I need to dye some bath towels. What will I need, and how do I start?

Name: Felicita

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Message: I need to dye some bath towels. What will I need, and how do I start? Help!

Start with towels that are made of 100% cotton, or another dyeable fiber such as hemp, modal, or rayon ("bamboo" towels are made of rayon).

Do not use all-purpose dye, such as Rit. It is not wash-resistant enough to last long in towels or anything else that will be washed frequently, and it bleeds badly in the laundry.

Instead, use a cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. It's most economical when purchased by mail-order from a dye supplier such as PRO Chemical & Dye, in Massachusetts, or Dharma Trading Company, in California. See "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World".

You can also find similar high-quality fiber reactive dyes in some local crafts stores, but they are more expensive. For dyeing smaller items of clothing, such as a single t-shirt, or just one towel, consider Dylon Permanent Fabric Dye, or Tulip Permanent Dye, which are available in some crafts stores or sewing stores. They are too expensive, per pound of fabric to be dyed, to be very practical if you are dyeing several large heavy items like towels. Each two-pound towel will require four packets of this sort of dye from the crafts store.

Weigh your towels, while they are still dry. For a pale pastel, you will need only about 3 grams of Procion MX dye powder per pound of fabric to be dyed, but for a dark black, you would need as much as 30 grams of dye powder per pound. See "How much Procion MX dye should I use?".

After you have purchased your Procion dye, plus soda ash and a large quantity of non-iodized salt, follow the instructions in one of the links on the page "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". Most top-loading washing machines will allow you to dye up to 8 pounds of fabric at a time. Depending on how many towels you have to dye, you might need to do them in two separate loads. After dyeing, rinse the towels once in cold water, then wash at least twice in the hottest water available, to remove all unattached excess dye. Finally, dry as usual. Once all of the excess dye has been removed, fiber reactive dye is permanent and will not run onto other clothing, even if washed in hot water with whites. You should not use bleach when washing the towels, but ordinary laundry detergent is fine.

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Posted: Tuesday - March 22, 2011 at 11:43 AM

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I need to dye some bath towels. What will I need, and how do I start?

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