Message: You said it is a big mistake to dye a dress if you are beginner and that if it is not washable it will most likely be ruined but what if the dress is washable is it still dangerous to try to dye it and if it is not, can i find this type of dye in stores? thanks

If it is washable, you can dye it. Sometimes some parts dye lighter or darker than others, but it's a risk I often find to be worth taking, especially for cotton or washable rayon.

You must buy the right type of dye for the fiber. If it is polyester, the dye required is disperse dye, rather nasty to use and difficult for beginners. If it is cotton or linen or hemp, it can be dyed with good fiber reactive dyes. If it is wool or nylon, use acid dyes.

You will save a lot of money if you do not try to buy the dye in stores, unless you happen to live near one of the retailers listed at http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyesources.shtml . Most dyers prefer not to use "all purpose" dye, such as Rit, unless you are dyeing wool or nylon, as its results on cotton are not very bright or washfast. Rainbow Rock, Dylon Cold Water, and Jacquard are good fiber reactive dyes, but MUCH more expensive than the mail-order equivalent. I recommend the PRO MX dye at http://www.prochemical.com/ . It works out to be less than one-sixth the cost of all-purpose dye, per garment, in spite of being of much higher quality.

To dye a dress in a solid color, follow the instructions at http://www.prochemical.com/directions/MX_WashingMachine.htm . For more exciting results, try http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/lowwaterimmersion.shtml or http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/howtotiedye.shtml .

A good source of dresses to dye is http://www.dharmatrading.com .