I want to dye a duvet & feather comforter, king size. I want to use the dye used for tye dying but not actually "tye" dye. Can I use this dye for the large pieces and dye them in the washing machine?

Name: Bonnie

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Country or region: WA

Message: I hope I am not asking a question that is on your website...I tried to be very thorough, but may have missed something. I want to dye a duvet & feather comforter,king size. I want to use the dye used for tye dying but not actually "tye" dye. And I plan on using one color. Can I use this dye for the large pieces and dye them in the washing machine? What would you suggest? Thanks for your time.

First, what is the outside cover of your duvet made of? If it's 100% cotton and not stain-resistant, you can dye it using the same Procion fiber reactive dyes that are in tie-dyeing kits (though you'll want to buy a larger jar of dye), but using another technique, such as low water immersion or washing machine dyeing. If it's made of polyester, though, I strongly recommend against trying to dye it, because polyester has to be boiled to be dyed, and I can't imagine its being worth the cost of a dyeing pot huge enough to hold a king-sized comforter. Cotton is much easier to dye, and can easily be dyed at room temperature if you order some Procion MX dye; the same is true of rayon and most fabrics labeled as bamboo.

However, dyeing an entire duvet/comforter is going to be a mess, even if it's made of an easily dyeable material, simply because it's so large, with all the feathers filling it. The dye will be wasted on the filling, so you'll need to use a whole lot of dye, and sometimes washing causes damage to the feathers; the soda ash required for dyeing cotton with tie-dye dyes is not at all good for feathers. What I recommend you do, instead, is find a cotton duvet cover and dye that, then use it to cover the duvet. You can find white 100% cotton duvet covers [Amazon link] on Amazon and probably many other places.

Have you been able to fit your duvet inside your washing machine? I have enough trouble getting a twin-sized comforter into an extra-large home washing machine. It tends to unbalance and make horrible noises. You can't just stuff it in tightly; the fabric has to be free to move.

Aside from the washing-out problem, and the unwieldiness of a king-sized comforter that is soaked with dye, you could pretty easily use low water immersion in a clean plastic trash can, following the instructions for "How to Do Low Water Immersion Dyeing". If you want only a single shade of a single solid color, then you will have to find a washing machine large enough for the comforter to move in freely, once the machine is full of water; then follow the instructions on "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". Read through and choose your recipe, then order all of the materials you need. Prewash your comforter before doing anything else. It's always important to thoroughly prewash anything you're going to dye, and, during the washing step, you'll be able to judge whether your washing machine is large enough for your comforter.

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Posted: Friday - March 30, 2012 at 09:29 AM

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I want to dye a duvet & feather comforter, king size. I want to use the dye used for tye dying but not actually "tye" dye. Can I use this dye for the large pieces and dye them in the washing machine?

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