Name: catherine
Message: Hi: I have a 100% rayon purple tie-dyed dress that I want to dye a solid color, either purple or black. The dress is mostly purple, with some small amounts of light purple and whitish color in it. I don't like the tie-dyed look and just want it to be solid purple or black. My understanding is that rayon must not be dyed in hot water. If I bought some Procion MX dye, could I dye the dress in cold water? What are your opinions or advice on dyeing this dress? Would it work out well? I sure could use some help. Thank you, Catherine

Yes, you can dye rayon in cool water (room temperature, or 70 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit), using Procion MX dye. I certainly would never recommend that anyone try to dye a dress with a hot water dye, such as all-purpose dye.

As dye is transparent, you will probably end up with a little variegation in the final results, but it should be much subtler and therefore more to your taste. Purple and black are the two best color choices for covering up your purple and white tie-dyed dress.

Rayon is very fragile when wet, and hot water may be more damaging than cold. If you dye it in the washing machine, use a delicate cycle, or use a large lingerie bag to put the dress in for both dyeing and washing-out afterwards. Never wash rayon with a heavy garment such as denim jeans. Even with care, machine-washing rayon will occasionally produce a slightly shredded garment, as any weak point in the fabric will not survive any sort of rough handling when wet. Since the delicate cycle on my washing machine is very reliable, this rarely happens to me. You can also hand-dye in a five gallon bucket, with lots of stirring. In either case, you will need Procion MX dye, soda ash, and common table salt.



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