Name: Candace
Message: I can't find an answer to my question. I hope you haven't answered this already. Is there a way to tye dye a babies' onesie that is 100% cotton using homemade dyes? Thank you.

No. All home-made dyes will wash out of the cotton. The only way to get natural dyes to stay in cotton for any significant number of launderings is to mordant extensively with metal ions. The best mordanting procedure for cotton is to boil it with alum, following a good recipe; after that, boil it in tannins; and finally, boil in alum again. After all that mordanting, you can then boil the garment at length with an equal weight of natural dyestuff. Even after all that work, this is not a suitable procedure for baby clothes, which require frequent washing, and it is not impossible that alum might irritate delicate skin. There is probably a reason why baby clothing before the modern era was almost invariably white.

The safest dyes for baby clothes are the fiber reactive dyes. When properly used, which is not difficult, the dye actually becomes one molecule with the cellulose fiber, so that it cannot leach out onto the wearer's skin. The most popular fiber reactive dye is called Procion MX dye. Order some Procion MX dye and soda ash from Amazon or any of the dye suppliers listed on my page of dye suppliers around the world, or buy a tie dye kit that contains Procion MX type dyes. Follow a good recipe for applying the dyes, and then, after the dye has reacted overnight with the 100% cotton and the soda ash, wash several times in the hottest water, so that you can be sure that all unattached dye has been removed.

I would not recommend that you use all-purpose dye, such as the Rit® dye available in stores everywhere. All-purpose dye tends to wash out a little with every washing, and we imagine that it might rub off on delicate skin, or bleed in the wetness that is so often found around babies. There is no published evidence that clothing dyed with all-purpose dye is in any way harmful to babies, but I do not like the idea. Commercial clothing is commonly dyed with dyes similar to the dyes found in all-purpose dye, and finished with a dye fixative to prevent color run in the laundry; the dye fixative is probably harmless to wearers, but it has never been tested for safety when the wearer chews upon it, as babies often do chew their clothing.

You can use food coloring to dye 100% wool garments. 100% wool is popular for use in the more expensive diaper covers, and it is fun to dye them with food coloring or Kool-aid drink mix. However, you absolutely cannot dye cotton with food coloring, as it simply will not stick.

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