I have this white dress that is made of matte jersey knit fabric. I wondered what dye could be used to get this dress black.

Name: Joy

Message: I have this white dress that is made of matte jersey knit fabric. The website says, "The fabric is a unique matte knit that will not pill, resists wrinkles, and has beautiful drape and stretch." I didn't see anything that mentioned jersey knit fabrics in the FAQ and wondered if you could throw any advice my way. I wondered what dye could be used to get this dress black. Not gray or off-black, but a really nice true black.

What is the fiber content of your matte jersey knit fabric? Is it made from cotton, or polyester, or another fiber? This is the most important question when you want to dye something. Different fibers require entirely different types of dye, which means entirely different dyeing methods as well.

The form of the knit does not matter at all, in making a fabric dyeable or not dyeable. It doesn't matter whether it is jersey knit or knit another way or woven.

"Matte" refers to a lack of shininess, which could be due to the way the knit was made, or could have been added afterwards by coating the fabric with some sort of treatment. If the lack of sheen is due to a coating, then that coating may prevent dyeing from working well. It might cause the dye to take only lightly, or in a splotchy manner.

Resistance to pilling is also often produced by coating the knit fabric with some sort of resin. I have been able to dye a dress that had such a coating, but the color was much paler than it should have been. Fortunately this time the color was smooth and even; often this sort of product will cause patchy uneven color, which is a much bigger problem.

Chances are that your dress cannot be dyed to a true black, but only to a gray color. If the dress is dyeable, it is very likely that the stitching at the seams will stay white.

See if you can find out the fiber content of the dress. The dress will be much easier to dye if it is rayon or cotton or bamboo than if it is polyester or acetate.

—Paula

A big thank you to Joy for reporting the problem with the contact form on the All About Hand Dyeing website!

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