I need to know if I can use both food coloring and regular color dye for a cotton sheet just to make the color darker?

Name: Dawn

—ADVERTISEMENTS—

q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0009PY4WQ&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=dyeblog-20&ServiceVersion=20070822

"Learn How to Tie Dye" complete 3-volume DVD set

Country or region: United States

Message: I need to know if I can use both food coloring and regular color dye for a cotton sheet just to make the color darker???? Thank you for your time...

No. Do not use food coloring on cotton. It's nothing but a waste of time and food coloring, because food coloring will not stick to cotton. Food coloring serves as an acid dye, which means it works as a dye only on certain fibers. These fibers include wool and all animal hair (even human hair!), as well as silk and, surprisingly, the synthetic fiber nylon (but no other synthetic), but not cotton. Acid dyes simply do not stick to cotton, not for long at all.

Basically, any food coloring you apply to cotton is wasted, a waste of both food dye and effort, because it will bleed right out the first time you wash the cotton, leaving no more than a pale temporary stain. If you want a non-temporary cotton dye, then you must find a good fabric dye and use that.

Procion MX fiber reactive dye is the best fabric dye to choose. It is available in all colors, ranging from subtle earth-tones to incredibly brilliant neon hues. The only problem with Procion dyes is that you probably have to order them online. Procion MX dye is cheaper per pound of clothing, than all-purpose dyes, such as Rit; its colors are far more predictable and beautiful; and, perhaps most importantly, they are permanent, lasting at least twenty times longer before fading, something all-purpose dye is not very good at. Even the use of the Procion dyes is much easier, because they are set at room temperature by a household cleaning chemical often used in laundry detergent powder, known as washing soda or soda ash. Unlike all-purpose dyes such as Rit, Procion MX dye is used at room temperature, a huge convenience. Rit dyes work best when simmered to nearly boiling in an huge non-aluminum pot you can't even use again for cooking, once you've ruined it by cooking all-purpose dyes in it. You can use Rit dye in the washing machine, but the lower temperature results in paler colors that fade more quickly. Procion MX dyes produce permanent intense colors in the washing machine.

Even with all the many advantages of Procion dye over all-purpose dyes such as Rit, all-purpose dye is still a tremendously better choice than food coloring, for coloring or darkening a cotton sheet. All-purpose dye will fade and bleed and no longer look as fresh after several washes, but that is much, much better than the way food coloring fades out immediately! At least you get some use out of it before it fades.

If you want dark colors while using Rit dye, you should increase both the amount of dye and the amount of heat. Rit is a hot water dye and works best when simmered for an hour with your sheets or clothes in a very large pot of water and salt, stirring constantly. For a medium shade, you can use one-half to one box of Rit to dye half a pound of cotton sheeting; use more for darker colors, or less for pale colors. Since your sheets weigh more (dry) than 8 ounces, you have to use several boxes of dye, one to two boxes for every pound of fabric, in order to get a medium shade. Weigh yourself with and without all of the sheets you're dyeing, to get an idea of how many pounds the sheets weigh. For dyeing three pounds of sheets to a medium color, use 3 to 6 boxes of Rit dye. (Your local sewing or crafts store probably won't carry many of any single color in stock, so you may have to drive from store to store to buy enough; ordering easier-to-use, more economical, and more beautiful Procion dyes online is sounding better and better!)

For dark shades, you must double or triple the amount of dye you add, so, for example, three pounds of 100% cotton sheets will require not just 6, but 12 to 18 boxes of Rit dye. You can buy just one large jar of superior Procion dye for far less than the cost of thirty boxes of Rit, even including the cost of shipping.

Conclusion: save your food dye for coloring food, or dyeing wool yarn or silk scarves, or even your own hair. Rit dye is much better than food coloring, when you're dyeing cotton, but you'll probably need to invest in a large number of little boxes of dye, and, ideally, acquire a 3-or 4-gallon non-aluminum cooking pot for using hot-water dyes in. Procion MX dye is better, cheaper, and easier to use; it's only drawback is that you must order it online. Try ordering from Dharma Trading Company if you're on the west coast, Grateful Dyes in Colorado, or PRO Chemical & Dye on the east coast, or see my list of Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)

Posted: Saturday - June 23, 2012 at 11:51 AM

Follow this blog on twitter here.
Tweet

getBlogName(); > getCategoryName("<$EntryCategoryFolder$>"); >

I need to know if I can use both food coloring and regular color dye for a cotton sheet just to make the color darker?

> >