Message: I have a white Poly/Spandex dress I would like to change the color to a pale yellow. How would I do that and what do I need to purchase. I need the dress for a wedding by June 1 a quick reply would be appreciated. Can you get me the products if I order as soon as you answer my question? I will check my email several times a day and order as soon as you answer. Thank you sooo much.

I'm afraid you have a problem here. It is impossible to dye a polyester/spandex blend fabric. The threads in polyester/spandex fabrics are aways dyed before they are ever woven or knit together. 

The requirement for dyeing polyester is heat, and lots of it—not just a little hot water, but extensive boiling in a special polyester dye (called disperse dye). It takes at least half an hour of boiling for the color to get into the polyester. You cannot dye polyester at room temperature or in a washing machine.

In contrast, the requirement for treating spandex is coolness. Spandex is heat-sensitive and will tend to lose its shape, or show excessive wear, if subjected to high heat. Check the care label on your dress. If it says wash in warm water, that means water that is 105°F or less (41°C or less). That's so far below the boiling temperature that polyester needs that there is no reconciling the two. When dyeing 100% spandex, the top limit for the temperature should be 140°F (60°C); this is for yarns that have not yet been woven into fabric, or for unsewn fabrics whose shape and size are not yet important.

The only way you can color this dress is to use a fabric paint, such as Dharma's Pigment Dyes (which are really fabric paints, not dyes) or Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow Fabric Colors . Dharma's stuff is less expensive because it is concentrated and can be diluted with much more water. However, you will not be able to get a solid color if you use fabric paints. There will be some blotchiness. You can make this a good thing, if you enjoy the subtle variations in color; they can be more beautiful than a single smooth solid color. Do not try this if you need a perfectly even solid color, however, because it simply cannot be done. 

How to do it: prewash the dress in the hottest water considered acceptable by the label's instructions. Dilute the Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow fabric paint with up to 25% as much water (one-quarter as much water as paint), or the Dharma Pigment Dye with up to 400% as much water (four times as much water as pigment dye). You will probably need at least a quart of diluted fabric paint. place it in a small bucket and immerse the dress in the color. Pick the dress up, squeeze it out, and place it into the color in a different configuration, squeezing the fabric paint through the fabric until it is soaked. Then, lay the dress out flat on the lawn, or hang it from a line, and allow it to dry. You will see that the color is not smooth and even.

Do not wash the fabric until it has had a chance to thoroughly dry. The Dye-Na-Flow fabric paint must be set with a hot iron, which always worries me about whether it will damage the spandex, but generally it seems to work out okay; alternatively, you can order Jacquard Products additive, AirFix, from Jerry's Artarama (one of the few mail-order sources for AirFix), and add it to the paint just before use. It's an acrylic catalyst that substitutes for heat-setting. Try to wait at least a week before washing the dress.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)