Name: Sara
Message: My mother bought me some scrubs to wear to school.  Unfortunatly they are Dark Royal Blue and I need them to be navy blue.  I tried dying them with Rit Navy Blue I bought at a local store, but it didn't do anything.  Is there anything I can do to change the color of these scrubs.  They are made from 65% cotton and 35% polyester, woven in matter called "Peach Twill"

To get the all-purpose dye you tried to work better, you'd have had to use several boxes in order to get a very dark color, plus you'd need to heat it with the garments to a high temperature for half an hour. All-purpose dye works best at a temperature of 190°F or higher, which is just under a boil in temperature. Even if you managed to obtain a dark enough color, you would still need to fix the dye with a commercial dye fixative such as Retayne. All-purpose dye lacks good washfastness, that is, it will wash out gradually in the laundry, unless it is treated with Retayne or another brand of the same type of product.

Cold water fiber reactive dyes are easier to use, because you do not have to "cook" them into the fiber, and they last much longer in the wash. You can dye your 65% cotton scrubs with a fiber reactive dye such as Procion MX dye or Dylon Permanent dye. Your local sewing store might carry Dylon Permanent, in black or navy, or you can get the dye by mail-order. Only the cotton part of your cotton/poly blend will dye, so the darkest color you can get will be 65% of the color you aim for. (Dyeing polyester at home is not recommended.) You might do best by using black dye, which, at a 65% intensity, will produce a dark grey. Dark grey on top of royal blue should produce navy. The definition of navy blue includes several different dark blues, including a color which is nearly indistinguishable from black, so getting the scrubs too dark is not a big risk. If you get Dylon Permanent dye, follow the dye package instructions closely; for Procion MX dye, see my how to dye instructions or washing machine dyeing instructions (note that the washing machine requires a larger volume of dye).

Unfortunately, if the scrubs have any sort of stain-resistant coating on them, they will not be dyeable. Stain resistant coatings resist both water and dye. Permanent press finishes can also be a problem. Do your scrubs have any of these treatments on them?


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