Name: anna flannery
Message: I urgently need to have 2 large curtains (blockout) dyed a darker colour. They are washable. Do you have a list of dyers that can do this job in Australia? I live in Canberra.

Sorry, I don't know any commercial dyers in Australia, though Australian custom dyers are welcome to submit their names and contact info for inclusion on my Custom Dyers' Listing.

While searching for someone to dye your curtains, you will need to specify what the fiber content is. Many dyers are happy to dye natural fibers, or nylon, but almost nobody anywhere wants to dye polyester a solid color, because it requires boiling the items for an hour with a special polyester dye, often with a noxious carrier chemical. Natural fibers, and nylon, are so much easier to dye!

If your curtains are made of a natural fiber, you should not find it too difficult to dye them yourself in the washing machine. For cotton, linen, rayon, and other cellulose fibers, use fiber reactive dye; for wool and other animal fibers, as well as nylon, use acid dye. Both can be done in the washing machine. To find where to buy dyes in Australia, see my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

[link updated November 29, 2007]