Is there a dye and method you can suggest for covering a stain on a wool coat that cannot be washed?

Name: Ann-Marie

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Country or region: Ireland

Message: I have a coat labelled 'do not wash' which I have been having dry cleaned. I wish to dye it from cream to a darker colour such as brown or black. The fabric is 60%wool 30%polyester and 10%viscose. Is there a dye and method you can suggest which will allow me to dye my coat and not destroy it. I am having to dye it as there is a dark coloured stain which can not be removed even via dry cleaning. Any advice will be appreciated.

If the coat is unwearable, then go ahead and wash it. You have nothing to lose, if the coat cannot be worn with the stain. If the coat survives washing, then you can consider dyeing it. There's little point in even discussing what kind of dye to use until after you get to that point.

The thing is, you cannot dye anything without washing it. First, you have to wash any garment thoroughly before dyeing, in order to prevent stains and finishes from keeping the dye from attaching to the fiber. Secondly, you have to apply the dye in water, usually very hot water, a step that is very much like washing. And finally, you must always wash out the excess unattached dye after dyeing, as otherwise the color will rub off onto whatever touches the coat, whenever you wear it, ruining furniture and other clothing.

Washing is more destructive, for some delicate garments, than dry cleaning is, but it is also much more effective at cleaning (in addition to being far less toxic, and better for the environment). If you wash the coat, and if it survives without severe shrinkage or other damage, then you may find that the stain is gone.

However, if the stain persists even after washing, then dyeing will still not be a very good answer. All dye is transparent, which means that the stained area will inevitably end up a darker color than the surrounding dyed fabric. Sometimes dyeing a very dark color, such as black or dark deep navy blue, will cover up a stain, but it requires a lot of dye, and a very dark color. More commonly, the stain persists even after dyeing, though it may be less obvious.

If you do dye anything that consists of a wool and polyester blend, you will be unable to dye the polyester in the blend. Polyester can be dyed only with extended exposure to high heat, high enough to damage the wool. A wool dye will be able to color only 60% of the fiber in your coat's fiber blend, resulting in a color that is only slightly more than half strength.

Depending on the size and position of the stain, you might be able to sew on some sort of decoration that will cover the stain. Otherwise, your best solution to this problem will probably be to either replace the coat with a new one, or to look in secondhand stores to try to find a similar coat.

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Is there a dye and method you can suggest for covering a stain on a wool coat that cannot be washed?

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