How can I use Dye-Na-Flow to dye a dress black?

Name: Nenagh

Country or region: Australia

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Message: Hi! I've found your site very helpful so far, but I have one question I really need answered. I have a dress that has the inside slip made from 98% polyester and 2% spandex. I really want to dye this dress black. I know I can't dye a poly/spandex blend fabric, but I read on your website that I could maybe use Dye-Na-Flow instead. How would I do this? Please help!

Whether you can use fabric paint in place of dyes depends on the effect that you want. Using fabric paints can produce good results when what you want is a multi-colored watercolor effect. If what you want is a perfectly smooth solid color, fabric paint is not for you. (See my page, "Fabric Paints: a different way to color fibers".)

Dye-Na-Flow is a fabric paint that is designed to be very thin, so it flows like a dye. Unlike true dyes, fabric paints contain tiny insoluble particles of pigment, which are mixed with a binder that acts to glue the pigment particles to the outside of the fibers in the fabric. This means that the color does not really penetrate inside the fiber, as textile dyes do; as a result, the color wears off the outside of the fiber relatively quickly. Pigment dyeing is a common treatment for clothing in order to make it look pre-worn. It can be a nice effect, but I am not sure that it is the effect you will want for your dress.

The problem with using a fabric paint to color your dress is that the color tends to take unevenly. Professional pigment dyeing requires agitation in a large machine that is like an automatic washing machine, in order to apply the pigments uniformly to the entire garment. I doubt that you will want to use your washing machine for pigment dyeing, as, unlike true dyes, pigment dyes are very likely to permanently stain your washing machine, though it can still be used for washing clothes; it will stain your clothes dryer, too. For information on the washing machine method of pigment dyeing, see PRO Chemical & Dye's instructions for pigment dyeing, "Pigment Dyeing using PROfab Color Concentrates". [PDF]

Even if you manage to apply your fabric paint with perfect evenness, you will find that, as the pigments dry on the shirt, the color tends to move. This means that areas of fabric that dry first end up lighter in color, while areas that dry later end up darker in color. This effect can be wonderful when it's part of the design, as in sunprinting (see my page on "How to Dye and Paint Fabric with Light".) However, it will never work to produce a completely solid black color, or any other truly solid color.

If you decide that you want to try pigment dyeing your dress, in spite of the unevenness of the color that will result, the technique is to take a plastic bucket or dishpan that you won't mind permanently staining. Dilute your fabric paint with the amount of water recommended by the manufacturer. You can add up to 25% water to Dye-Na-Flow paint; that is, if you have a one-quart bottle of Dye-Na-Flow, you can add up to one cup of water. (That works out to adding 236 milliliters of water to each 946-ml bottle of fabric paint.) If, instead, you choose to mail-order Dharma Pigment Dyes for this purpose, you can dilute them with considerably more water, because they are more concentrated; dilute Dharma Pigment Dye with between two and four times as much water. Since you want to color your dress black, you would probably want to use the smaller amount of water, for a darker color. If you buy a one-pint bottle of Dharma Pigment Dye, then, you can add two pints of water to it. Mix the fabric paint carefully with the water, so that it is thoroughly blended, but without stirring in a lot of bubbles.

(Note that, before coloring any clothing, whether you are using fabric paints or true dyes, you should be sure to wash it first, in the hottest water recommended on the care instruction label, in order to try to remove any invisible stains that might repel dye or paint.)

Using a large enough amount of diluted fabric paint to immerse your garment, dip the garment into the paint and stir it around. Using waterproof gloves that cover part of your arms as well as your hands (dishwashing gloves are better than disposable latex gloves, for this purpose), pull the garment out of the fabric paint, make sure that it is evenly colored, then replace it in the fabric paint in another orientation. Repeat this process until you are sure that the fabric is throughly and evenly soaked. Squeeze out excess liquid and smooth the fabric out, noting that the pigments will tend to settle into any creases, leaving darker lines. For drying, it would probably be best to hang the dress on a plastic hanger, since the fabric paint will tend to collect on any surface the dress is touching, as it dries. Drying the dress on a hanger will not produce perfect results, but it's better than drying flat, in my experience.

Since you are in Australia, you will want to look into local mail-order alternatives to the US retailers I have mentioned. Batik Oetoro, in Gateshead NSW, sells pigment concentrates that are similar to those sold by PRO Chemical & Dye, to be used in a washing machine and heated tumble clothes dryer. The Thread Studio, in Perth, sells paints and dyes made by Jacquard Products, including Dye-Na-Flow; call them to ask whether they carry larger sizes than the small jars mentioned on their web page. I don't know what shipping costs are like between New Zealand and Australia, but it seems likely to be less than shipping between the US and Australia; 2Dye4 in New Zealand sells Dye-Na-Flow in larger bottles, up to one gallon.

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Posted: Monday - August 02, 2010 at 04:03 PM

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How can I use Dye-Na-Flow to dye a dress black?

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