I have absolutely no experience in dyeing, but need a really quick solution. My daughter is in a play this week-- she will be wearing a fuschia tutu and leotard. I have white tights and slippers and would like to dye them to match as I cannot find a place that sells them in this color. I can't find a RIT dye that is anywhere close --- I have thought of possibly using food coloring/easter egg dye or cake dye but have no idea how to obtain the color needed. Any help you can offer will be great!!!! I realize this is last minute and if you don't get to it in time that's o.k.

What fiber are the tights and slippers made of - nylon, cotton, acetate, polyester? It makes a big difference to the methods you can use to do this.

I can't find anything on the slippers telling the fiber. They are actually bedroom slippers that look like ballet slippers. They are like a really soft, very fine terrycloth. The tights are nylon and Lycra spandex.

Okay, well, because the tights are nylon, and not another synthetic or cotton, they can be dyed with any acid dye. Rit dye contains acid dye, but so do food colorings, Kool-aid, etc. The red in little bottles of coloring typically has some yellow mixed in and is not good for mixing fuchsia. However, it should not be too difficult to find some Kool-aid, or a generic version thereof, that is a raspberry color.

Buy several packets of UNSWEETENED Kool-aid or similar product. Don't get any with sugar in them! You want the kind that tells you to add your own sugar. Artificial sweetener would be better than sugar, but you should be able to buy some with no sweetener at all. Use your largest cooking pot that is not made of aluminum or iron - stainless steel or enamel is ideal - and add one-third cup of white vinegar to one gallon of water. Mix in one packet of artificially colored drink mix, stir until dissolved, then, using a thermometer if possible, heat the dyebath until it is quite hot, about 150 degrees, well below a simmer. Put in the tights and stir, then remove to check the color. Leave the tights in the dyebath longer, or add another packet or two of the drink mix dye, if they are not dark enough. When they have reached the desired color, remove them from the pot and rinse with cool water until the water is no longer brightly colored. Wash these tights only in cool water in the future, as hot water will encourage the dye to wash out.

It is impossible to say whether the slippers are dyeable. They may be made of an undyeable synthetic. Other synthetics are not easily dyed like nylon is. I would recommend that you go to an art supply store and buy some acrylic artist's paint of the appropriate color, dilute it in water, and paint it on the slippers with a brush. Start soon so that they have time to dry thoroughly before your daughter's play. I suppose you could try dyeing them with the tights, in case they contain some nylon, and then paint them if that does not work, but only if they are thin enough to dry reasonably quickly, and only if they do not appear to be glued together at all, since the glue would probably fail when wet.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! You're a lifesaver :)

So....how did it work out?

Well, I never could get the fuschia right. I tried with 3 different pairs of tights, then decided to go with yellow to match the sunflower on the tutu. I used food coloring and they came out beautifully..!!