Name: Lisa
Message: I know that you have said that dry-clean only items are not washable, so they cannot be dyed. But I have a question anyway. I have a camel colored wool coat that has orange HI-C all over it. I love this coat. A LOT. Is there anyway I could spot dye it?

It sounds as though you have nothing to lose from experimenting. The main problem, as I see it, besides the obvious issue of shrinkage, is that dye is transparent, so you cannot cover up the spot with dye. The spot will just show through. Perhaps you should dye the whole coat by simply applying orange Hi-C or unsweetened Koolaid to the unstained regions. I am afraid that following a good recipe for dyeing wool, which requires heating to bind the dye to the fiber, will cause your coat to shrink badly.

First, though, have you tried a professional stain remover, someone at a very good dry-cleaners? They might be able to salvage the coat. The sooner you can get it to them, the better. Don't try anything at home until you have exhausted this possibility.

There is a special product sold for removing red food dye from wool: see "Red Relief". It is likely that your orange Hi-C contained a mixture of red and yellow dyes. If you try a product of this sort yourself, first test it on a place inside the coat that will not show, because it might be even worse than what you have already, if it doesn't work out.

Whatever you do, do not try bleach on a wool coat. Bleach destroys wool.