Dyeing a sweater made of nylon, mohair, and acrylic

Name: Nisha

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Dye polyester and poly/cotton blends

Country or region: London, UK

Message: Help! I have a nylon, mohair, acrylic top that is a bit of an icky pink, and I wanted to dye it a deeper pink/purple colour. What is the best dye to use?

You can't dye all of those materials at once, so it matters what percentage of the total is each fiber. You can either dye in two stages, or you can dye one set of fibers and leave the other undyed, or lightly stained. The result of dyeing only one set of fibers is often a rather attractive heathered look.

Both nylon and mohair can be dyed like wool. Although nylon is a synthetic fiber, unlike other synthetic fibers it has a chemical resemblance to wool, so it can be dyed with the same type of dye, known as acid dye. Acid dyes are readily available. You can find acid dyes in the mixture called all-purpose dye, which includes Rit all-purpose dye and Dylon Multi-Purpose dye (but not any other type of Dylon dye). Better acid dyes are available from dye specialists, usually by mail-order. Good sources for acid dyes in England include Fibrecrafts and Kemtex Educational Supplies; for more information on these and other good dye sellers, see the Europe section of my page, Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World. You will also need to buy whatever auxiliary chemicals your dyeseller recommends for the dye you purchase, usually a mild acid, such as vinegar. You dye supplier can give you a suitable recipe. Using acid dyes generally involves simmering the dye and the fabric together on the stovetop in a very large non-reactive cooking pot, one which you do not plan to reuse for food afterwards. You must wash the garment very well before dyeing it, to remove any invisible stains that will make the dye blotchy.

My recommendation would be to skip dyeing the acrylic fibers altogether. Acrylic is a difficult-to-dye synthetic fiber. It can be dyed by simmering it with a special type of dye called disperse dye, the same type of dye that is used for polyester. You can buy this type of dye labeled as "transfer dye" or as "iDye Poly" (NOT plain iDye); Fibrecrafts is one of several good sources in the UK. It's easier than dyeing polyester with the same dye, because it does not require a full boil, and it does not require a horribly smelly carrier chemical, as polyester does, but you can't get a dark color. The darkest color you can get by dyeing acrylic with disperse dye is a medium shade. Alternatively, acrylic can be dyed with a different type of dye called "basic dye", which is hard to find, is in some cases toxic or cancer-causing, and will stain everything that it touches. I always advise my readers to avoid using basic dyes on acrylic; disperse dye is not only easier to find and use, but also safer.

The color change from pink to either deeper pink or purple will be easy to manage. The original color always shows through any dye that you add, but, since purple is a mixture of pink and blue, it's very easy to go from pink to purple.

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Posted: Sunday - October 24, 2010 at 09:08 AM

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Dyeing a sweater made of nylon, mohair, and acrylic

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