hand, at least with the disperse dye crayons you could keep trying, and they're not much of an investment. You can buy them at a fabric store. They will not come in the exact color you need; they include black and a bright medium blue. You would need to color paper with the black crayon, and color over it with blue, before ironing it on. You can probably repeat the process in the same place to further amend the color. I don't think that you will be able to match the color of the rest of the dress, but you can try.

According to Unilever, the problem in clothing is caused by interaction of acid-sensitive dyes in fabric with the acid pH found in antiperspirants; they say that the most common color change is from blue to pink. This is the same color change we see in a number of pH indicators, such as litmus paper. If the manufacturer had made a better choice of dyes, you would not have a problem with pink stains now.

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