Name: Sandy
Message: Hi, I have recently purchased a flokati rug online (goat's wool?) and it is died a bright red colour. I was thinking it was a darker red and was wondering how difficult it would be to either dye it a darker red or even possibly brown? The other problem is its size which is 10ft x 8ft so it would have to be a cold water dye. Thanks for your help.

It should be possible to dye your rug a darker color, though getting any particular shade may be more difficult. If you apply a dark brown dye, you should obtain a dark brownish red, or dark reddish brown. The biggest problem is that most wool dyeing recipes require heat.

PRO Chemical & Dye has instructions for dyeing and painting a wool carpet using their Washfast Acid dyes. In this recipe, the dye is set with a carpet steamer.

Alternatively, you can dye wool by wrapping it in black plastic and leaving it in the sun. See "Garbage Bag Dyeing with Wool using PRO MX Reactive Dye", and "Cold Batch Dyeing of Wool with Reactive Dye".

Read the recipes, decide which one best suits your needs, and then mail-order all of the ingredients required. Batik Oetoro is an Australian source for both acid dyes and Procion MX dyes, as well as any necessary chemical auxiliaries. See "Sources for Dyeing Supplies".