Name: Emily
Region: California
Message: I am looking for someone to dye my "Pepto Bismal"/pink colored ski jacket black. Shell Exterior 1: 92% nylon/polyamide, 8% spandex, 100% polyester backer. Shell Exterior 2: 94% nylon/polyamide, 6% spandex, 100 % polyester backer. Lining: 100 % polyester, exclusive of trims. It's 2-tone; light pink and darker pink with a pink plastic zipper. Please advise. I am willing to ship it to someone who's experienced at this. Thank you so much.  Emily

This is probably not a project that can ever work. It might be possible if you are willing to leave the polyester portions undyed. Dyeing the polyester would require such high heat that the spandex-containing portions of the jacket will be ruined.

Nylon is not as difficult to dye as polyester, since it can be dyed with acid dyes, but it's not a good thing that it's blended with spandex. Spandex prefers to remain at a water temperature of 105°F or below, while acid dyes work best on nylon along with heating to 205°F, which, while cooler than the temperatures used for dyeing polyester, is still much too high for spandex.

Do not expect the darker pink portions to end up the same color as the lighter portions. Dye is transparent, so darker sections always end up a different color than lighter sections.

If the jacket is at all water-repellent or stain-resistant, give up on this project right now. Nobody can do a good job redyeing water-resistant fabric. Unfortunately, chances are good that any jacket will be undyeable for this reason. If, when you spatter water droplets on the jacket, most of them bead up instead of soaking in, then your jacket has a water-resistant coating.

There is a list of custom dyers on my web site under "Where can I find someone to dye my clothing for me?". Look only in the first section on that page, "Garment Redyers: changing the color of clothing you already have". Try contacting them to ask whether they would be able to take on this project.

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