Message: I am looking for a dye that I can use on my fading black work clothes. They are still in great condition but the fading makes them look old. Is the Fibre reactive dye that I am reading about on this web site the correct kind of dye to color all of my garments? 

If all of your faded work clothes are made of easily-dyeable fibers, then yes, fiber reactive dye is the answer to your problem. That's the key. What fibers are they made of? Fiber reactive dyes are your best choice for most natural fibers, including cotton, linen, rayon, hemp, Tencel, and bamboo. 

However, if your clothing  is made of polyester, you must use disperse dyes, as no other class of dye will work on polyester; these are much more of a pain to use than fiber reactive dyes, because disperse dyes must be boiled at length with the fabric, with constant stirring, in order to attach to it. This requires an investment in a huge enamel or stainless steel cooking pot, because temperatures below boiling will not work.

If your clothing is made of acetate or acrylic, disperse dye is again your best choice.

Nylon, silk, or wool should be dyed with acid dyes. If you are not particularly concerned about the dye's resistance to washing, then you can use all-purpose dye, such as Rit, on nylon. 

All-purpose dye is generally disappointing on cotton, because it bleeds in the laundry and fades very quickly. However, if you mail-order a cationic dye fixative, such as Retayne, it will fix all-purpose dye in place on cotton, as well as on nylon; unfortunately, it will not help all-purpose dye stick to polyester.

One last detail: clothing that has been treated with a stain-resistant or water-repellent finish cannot be dyed successfully, even if it was originally made of a dyeable fiber.

Regardless of which type of dye you use, the general rule for black is to use much more dye, two to four times as much as you would use for another color. Weigh your clothes (one at a time on a kitchen scale, or step on a bathroom scale with and without them). Use one-tenth the weight of the fabric in dry dye powder (this rule does not work for prepackaged dyes such as Rit or Tintex, because they contain salt and other chemicals); for example, for a one pound pair of jeans, which weighs 454 grams, use 30 to 45 grams of black dye powder, but if you are using Rit, Tintex, or Dylon dye, use four packets of dye per pound of clothing.

Closely follow the recipe for the dye you choose. Fiber reactive dye, including Dylon Permanent Dye, Dylon Machine Dye, Tulip One Step Fashion Dye, and Procion MX Dye, will be very permanent on cotton and other natural fibers, as well as on rayon, if you follow the package instruction closely. For all-purpose dye such as Tintex Easy Fabric Dye or Rit All Purpose Tint and Dye, it's best to cook the clothes in the dye in a pot on the stove at a simmer for an hour, then wash as directed and finally apply Retayne or Rit Dye Fixative.

The most economical source of fiber reactive dye is to mail-order Procion MX dye in jars of eight ounces or larger from PRO Chemical & Dye in Massachusetts, Dharma Trading Company or Jacquard Products in California, or Grateful Dyes in Colorado. Dyers in other countries often find US prices are cheaper than local prices even after paying for overseas shipping, but only if a very slow, cheap form of shipping is used; order by telephone (while looking at the web site) in order to request this. To compare the price per use of Procion MX dye to Rit and other dyes, see "comparison of dye costs". Rit dye powder costs a surprisingly large amount, $2.29, to dye the same amount of fabric as 40¢ worth of Jacquard Procion MX dye, if you buy the latter in an eight-ounce jar.

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