Tye dye how to make it last and not bleed out?

I used ritz and my cool design has pretty much faded out. What are some preventative methods b/c I don't wanna mess up other clothes while they're in the washer and I'm gonna do a green and yellow design and I don't want the green to darken the yellow.

All-purpose dye, such as Rit® brand dye, is not the right dye for tie-dyeing. It always fades and bleeds in the laundry. If you are going to tie-dye cotton, use fiber reactive dye, instead, which is easier to use since it does not require boiling water, and it lasts a hundred times longer. Tie-dyes made with all-purpose dye on cotton always fade quickly, but tie-dyes made with fiber reactive dye will stay bright for years.

Clothes that are dyed with Rit dye are not supposed to be machine washed. Instead, you should hand wash them separately in cold water. Clothes dyed with Procion dye can be machine washed in hot water without bleeding at all. If you use Procion fiber reactive dye, you can wash tie-dyed items safely with other clothing, after the first few washings have remove excess unattached dye.

You can buy good fiber reactive dye at a crafts store or sewing store, if you get a good brand. Look for a tie-dye kit made by Jacquard, Dylon, Rainbow Rock, or Tulip. Do not buy a Rit tie-dye kit, because of the way the colors will bleed together when you wash it. If you can't buy Procion dye locally in a good tie-dye kit, buy it by mail-order. See the page below with links to dye sellers in many different countries.

You can "set" the color of all-purpose dye by treating it with a special commercial dye fixative called Retayne. Don't even try to use salt or vinegar, because neither one works at all on cotton or on synthetics. Only Retayne will work. Unfortunately, it won't keep the color from one part of your design from spoiling another part, because it is applied by immersing your dyed item in water. The all-purpose dye will bleed before the Retayne has a chance to work. Retayne only works for single-color tie-dyes.

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[This material was first posted, by me, on Yahoo answers, on June 6, 2008.]