Name: Clarissa
Message: I have a wool blend coat (57% rayon / 43%) that I would like to dye.
I have heard contradicting things regarding which dyes/methods to use
for dying wool and need a little clarification. I understand that
Lanaset dyes work on both rayon and wool but am not sure if the
methods for dying these are radically different from each other. I
also understand that wools should not be agitated at all when wet to
prevent fulling, and must be moved carefully to prevent stretching;
opinions seem to vary on how disastrous using a hot water bath would
be---some texts indicate that it wouldn't adversely affect the wool
provided there's no agitation or use of soap.
I'm not really concerned about the possibility of fulling as the wool
blend fabric has a very tight weave which I know would be difficult to
full. I'm more concerned about shrinking. I'm also unsure if I should
use vinegar in my dye bath, considering the fabric is a wool/rayon
blend. I am willing either to hand-dye it in a bath or use my washine
machine. What is your recommendation for how I should proceed and
which Lanaset product would work best for my purpose?


Lanaset dyes will NOT work on rayon. Lanaset dyes will work well only on protein fibers, such as silk and wool; since nylon chemically resembles wool, it can also be dyed with the same dyes. If you dye a wool/rayon blend coat with Lanaset dye, the wool will dye well, but the rayon will only be stained; the Lanaset dye on the rayon will tend to wash out. 

In contrast, rayon is a cellulose fiber, like cotton, and cannot be dyed with acid dyes. You can dye rayon with fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dyes, or with direct dyes, though direct dyes are less washfast.

Dyeing a protein/cellulose fiber blend, such as your wool/rayon blend, is the perfect use for all-purpose dyes. All-purpose dyes are considerably less washfast than Lanaset or fiber reactive dyes; they contain a combination of acid leveling dyes, which are more poorly washfast than other acid dyes, with direct dyes, which are less washfast than fiber reactive dyes. However, all-purpose dyes will work on both wool and rayon in a single step, at the same pH. The washfastness problem can be solved by adding an additional step in which you use a cationic dye fixative, such as Retayne, to the fabric, or by using only dry cleaning, not washing, to clean the coat. Unfortunately, all wool dyes require some heat to set them, and direct dyes do, as well. 

There is an alternative, but it is more cumbersome. Procion MX dyes can be used in two separate steps, both as fiber reactive dyes, with soda ash, and as acid dyes, with vinegar. However, the typical recipe for dyeing rayon with Procion MX dyes requires a pH that is so high that it will damage wool badly. You can use a pH around 9 to dye the rayon with Procion MX dye, and, in a separate step, use a pH around 5 to dye the wool with Procion MX dye, in some recipes placing it in a black garbage bag in the sun instead of using very hot water. This is complex, however, and I do not recommend it for a first-time dyer. Furthermore, the black garbage bag method does not produce colors as bright or intense as those produced with very hot water. Rayon dyes better with fiber reactive dyes at a pH of 10.5 or 11, but a pH that high will ruin the texture of your wool.

Washing machine dyeing is much easier for a dye novice. You can follow the washing machine dye recipe in a large bucket, stirring frequently, but even a very large bucket is unlikely to be large enough to permit an adult-size wool coat to move freely enough to allow smooth solid-color dyeing.

There are several different brands of all-purpose dye. Those who have used more than one tend to prefer Tintex or DEKA, but I don't know if they are actually superior. The easiest brand of all-purpose dye to find in the US is Rit® All-purpose Tint and Dye. Alternatives include Tintex® Easy Fabric Dye (called Tintex Hot Water dye in Australia), DEKA® L dyes in Europe (not available in the US), and Dylon® Multi Purpose dye.

Adding vinegar is okay when using all-purpose dye. It will assist the acid dye in bonding to the wool, and do no harm to the rayon.

Fulling, or felting, may or may not be a problem for your coat, as you say. However, shrinkage is very likely; you are right to be concerned about it. Even if you are very careful to avoid sudden temperature changes, which will help, there will probably be enough shrinkage to ruin a lined coat, even if it still fits. Is your coat labeled as being washable? If it can't be washed, then it cannot be dyed. Try washing it as a test before you try dyeing. It might not survive. You must always prewash any garment before dyeing it, anyway, or else a few invisible stains will repel dye in only some spots, resulting in an unattractively uneven appearance. If there is a lining in your coat, it will probably shrink more or less than the outer layer of your coat. This will ruin the way that it looks, preventing the shoulders and lapels from lying flat. If there is no lining, or if you can rip out the lining if it no longer fits the coat after washing, and yet still be able to wear it, then you may be able to dye it.

What color change are you considering? Occasionally people write to me wanting to change a dark red wool garment to tan, or a beige one to white. It is important to note that dye can only be used to darken the color, not lighten it. Because dye is transparent, it can only add to the existing color; it cannot cover it up.

Here are some pages to read for more information:

All Purpose Dyes

About Dyes

About Lanaset Dyes  

Follow up message:
Thank you for the information. My coat is woven with a mix of cream, dark brown and light brown fibers, giving it an all over poop-brown look. I was hoping to dye the cream a turquoise and possibly alter the light brown's color a little. I just want it to have an overall bluer look and not look so unattractively brown. The dye doesn't have to take perfectly since the look of the fabric is already mottled---like those industrial carpets they put in public places because staining won't be so obvious? Is there any chance blocking the garment will minimize potential shrinkage?


I'm curious as to whether the different colors of threads in your coat are made of different fibers. For example, it might be that the rayon is cream-colored while the wool is dark and light brown. (Or the other way around, of course.) In this case, dyeing only one of the fibers, only the wool OR only the rayon, might meet your needs.

Is it possible for you to remove a few tufts of each color, from an inside seam or hem, separate out the colors, and do a burn test for fiber content? Rayon will smell like paper burning, and produce a soft grey ash. Wool will smell like burning hair, and produce an irregular dark ash. (See Ditzy Prints' Fiber Burn Chart or Fabrics.net's Fabrics Identification page.)

If it turns out that you can meet your needs by dyeing only the rayon, then the whole job of dyeing this coat immediately becomes much easier. Then you can use a cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX, at only 70°F to 90°F. Unlike all-purpose dye, Procion MX dye works well at this temperature range. Instead of using the proper pH of 10.5 to 11, use a milder pH around 9 so that you do not damage the wool. You can do this by mixing four or five parts baking soda (sodium BIcarbonate) with one part soda ash (sodium carbonate); use pH paper to double-check the pH. You could use the washing machine dyeing recipe, substituting baking soda for most but not all of the soda ash. Go ahead and use the salt suggested in the recipe. Allow plenty of extra time to make up for the non-optimal pH. (Perhaps you should turn off the washing machine after an hour of agitation and go to bed, without letting the machine drain, so the coat can continue to soak in the dye plus soda overnight; in the morning, repeat the gentle agitation and finish the wash cycle.) Follow the recipe, wash the coat to remove excess coat, block if necessary to restore the shape, and you're done.

Whether the rayon is the cream color or the brown, you will have a mixture of the new color with the old. The wool WILL take some of the Procion MX dye at a pH of 9, so its color will be changed somewhat. Brown wool overdyed with turquoise turns darker. Turquoise and brown mixed in a tweed can have a nice effect.

In either case, using a cool water fiber reactive dye will be much less dangerous, in terms of shrinkage, than using a hot water dye such as all-purpose dye. There is still some risk, especially if the coat has a lining, since linings tend to shrink so differently than the coat itself that even an otherwise minor amount of shrinkage can be a problem and ruin the shape of the coat. Don't forget to prewash the coat, as the results of previously invisible stains can be quite ugly.

One last tip: if the coat is in any way water-resistant, you won't be able to dye it. Flick a few drops of water on it, and see that they soak in fairly quickly. If the drops of water bead up, forget the project. You cannot dye anything that is water-resistant or stain-resistant, as these fabric finishes also resist dye.

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