Name: Caroline

Message: Is there anyway to dye with cold water? Basically I have some Rit Dye and I want to dye something that is 100% cotton and I am scared it will shrink too much if I dye it in really hot water. I actually want the color to look like a faded black or dark grey and I want to do it in my washing machine. Since I want it to look faded anyway, would doing it in cold water work? Would doubling up on the amount of dye I need help? Thanks

Yes, it is possible to dye cotton with cool water, but NOT with that dye!

Rit dye is a hot water dye, of a type known as all-purpose dye. It works best if you simmer your clothing in it for half an hour or an hour, just below boiling (190°F to 200°F, or 88°C to 93°C). Rit dye is a mixture of hot water leveling acid dyes, which work on wool and nylon, and hot water direct dyes, which work on cotton, but, even when applied correctly, will fade quickly and bleed forever in the laundry.

If you are not going to wash this garment—that is, if it is for a one-time-use costume—then you can get adequate results by staining with Rit dye at room temperature, but the color will wash out when you launder it. I can't recommend this for anything you want to be able to wash and wear repeatedly.

Instead, you need to buy yourself some cold water fiber reactive dye. Then you will be able to dye your cotton clothing at room temperature, assuming your room is 70°F or above. It is very easy to dye in the washing machine with Procion MX dye; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".


The best place to buy fiber reactive dye is by mail order, which will give you a wide range of color choices as well as better prices. The most popular type is Procion MX dye. It is very easy to work with, requiring only soda ash (the same chemical as washing soda, a common ingredient in laundry detergent) to set the dye. (Note that soda ash does not work with Rit dye.) For good mail-order sources, see my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World". In the eastern US, where you're located, an excellent source is PRO Chemical & Dye. Dyes purchased by mail-order are far more economical, in the long run, than Rit dye, because one box of Rit dye will dye only a quarter to a half a pound of fabric, whereas a two-ounce jar of Procion MX dye will dye several pounds of fabric.


If you want to buy good dyes at a local store, they will be a little harder to find than Rit dye, and almost as expensive. It's a strange thing that the most unsuitable sort of dye is the easiest to find in local shops in the US. If you have a Joann's fabric store or a very good arts and crafts store nearby, you may be able to find "Dylon Cold" dye, which is mostly Procion MX dye; the accompanying "Dylon Cold Fix" is just soda ash. Tie-dye kits, such as those sold by Jacquard, Tulip, or Dritz, contain high-quality Procion MX type dye, but not the black or gray color that you are looking for. "Dylon Permanent" dye is different from "Dylon Cold" dye; it works best in hot tap water, though it does not require the much higher temperatures that Rit requires. "Dylon Machine Dye" is good for front-loading washing machines, but is not available in the US. Avoid "Dylon Multi Purpose" dye, which is another all-purpose hot water dye.

Whenever you are dyeing anything black, regardless of the type of dye you are using, it is best to use double the amount of dye that you would use for another color, or even four times as much, if you want to get black on your fabric, instead of grey. However, even if you do this with Rit dye, the dye will not be at all permanent in the fabric when used at cool temperatures. Rit dye requires extremely hot water. 

There is one possible solution, which will make Rit dye more permanent on your clothing: you can use a commercial cationic dye fixative, such as Retayne, to set the all-purpose dye. However, this product is almost impossible to find locally, so you must buy it by mail-order anyway, so you may as well just go ahead and order yourself some cool water dye, instead. Sometimes you may be able to find Retayne at your local quilting supply store, or even a Joann's fabric store. (If you have such a quilting supply store nearby, it is important to support it by shopping there, as much as possible, instead of buying mail-order!) It is a good product that is handy to have on hand. However, it does reduce lightfastness , so that garments treated with Retayne tend to fade in the sun. Garments treated with Retayne should be dried indoors, not in direct sunlight. People ignorant of dyeing will sometimes recommend that you use vinegar or salt to set Rit dye, but neither vinegar nor salt can do anything to make all-purpose dye more permanent on cotton.

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