Name: Sheila

Message: I have been reading your web site, which is very helpful and informative, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I have never dyed anything before and I am not trying to pick up a new hobby (It looks fun, but I already have too many of those). I just want to dye my boring white curtains in my bedroom. They are a cotton/Polyester blend. I would like to dye them bluish turquoise. I don't have a washing machine, so I imagine I will do it in a plastic container. I was reading the instructions for acid dye which seems like the way to go, but then I saw all the different steps and products you have to buy and it just looked too complicated (I am overworked and tired). I need advice on the easiest possible way to dye my curtains. If I could afford new ones, I would just replace them. Is their a simple one step product I could use?

The main thing to know about dyeing your cotton/poly curtains is that the polyester will not take up the dye, unless you mail-order a special kind of dye called disperse dye, which works on polyester but not cotton. I do not recommend that you bother to try the disperse dye. It is much easier to dye only the cotton fiber in your curtains; dyes that work on cotton will just wash out of polyester. Of course, dyeing only part of the fiber content will produce a paler color; the colors produced by a cotton dye on a blend that is 50% cotton/50% polyester will be half as intense as those on a 100% cotton fabric.

Do NOT use acid dye! Acid dye does not work on cotton at all. It does not work on polyester either. Acid dye works only on animal fibers such as silk and wool, plus nylon, but no plant fibers such as cotton and no other synthetic fibers such as polyester. Acid dye will just wash out of these fibers. Acid dye also requires heat setting. Acid dye cannot be used at room temperature in a plastic container, even if you are dying nylon or wool.

You can dye the cotton in your curtains with either fiber reactive dye, or with the direct dye in all-purpose dye. I do not recommend that latter because it fades badly every time you wash it, but if you wash the curtains rarely and only wash them in cold water, separately from anything else, that's not too bad. Fiber reactive dyes are the best choice for your curtains. Also, fiber reactive can be used at room temperature in a plastic bucket. Almost all other dyes must be cooked into the fiber in hot water. Fiber reactive dye is the easiest.

I recommend Procion MX dye. You can buy this dye in any color you wish by mail-order from a company such as Dharma Trading Company or PRO Chemical & Dye. You can buy a tie-dye kit from your local crafts store and follow the instructions, or you can buy just one color of dye. The local crafts store might carry Jacquard Procion dyes, but they probably will not. Buy those if you can. If not, look to see if they have Tulip One Step Fashion Dye, Dylon Cold Dye, or Dylon Permanent Dye. These are all fiber reactive dyes. If you are in Europe or Australia, look for Dylon Machine Dye, which can also be used in a large bucket with lots of stirring.

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask, or to post about them in the Dye Forum.

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