Name: Athena
Message: Help!  I've just had an expensive sheer (polyester) "sunburst" made for an arched window.  It's mounted on a wood frame cut to the shape of the window.  Problem is--I'm unhappy with the color.  Can I dye it?  The wood frame is wrapped in white drapery lining, probably cotton/poly blend.  It's too wide to submerge in a tub.  It's currently light pink, it would be better in a darker wine shade.  Suggestions???  Thanks!!

If you ordered a wine-colored fabric, you should return the sheer and get it replaced with the color you ordered. If you did not realize until it was in place that the color was wrong, then you will need to either recolor it, or buy a new one.

The project of recoloring the sheer has several major problems. To dye your polyester, you would have to remove it from the frame and then boil it for an hour with a special type of dye called disperse dye. You cannot dye polyester without boiling it, and you cannot dye polyester with ordinary dyes such as Rit brand dye. Once you have used a cooking pot to dye anything, you will not be able to use that pot for cooking ever again. For an even color, the pot must be large enough for the fabric to move freely during the boiling process. See Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dye.

An easier way to recolor polyester would be to use fabric paint, such as Dharma Trading Company's Pigment Dyes (which are actually not dyes at all, but paints); this has the distinct advantage of not requiring boiling, though the color will not be smooth and even. Carefully applied, an uneven color can be very attractive. However, you will still need to remove the sunburst panel from its frame before attempting to do anything to it at all. You will not want to get the paint on the fabric that wraps the frame, I expect.

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