Name: Pat
Message: I have a white silk blouse that has a stain on it. I could not get it out. I put the blouse on the washing line, all day and the colour bleached out. I thought I would dye the blouse Old Rose #45. The label on the blouse says wash only in cold water. The instructions on the Tintex fabric dye box is fill washing machine up with hot water. What do I do in this case?

You can't cover up a stain by dyeing, unless you use an exceptionally dark color and several times as much dye as the recipe calls for. Dye is transparent, so the stain will inevitably show through even after dyeing. If you manage to get out most of the stain, so that it barely shows, then you can dye the blouse to make the remainder of the stain less noticeable. 

Don't use hot-water dye on a garment that can be washed only in cold water. Instead, use a cold-water dye. Cold water dyes react with cotton or silk at room temperature, using soda ash as the fixative. This is the type of dye described on the page "Hand Dyeing - How to Do It: basic recipe for Procion MX dyes on cellulose or silk". The easiest way to dye a blouse a solid color is in the washing machine; see How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?

There are different brands of cold water dyes that you can use. Dylon Washing Machine dye is available in Europe; in the US, use Procion MX dye. Order your dye from a company such as PRO Chemical & Dye. You can order it from any of the dye suppliers listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World page, or you can order it through Amazon: see my page of Color Chips for Ordering Jacquard Procion MX dye through Amazon.

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