Name: Nadine

Region: Liverpool, UK

Message: I did search but couldn't find an answer on the site. I have a pure cotton hooded cape, which is black. Is it possible to dye this red? Perhaps by bleaching it first? I don't want it to be a light shade of red, so I wouldn't mind if I can only make it a darker shade, so long as it's recognisably red. Is this possible, and if so, what would I need to do? Thanks very much.

This might be possible. It depends on exactly which dye was used to dye the 100% cotton fabric in your cape. It's impossible to know what that was, so you just have to try and see what happens. The worst that will happen is either no change or a dark brown color. I think you probably do want to take this risk.

There are many different chemicals that can be used to remove dye, but they all fit into one of two classes, oxidative discharges or reductive discharges. Oxidative discharges include ordinary household bleach, which contains hypochlorite. Since your cape is 100% cotton, with no synthetic fibers, this is a possible option for you. (Never bleach synthetic fibers.) However, I think that it's better to try reductive discharges. The stitching used to hold the panels of fabric together in your cape is undoubtedly made of polyester, which may be damaged by bleach (bleach turns white polyester an ugly and permanent dull yellow) and will likely leave the stitching its original black. There's a better change that a reductive type discharge chemical will decolor the stitching along with the fabric, though there can be no guarantee.

For more information bout the chemicals used to remove dye, see my page, "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?", and scroll down to the section on reducing discharges.

The next question: which of these chemicals can you find most easily in the UK? You can look for  Rit Color Remover, Tintex Color Remover, Dylon Run away for Whites, or Carbona Color Run Remover, as the latter three all contain the same chemicals as Rit Color Remover, though possibly in different concentrations. Failing that, check with your favorite dye suppliers, or go to the website for Fibrecrafts.com, which sells thiourea dioxide in the UK, under the brand name of Spectralite, as well as another dicharge chemical called Formosul. Also buy soda ash (sodium carbonate), to use with the thiourea dioxide. Both thiourea dioxide and Formosul work best on the stovetop, but don't use them in an aluminum pot, because soda ash reacts with aluminum. Stainless steel or unchipped enameled cooking pots are the best for this purpose. The pot should be large enough for the cape to move around in freely; a sufficiently large pot for a sizable cape may be expensive. Rit Color Remover and similar products can be used on the stovetop or in a washing machine; the washing machine does not work quite as well, due to its lower temperatures, unless you can set the temperature of the water to very hot, but it's so much easier than the stovetop method that it's worth trying in the washing machine first, using the hottest water available.

Detailed instructions for using these products may be supplied by the manufacturer; in the case of Rit Color Remover and other products that come in small boxes, buy several boxes, in order to have enough of the chemical, and look on the inside of one of the boxes for instructions. You can't read the instructions without destroying the box, but the stovetop instructions are quoted  in a dye forum post, "how to use sodium hydrosulfite to discharge dye". You can also look at the website of PRO Chemical & Dye, an excellent dye supplier in the US, for their detailed recipes for how to use the bulk products Formosul or Thiourea dioxide (also known as thiox). See ProChem's instructions for removing color with thiourea dioxide [PDF] and their instruictions for removing color with formosul [PDF]. Another excellent dye retailer in the US, Dharma Trading Company, sells thiourea dioxide under the name Dharma's Dyehouse Color Remover; they say it by can be used by simmering it on the stovetop or by using very hot tap water in a bucket or washing machine, but give only instructions for the stovetop method, as well as direct application which is not appropriate for this project.

If you are lucky, you will lighten the color of the fabric enough to dye your cape red. It will probably not discharge all the way to white, but a brown or beige color is likely. The hotter your water, the more likely that the dye chemical will work, but some dyes will not lose their color no matter what you do to them, so you must regard this project as an experiment. The color you produce is unpredictable.

If enough of the black dye is removed, you can then dye the cape red. Red is possible to achieve on top of beige or yellow or orange or light brown, but impossible over any bright or dark blue, green, or purple. I recommend fiber reactive dyes, such as the Procion MX dye sold by Fibrecrafts, or the Dylon Machine Dye or Dylon Hand Dye which I understand to be widely available in your area. For the Dylon Dye, follow the instructions on the package; you may need several packets, since each one dyes only 1/4 to 1/2 pound of fabric. (Weigh your cape while it is dry.) For the Procion dyes, come back for more advice; there is plenty of information on my website about Procion dyes, and, if you don't find the answer you need, you can always try asking.

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