Name: miki

Message: Hi. I tried searching and sifting through the FAQ's, but didn't come up with an answer. I apologize if i missed it somewhere. I have a pale yellow shirt (like lemon custard 60% cotton 40% polyester) that I'm hoping to dye to a brighter yellow, maybe like egg yolk (is that more orangey yellow?). Based on information I found on your site i purchased procion mx dye in 010 golden yellow. do you think I'll be able to achieve the deeper yellow I'm hoping for with this, or do you recommend another type/color of dye? your input is greatly appreciated!

Overdyeing a pale yellow to make a bright orange-yellow should work very well, better than most color changes. Since your shirt is 60% cotton, it will take the dye to be only 60% as dark as you would expect for a 100% cotton piece. You may end up with a 'heathered' effect, depending on how the polyester and cotton were woven together. I believe that it will work out fine for you, though.

If you want a smooth solid color, you will have to do a lot of stirring in a large five-gallon bucket, or use a washing machine. (You probably do not have enough dye now for use in a washing machine, though.) For this high-water ratio form of dyeing, you will need a significant quantity of salt, to help drive the dye onto the fabric where it can react with the cotton. You will also need soda ash. Follow the instructions provided on the web sites for PRO Chemical & Dye or Dharma Trading Company.

If you do not care about getting a perfectly smooth solid color, you will find that the low water immersion method for dyeing (also known as LWI) is much less trouble, because it does not require stirring. Your colors on the shirt will range from the current pale yellow to a very deep golden yellow. Low water immersion dyeing is the easiest of all forms of dyeing, and to many people one of the most beautiful, but it won't do at all if you must have a solid color. See "How to Do Low Water Immersion Dyeing".

There are some possible pitfalls in using dye to change the color of clothing. The worst is the fact that many commercial garments that are not sold as PFD ("Prepared For Dyeing") have surface finishes that will block dye. Problems can occur with permanent press finishes, pill-resistant finishes, and particularly stain-resistant finishes. In some cases, also, you might find that one of the pieces of fabric from which the garment was constructed may take the dye darker or lighter than another piece. This is relatively rare, but it does happen now and then, and there's nothing to be done about it. The differences are less visible with LWI than with high water ratio dyeing.

It is possible to dye both the polyester and the cotton in the blend for a very dark or intense color, by dyeing the polyester with disperse dye and the cotton with either fiber reactive dye or direct dye, but I think that in your case it would be best to try just the fiber reactive dye alone (your Procion MX dye). Dyeing polyester is a pain because it requires extensive boiling in the dye, which will damage some garments, and it requires that you invest in a non-reactive dyeing pot.

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