How can I dye yarn?

I bought a bunch of 100% cotton yarn with an interesting weight. It didn’t come in the colors I wanted, (mostly shades of brown) so I bought white thinking I could dye it. I don’t know anything about dying. I looked at RIT, but it wasn’t the colors I wanted either, maybe something in the batik family? Tie dye? Directions? I’m lost as to where to start or what to buy or where to buy it.

It's better to use fiber reactive dye to dye cotton yarn. All-purpose dye, such as Rit, is a hot water dye, so it requires that you buy a dyeing pot to cook the yarn in the dye (don't reuse dyeing pots for food!), and it fades quickly and runs badly in the wash. Fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, are easy to apply because room temperature works well, so you don't have to invest in a stainless steel dyeing pot. A plastic bucket or tray will be fine. Procion MX dyes are permanent and will not fade for years, once you've washed out the excess unattached dye, and they are available in a hundred different colors if you order by mail. See "How to hand dye with fiber reactive dye" and "About Fiber Reactive Dyes".

If you don't want to wait to mail-order your dye, you can buy it at a crafts store. You cannot buy good dye at the grocery store or pharmacy. Most crafts stores will sell good tie-dye kits with excellent fiber reactive dyes. Avoid the Rit tie-dye kit and the Magic Strings tie-dye kit, because they contain inferior dyes. Look for a kit made by Jacquard, Dylon, Tulip, or Rainbow Rock. Or, look for individual dye colors. Good fiber reactive dyes that are sold in crafts stores and some fabric stores include Jacquard Procion MX dye, Tulip One Step Fashion Dye, Dylon Permanent Dye, and Dylon Cold Dye.

You will have a much wider choice of colors, and pay less per ball of yarn that you dye, if you order your dyes online from a good dye supplier. You don't have to use a credit card; you can mail them a check if you prefer. I recommend Procion MX fiber reactive dyes. They are the most economical and come in the widest range of colors. See "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World" for a list of different dye suppliers around the world.

You will need to rewind your yarn in skeins before dyeing, and tie them carefully so they don't get twisted and tangled up during dyeing and washing. See the instructions in my blog post "How to dye yarn or ribbon". For information on dyeing your yarn to make patterns as you knit, see the forum posts on "Self Striping Sock Yarn".

If you buy yarn that is not made of cotton, you will have to choose a different dye. Fiber reactive dyes work very well on cotton, linen, rayon, hemp, bamboo, and silk. They don't work on polyester or acrylic yarn.

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