Will a different dye work to color both the clothing and its stitching?

Name: Mag

—ADVERTISEMENTS—

Dye polyester and poly/cotton blends

Country or region: UK

Message: Hello,
I dyed a top using Rit all-purpose dye and all went well apart from stitches which darkened a little but stayed the same colour. Now I have almost identical top (the same brand and line so the stitching will be the same) and would like to know whether it is possible to solve this problem by getting a different type of dye?

This is a problem we see frequently. Almost all clothing, these days, is constructed with seams sewn with polyester thread. Polyester will not take any sort of dye that works on natural fibers; not only does it require a special sort of dye, known as disperse dye, it also requires high heat, often half an hour or more of being boiled in the special polyester dye.

Rit all-purpose dye contains direct dye, which works on cotton and silk, plus leveling acid dye, which works on wool, silk, and nylon. It does not contain any disperse dye, so it does not dye polyester, except sometimes for a light temporary stain.

If your top does not contain any spandex (also known as elastane), which must be protected from heat, then you might want to consider a combination of dyes, packaged separately by Jacquard Products, called iDye and iDye Poly. iDye Poly is a disperse dye, which works only on polyester and other synthetic fibers. iDye (without "Poly" in the name) is a direct dye, similar to the direct dye in Rit, so it works only on natural fibers and on viscose rayon. Direct dye is not nearly as wash-resistant as the fiber reactive dye I prefer, but that problem can be fixed by applying a commercial dye fixative such as iDye Fixative or Retayne.

In the UK, a good online source for Jacquard Products is George Weil. They carry all eight colors of iDye Poly, which can be mixed with iDye for natural fibers and applied in a pot of boiling water, in a single step. I don't see regular iDye on George Weil's website, but they should be able to order it if requested, since they carry other Jacquard products, or you could substitute the Deka L direct dye that they sell. The iDye or Deka L dye will color only the natural fibers in your top, while the iDye Poly colors the polyester threads.

After you have completed your dyeing, you can apply Fixitol P, which is the brand of cationic dye fixative that George Weil carries. Without Retayne, Fixitol P, or another brand of cationic fixative, both Rit dye and iDye can fade quickly in the laundry. (This is one of the reasons why I prefer fiber reactive dye to direct dye.)

If your top's fiber content includes elastane or spandex, then you will not be able to use iDye Poly, since it must be applied in boiling water, while elastane is easily damaged by hot water. In that case, you will have to either accept the contrasting color of the undyed thread, or obtain clothing that has been sewn with cotton thread. The best way to do this may be to find a local seamstress who is willing to sew clothing for you, using only dyeable materials. Commercial clothing sewn with cotton thread may be labeled PFP (Prepared For Printing), RTD (Ready To Dye), or PFP (Prepared For Printing). Unfortunately, I don't know of good sources in the UK for clothing blanks that are suitable for dyeing, though it seems as though they should exist. In the US, the easiest place to find clothing blanks that have been sewn with cotton thread is Dharma Trading Company.

Also see the following page in the FAQ on my web site: Dyeing thread in pre-sewn clothing.

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

Posted: Tuesday - June 07, 2011 at 08:55 AM

Follow this blog on twitter here.
Tweet

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

Will a different dye work to color both the clothing and its stitching?

> >