Name: Mary
Message: Is it possible to dye a skirt made up of 55%Linen and 45% viscose from stone colour to black. Hope you can help.  Thank you.

Is it labeled as being washable? If so, then yes, it can probably be dyed. Clothing which must be dry cleaned cannot be dyed.

Do not use all-purpose dye, which requires very hot water to make a good bond to the fiber. Instead, use cool water fiber reactive dye. The most popular type of cool water dye is Procion MX dye, which works well on both linen and viscose. See my page of Sources for Dyeing Supplies to find a nearby company from which to mail-order your dye and other supplies. If you are in the UK, you will probably want to use Dylon Machine Dye.

When dyeing any garment black, it is important to use three to four times as much dye as is normally recommended for any other color. The easiest way to get a solid color is to use a washing machine; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".

Sometimes different panels of a garment dye up in different shades; this is unpredictable when you are not using PFD ("prepared for dyeing") garments, but results are good in the majority of cases. You must be sure that the garment is quite clean before you attempt to wash it, because otherwise invisible stains can resist the dye and produce spotty results.

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