Name: Robyn

Message: I want to dye a 30% wool 70% acrylic garment that is dark taupe and I want to dye it charcoal, black or navy blue.  What colour should I choose to achieve this result?

You will not be able to dye your 30% wool 70% acrylic garment with ordinary dyes, the type that work on wool, because those dyes will simply wash out of acrylic fibers. Dyeing only the 30% of your garment that is wool will result in a pale color, a light grey or smoke blue, rather than the dark colors you are interested in.

I do not think that dyeing acrylic blend fabric is a good project for a novice. The dyes used for acrylic are somewhat toxic, and they will badly stain almost anything that they get on, especially plastics, unlike most dyes, which leave plastics alone. Also, you will have to cook the garment in the dye, using a huge non-reactive cooking pot, large enough for the garment to move freely in the dyebath; however, such pots are expensive, and yet once they have been used for dye, especially acrylic dyes, they should never be used for food again. In many cases, you can buy another garment for less than the cost of a good five- or ten-gallon stainless steel or enamel dyeing pot.

Acrylic can be dyed by heating it to a minimum 65°C, and holding it at that temperature for some time, with either of two types of dye: disperse dye or basic (cationic) dye. However, you cannot get a dark color, such as charcoal, black or navy blue, using disperse dye on acrylic. Disperse dye can only produce paler colors on acrylic. That leaves basic dyes. Basic dyes are used only on acrylic. They are no longer used on wool because they have extremely poor lightfastness and washfastness on wool. They will dye the wool, but the results will fade.

If you acquire a huge non-reactive cooking pot, to be used for dyeing purposes only, then you can buy some basic dye and use it to dye your garment. I see from your email address that you are in Australia; you can mail-order basic dye from Batik Oetoro. (In the US, basic dyes can be mail-ordered from Aljo Mfg. in New York.) The brand of basic dye sold by Batik Oetoro is Astrazon. It is not inexpensive: 50 grams cost $12.95, while 100 grams cost $23.95. The instructions say to weigh your dry fabric, and then use an amount of dye equivalent to 1% to 3% of this weight. However, dyeing black is always difficult, with any type of dye, unless you use more dye than the recipe calls for. Because black is such a dark color, you must use more dye. If your garment weighs one pound, then you will have to use at least 14 grams of dye. I recommend that you use more, for a rich dark black. According to Batik Oetoro's instructons, you should dissolve your dye, and then combine the dye, water, acetic acid, and your garment in the huge cooking pot, bring it to a boil, boil the garment in the dye for an hour, and then let the garment cool in the dyebath overnight.

It seems likely that boiling your garment for an hour will cause the wool in the fabric to shrink badly. I'm afraid that I cannot recommend this project. I recommend that you acquire another garment instead. It is easy to dye 100% natural fibers, especially cotton, which can be dyed without cooking.

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