Name: ademola gibson
Message: Hello,
This Ademola Gibson ,I will like to place an order from your store to my store in Nigeria and i will like you to give me the cost of the order listed below and i will like to know if you can accept credit card as method of payment.Looking forward to hear from you with cost of the order including the USPS GLOBAL EXPRESS 3-5 DAYS DELIVERY for the shipment.

Interesting how I keep getting these requests to sell unspecified dyes or dyed items by credit card, when in fact I rarely sell anything and can't accept credit cards. This is just as well for me, in this case, since I have been assured that the request is no more than a scam. Small business owners have been left having to repay large sums to credit card companies after it is determined that the numbers were stolen.

Name: Terri
Message: Paula, I have a sofa and loveseat slipcovers that I want to dye. They are 100% cotton twill cranberry red. I want to dye them eggplant purple or sage green. Are they too big and bulkey to do in the washer and what type of dye should I use? PLEASE HELP!!

Are they too big? I don't know without looking at them. If you put one or more pieces in your washing machine, can they move freely? If not, it might be possible to dye them in a large plastic garbage can, with constant stirring, but that could be quite physically demanding! Constant agitation is required to obtain a single solid color. Without the stirring, you can get a more interesting multi-colored effect, called Low Water Immersion Dyeing. This is a much easier dyeing technique, but would result in some areas of the slipcovers staying red, and others turning purple, if you use blue dye.

If they are washable and made of cotton, they can be dyed, but you must be careful to avoid any conditions (hot water, machine drying) that might shrink them. Even a little shrinkage might make them impossible to put back on the furniture.

You should always wash anything you are going to dye, before dyeing it. Any spots will remain visible after dyeing, unless they are very minor or the dye job is very dark. Polyester stitching will remain the original color after you dye the cotton, and it is highly impractical to attempt to dye it.

About the color change: you cannot dye something that is cranberry red in order to make it sage green! Dye is transparent, so any dye you apply will merely add to what is there already. Sage green is a rather pale color, while cranberry red is intense, and red and green are opposite colors on the color wheel. There is no color that you can add to cranberry red that could ever make it green. You might be able to add blue to cranberry red in order to get some shades of purple, however. Perhaps you should buy a box of watercolor paint and do some experimenting with color mixing on paper.

It is essential, if you do dye these slipcovers, to use a cool water dye, with water that is below 100 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature. All-purpose dye does not work unless you use very hot water, ideally 190 degrees Fahrenheit or above, a temperature which will shrink your slipcovers so that there is no hope of ever getting them onto your furniture again. You must use a fiber reactive dye such as Procion MX or Cibacron F dye. To find companies from which you can order these types of dyes, see my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies" page, which lists different dye supply companies, located around the world. Note that even "cool water" dyes need warm water, certainly over 70 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably 80 to 95 degrees F.

Alternatively, you could apply fabric paint, which does not require repeated rinsing, as dyes do. See "Can furniture be dyed successfully?" and Scarlet Zebra's instructions for painting upholstered furniture.

I stumbled across your website and I was hoping you could help out with some questions that I have. I recently bought and subsequently ruined a pair of very light pink velvet pants.  I've had them dry cleaned to no avail and I was wondering about the viability of dyeing them black.  They are made of 98% cotton and 2% spandex. Do you have any tips on what type of dye to use on velvet and if you think this would even work? 

Since they are cotton, they can be dyed, if you can wash them. Many dry-clean-only garments actually can be washed by hand, or in a lingerie bag on a delicate cycle in a washing machine, in cold water. If washing destroys them, they cannot be dyed. You'd better stick to lukewarm water (under 100 degrees Fahrenheit) for dyeing, to avoid shrinkage and undue wear.

Do not bleach the pants, because bleach is bad for spandex.

You should use a cool water fiber reactive dye. Do not use all-purpose dye, because it must be heated in order to attach well to the fiber. A very good type of cool water fiber reactive dye to use is Procion MX dye. One good choice would be to mail-order "PRO MX Cotton Black #602A" from ProChem. For black, use two to four times as much dye as the recipe requires. You will also need ordinary noniodized salt, and soda ash (sodium carbonate, also called 'dye activator'). Follow the instructions for "Immersion Dyeing using PRO MX Reactive Dyes", except for avoiding the use of hot water for washing if it might be bad for the garment.

Name: louise
Message: i have a lemon chair and sofa, loose coveres i wont to change the colour to beige or a light coffee colour will any of these colours take on the lemon.

There is absolutely no way to predict this without knowing the exact fiber content of your furniture covers. It all depends on what they are made of. Polyester cannot be dyed without boiling it for an hour with special polyester dye and a noxious carrier chemical. However, unless it has been treated with a stain-resistant finish, cotton can be dyed easily, using a fiber reactive dye such as Procion MX dye, if the covers can be removed from the furniture, as long as you take great care not to shrink the fabric in the dyeing process.

You cannot dye upholstered furniture if the covers cannot be removed, because a great deal of rinsing is required after dyeing. Fabric painting can be used instead, in that situation, though reupholstering is often a better idea; see "Can furniture be dyed successfully? ", and Scarlet Zebra's detailed information on painting upholstered furniture.

Since dye is transparent, each color you apply only adds to what is there already. The result cannot be lighter than the original color. If your chairs are a bright lemon color, a pale beige will be impossible, so you will have to choose a darker brown. If they are a pale lemon, beige may be possible.

Good dyes must usually be mail-ordered; there are several sources in the UK for Procion MX dye, or other cool water fiber reactive dye. See the "Europe" section on my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies" page. Although it tends to cost quite a bit more per pound of fabric dyed, Dylon Cold Water dye and Dylon Washing Machine dye are also very good fiber reactive dyes. Do NOT use all-purpose dye, such as Rit dye or Dylon Multi-purpose dye, as these require considerable heat to properly affix to the fiber; heat will cause shrinkage, which is deadly for slipcovers.

Name: Mahler B
Message: Hi, I have a few headphones ear cushions made out of 'foam' that I want to dye black. What dyeing agents and methods should be used so that they won't 'bleed' once the color has set. Currently, I have hair dyes and Dylon permanent fabric dye. Will any of these work? Thanks a lot and happy new year!

Here is the link to the ear cushions (foam) that I am trying to dye the color black.

I do not know whether or not this a practical project to do at home. Your foam cushions are probably made of polyurethane, which may or may not be dyeable. I believe that dyes are normally added to the liquid from which the foam is produced. However, the foams can apparently be dyed after manufacture, because the company S & S Plastics <http://www.ssplastics.com/CustomFoamTreatments.html> advertises a service of dyeing foam. I don't know what sort of dye they use. Since I have not experimented with polyurethane foam myself, I cannot tell you what to do, but perhaps some of the information I can share will help you. I would very much like to know the results of any experimenting you do with this.

Polyurethane has the following chemical structure:
-CO-NH-CH2-CH2-NH-CO-O-CH2-CH2-O-
This is somewhat similar to the structure of Nylon, in that both contain an amide group:
Nylon (polyamide) -CH2-CH2-CO-NH-(CH2)6-NH-CO-CH2-CH2-
So, dyes that work on nylon might work on polyurethane.

The main dye classes to consider using are acid dye, fiber reactive dye, and disperse dye. Hair dye does not fit neatly into these classes, as there are different types, but it can be considered as acting much like acid dye.

Acid dye includes a wide range of dyes used on animal fibers such as wool, and also nylon, but, as a general rule, no other synthetic. Some are rather toxic, while others are so non-toxic that they are added to foods in large quantities. This might be worth a try. Does your foam show any signs of damage if you boil it in water? Acid dye requires warmth to attach to fiber. You can mail-order acid dye, or use unsweetened Koolaid, or even use all-purpose dye, which is readily available in stores. (All-purpose dye tends to give disappointing results on cotton, but works okay on wool and nylon.) Heat and a mild acid such as white vinegar are required.

Your hair dye could also be used to dye animal fibers such as wool, and also nylon, as nylon and wool have the same sort of dye sites as hair does. It also might be worth a try.

The fiber reactive dye class includes your Dylon Permanent Fabric Dye. It works very well on cellulose fibers such as cotton and rayon, and also works on silk, but is normally not used on other animal fibers or nylon, and does nothing at all to other synthetics. Fiber reactive dye can generally also be used as an acid dye, too, if it is used with an acid rather than the soda ash dye fixative normally used with this class of dye. It seems to me that this is the least likely type of dye to work for your project, however.

Disperse dye works on a number of different synthetic fibers, including polyester, nylon, acrylic, and acetate. If acid dye does not work, this would be the next type of dye to try. It seems to me to be the mostly likely prospect, but not as pleasant to use. You can mail-order it from PRO Chemical & Dye, which is an excellent source for all sorts of dye, or from Aljo Dye, which also carries a wide range of dyes.

Name: Joe
Message: I have a London Fog jacket that I want to dye black, but I do not know what it is made out of. The jacket says it is dry clean only and I know you said they cannot be dyed. However, I will not wear the jacket if it stays its current color, so is there a way to just try to dye it or would it destroy the jacket?

If you would just throw the jacket away otherwise, you may as well try it!

Sometimes dry-clean-only clothing turns out to actually be washable. The main problem there is if the jacket is lined. Usually, the lining will shrink either more or less than the outside, ruining the way it looks. Unlined clothing can often be washed, either by hand or on a delicate cycle in a washing machine, using only cool water in either case. So, your first step is to wash the jacket, and see if it is still wearable afterwards. If gentle washing shreds or shrinks the jacket, just throw it away.

If the jacket has a rain-repellant finish, it will also resist water and dye. No hope of dyeing it well, in that case.

If you don't know what fiber your jacket is made of, it's really just guesswork as to what sort of dye to use. Is there no fiber content label on the jacket? Dye that works on polyester will not work on cotton or nylon, while dye that works on cotton or nylon completely fails on polyester, so how can you possibly know what dye to use? So-called "all-purpose" dye, which works reasonably well on wool and nylon, and somewhat poorly on cotton, requires hot water to attach to fiber. Heat is a bad idea in cases in which shrinkage may be an issue, so all-purpose dye is likely to be a poor choice. Fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX, works extremely well in lukewarm water on cotton, but, in the recipe that works for cotton, has practically no effect on wool or nylon. What fiber do you think that your jacket might be made of?

One way to try to guess the fiber content of an unknown fabric is the burn test: see Fabric.net's instructions.

Name: Mary
Message: Dear Dr. Burch: I have a "high-efficiency" washer (specifically a Kenmore Calypso) which uses substantially less water per load than traditional washers. The tub doesn't fill up; instead, the wash water/detergent solution is sprayed on the clothes until they are saturated while the tub rocks back and forth to agitate them. It does a fine job of washing -- but am I right in thinking that I will probably *not* get a uniform color with a bottle of Rit dye in my particular washing machine, and that I would be better off using the stove-top method (or chucking out the Rit and buying some other dye)?

Your washing machine sounds similar to front-loader washing machines - is that what it is? In any case, the fact that some people do succeed with washing machine dyeing while using front-loaders implies that it might be possible for you, since the problems are similar. Dye and auxiliaries can be dissolved in water before adding; the cycle must be reset repeatedly to prevent draining.

However, all-purpose dye performs rather poorly on cotton, when used at ordinary washing machine temperatures. When dyeing cellulose fabric with all-purpose dye, you should, ideally, bring it to a simmer, which is a high temperature just under boiling, 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (87 to 93 degrees Celsius), and keep it there for up to an hour. Nylon and silk can be dyed at 185 degrees F. (85 C.). Most washing machines cannot reach anything near these temperatures. A washing machine without its own heating element is limited to the temperature of water from the water heater, which is generally either 140 degrees F., or, for greater household safety, only 120 degrees F.

I would suggest that you investigate other forms of dye, if you are dyeing a cotton material, such as cellulose, rayon, or linen. Cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX, Cibacron F, or Drimarene K dye, is easier to use, as it works very well at temperatures between 80 and 110 degrees F. (27 to 43 C.). These forms of dye tend to be much more colorfast than the direct dye found in all-purpose dye. The best place to buy fiber reactive dye is usually by mail-order, which is convenient and generally much more economical than locally-purchased all-purpose dye. See the list of different mail-order suppliers on my "Sources of Dye Supplies" page. Another alternative, Drimarene K dye, is sold in Europe as Dylon Washing Machine Dye, including special packaging for use in front-loading machines, but I don't think we can buy it in North America. Dylon Cold Water dye is probably Procion MX and/or Cibacron F dye. Do not use Dylon Multi-purpose dye, as it is just another form of all-purpose dye.

Name: Barbara
Message: After a search, I don't believe this question has been asked. I have a beautiful white wool sweater on which my sister used clorox bleach. Can the original color white be restored? Sincerest thanks for your response in advance.

I'm sorry, but the damage done to wool by chlorine bleach is almost certainly irreparable.

Name: Phyllis
Message: I've been doing a lot of painting on silk with silk dyes. Many of the clothes that are sold as blanks are cotton. I have so much silk dye that I wonder of I can use it to dye the cotton blanks and if so, is there anything I need to know. I'm used to painting it then steaming it. Thanks so much for the info. I've seen most of the silk clothing blank and don't like them much. Besides Dharma and one or two others, I can't really find good silk blanks.

I used to buy white silk clothing from a mail-order clothing catalog, back when the strength of the dollar compared to other currencies made imported silks very inexpensive. Things have certainly changed since then, unfortunately. Perhaps the best option would be to find a local seamstress to sew silk clothing for you.

Which silk dyes are you using? There are many more ways for a dye to attach to silk than for cotton, since the structure of the protein in silk is much more complex than the structure of the cellulose in cotton. Many silk dyes will simply wash out of cotton, even if you steam it. There are some exceptions. Procion H dye, which requires much more heat than Procion MX dye, will work on cotton as well as silk, though it still requires steaming. Remazol fiber reactive dye are sold under several different names, including Createx liquid fiber dyes, Jacquard brand red label silk colors, and Tobasign dyes, and can be set on cotton with steam or a chemical fixative. Other silk dyes may not work at all with cotton, however. It would be best to call the retailer and ask about the possibility for using other silk dyes on cotton, if you purchased from a user-friendly firm such as ProChem. If you tell me which dyes you are using, I might be able to find more information.

Message: Paula, I have a sofa and loveseat slipcovers that I want to dye. They are 100% cotton twill cranberry red. I want to dye them eggplant purple or sage green. Are they too big and bulky to do in the washer and what type of dye should I use? PLEASE HELP!!

Are they too big? I don't know without looking at them. If you put one or more pieces in your washing machine, can they move freely? If not, it might be possible to dye them in a large plastic garbage can, with constant stirring, but that could be quite physically demanding! Constant agitation is required to obtain a single solid color. Without the stirring, you can get a more interesting multi-colored effect, called Low Water Immersion Dyeing. This is a much easier dyeing technique, but would result in some areas of the slipcovers staying red, and others turning purple, if you use blue dye.

If they are washable and made of cotton, they can be dyed, but you must be careful to avoid any conditions (hot water, machine drying) that might shrink them. Even a little shrinkage might make them impossible to put back on the furniture.

You should always wash anything you are going to dye, before dyeing it. Any spots will remain visible after dyeing, unless they are very minor or the dye job is very dark. Polyester stitching will remain the original color after you dye the cotton, and it is highly impractical to attempt to dye it.

About the color change: you cannot dye something that is cranberry red in order to make it sage green! Dye is transparent, so any dye you apply will merely add to what is there already. Sage green is a rather pale color, while cranberry red is intense, and red and green are opposite colors on the color wheel. There is no color that you can add to cranberry red that could ever make it green. You might be able to add blue to cranberry red in order to get some shades of purple, however. Perhaps you should buy a box of watercolor paint and do some experimenting with color mixing on paper.

It is essential, if you do dye these slipcovers, to use a cool water dye, with water that is below 100 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature. All-purpose dye does not work unless you use very hot water, ideally 190 degrees Fahrenheit or above, a temperature which will shrink your slipcovers so that there is no hope of ever getting them onto your furniture again. You must use a fiber reactive dye such as Procion MX or Cibacron F dye. To find companies from which you can order these types of dyes, see my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies" page, which lists different dye supply companies, located around the world. Note that even "cool water" dyes need warm water, certainly over 70 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably 80 to 95 degrees F.

Alternatively, you could use fabric paint, which does not require repeated rinsing, as dyes do. See "Can furniture be dyed successfully?" and Scarlet Zebra's instructions for painting upholstered furniture.

Name: Mark
Message: Hi Paula,
Love your website. I have been experimenting with low immersion dying of rayon/silk velvet. The results have been good, however I notice that i have much more dye to rinse out with deep saturated red and blue than any other colour. Earth tones like olives/rust/brown/gold/grey all rinse out with 2-3 rinses. The red and blues need at least 12 rinses until water is clear. I'm using Procion MX (G&S #502 Slate Blue + #412 Red) with a chemical water made up from urea & some calgon and adding sodium carbonate just before applying the dye (no salt!). I'm letting the finished piece dry and steam setting for 1/2 hr. I let air set for 48hrs and then rinse. Is the excess amount of dye rinsing out a factor of the dye composition or is it something I am doing/not doing? Many thanks,

All MX dyes have a poor rate of exhaustion. There is always a lot of dye to rinse out afterwards, quite unlike the experience of dyeing wool. There will be more dye to rinse out if the dye batch is older, so that an excess must be used to make up for dye that has already reacted with the moisture in the air. It is critical to rinse the dyed items in cool water first (95 degrees F. or less), before washing in hot water to remove the last of the unreacted dye, as an initial rinsing with hot water can cause unattached dye to loosely associate with the fiber, making it far more difficult to rinse out. It is much more efficient, after the initial cool water rinsing, to let the dyed items soak in hot water for a while, rather than just quickly rinsing with it. I assume that you are using Synthrapol or its equivalent to wash out the dye. Ordinary detergent can be used, though it may be less efficient, but the first rinsing must be free of high pH detergents. Synthrapol and its equivalent are of neutral pH and are optional during the initial cool water rinse; they may help to prevent dyes from redepositing on other parts of the fabric.

An interesting fact is that the properties you note for certain colors are not found for all dyes of those colors in a given dye class. For example, red MX-8B (fuchsia) is MUCH faster reacting than red MX-5B (it is faster than all of the other Procion MX dyes, in fact). Choosing a different red and a different blue, unless they are mixtures made with the same individual dyes, will change everything. Some experienced dyers say that they get much richer colors if they dye the same piece of fabric twice, rather than using a lot of dye only once. Thin silk, such as the backing of rayon velvet, tends to have only a limited number of dye sites, however.

G&S Slate Blue is an unmixed dye, Procion blue MX-2G. There are several navies in the Procion MX line of dye, but I don't think G&S carries them. For example, ProChem carries blue MX-4GD as their #414 deep navy. I believe that #412 red is a mixture of other colors, possibly a mixture of either 405 hot pink or 408 fuchsia with an orange.

One way to help the yield from an MX dye is by increasing the reaction temperature. Ideally, this should be between, say, 80 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit (27 and 41 Celsius). Sometimes, in LWI, I will fill my sink with hot water and rest my buckets in it for a few hours. Your steaming should take the place of this step very well, however. It is unnecessary to steam silk or rayon, when dyeing with MX type dye and soda ash, if you allow enough time at a warm, not hot, reaction temperature. Steaming is required with this dye only when acid dyeing silk, using acid instead of soda ash. (Rayon cannot be dyed under acid conditions.) Urea is not necessary or useful in low water immersion dyeing, but salt can actually be quite useful in increasing the crystalline patterning of LWI. Use up to one teaspoon (5 ml) of ordinary non-iodized salt per cup (250 ml) of water. Add it only after dissolving the dye, as salt reduces the solubility of dye. I like to add the soda ash last. This is something you may want to experiment with someday.

Name: bart
Message: Do you have dye(black) that I can dye seat belts with? What is cost? what quantity would I need to dye 5 sets( 10 belts)?

Sorry, I don't sell dye. I do maintain a list of companies that sell dye, however; see "Sources for Dye Supplies".

You could try directing your question to Pro Chemical & Dye's technical services department.

Name: Rebecca
Message: Help! I just found a long-lost favorite navy blue sweatshirt, and on the first time I wore it, splashed Tilex on it. (Yes I AM cursing myself at my carelessness!!!) Though I caught it early (the spots are now red, not bleached out completely) I am afraid to use the technique you reference about all over dying due to the design on the front. The shirt is embroidered with METALLIC thread design. I am wondering if I do an all over dye if the dye will adhere to the metallic thread? Thoughts? Otherwise, I'll try your marker technique, but the shirt is somewhat softly faded, and I am not sure how that will work, either. Please help!

If you use fiber reactive dye, which is the best type of dye to use on cotton, the metallic thread will probably be left completely untouched. Results will probably be good from overdyeing the entire sweatshirt.

However, it would be best to try to cover up the bleached-out spot first with a fabric marker or permanent marker. Otherwise, the bleached spot will show up lighter even after dyeing. If you are very lucky, perhaps you will find the results of the marker satisfactory without dyeing at all. Try going to a crafts store that sells individual fabric markers to see which color would be your best match.

After dyeing, the overall effect will be different, but it may be just as good, or even better.

Good fiber reactive dyes include Procion MX dye from any of the mail-order dye companies listed on "Sources of Dyeing Supplies" at <http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyesources.shtml>. It is important to use only cool-water dye on your shirt. It is possible that the metallic threads are partially made of nylon, which will not be affected by cool water dyes, but which would be dyed by all-purpose dye.

Name: Dean
Message: Hi what an excellent web site. It would be great if you could help me. Im trying to find out how to make a new black t-shirt look really old by fading the colour. I was wondering if there is an easy way to do this so I can do loads of t-shirts at a time. I have tryed putting them in normal household bleach which is watered down but it just makes the black turn brown. Please could you help me. Thanks so much.

The problem with discharging black dye is that it is quite unpredictable what color a given batch of black fabric will produce. Some will discharge to white (and make a nice neutral grey if you stop the process partway through), others will discharge to brown or another color. And then, once you find a source of shirts that discharge exactly the way you like, the manufacturer overseas may, without a word of warning, change the type of dye used, so that all at once you get a very different color than before.

Different discharge agents - most usually chlorine bleach and sodium hydrosulfite (the latter sold as Rit brand Color Remover) - may give different results, but the identity of the original dye, which is impossible to determine, is the most important factor by far. Sometimes Rit brand Color Remover will give better results than chlorine bleach, but often it will not. It is worth a test.

The best thing for you to do would be to try to find a reliable source of dischargeable black t-shirts. Dharma Trading Company sells dischargeable black t-shirts which reliably discharge to white, and should make fine greys for your project. Other black garments sold by Dharma generally discharge only to brown. It all depends on the dye that was used.

Name: Amanda
Message: Hello, I'm sorry to bother you, this is a question from Australia. I bought some lovely old linen the other day which I soaked in nappysan, foolishly I put in something that had a bit of red material sewn on to it, it has caused pink marks on a lot of the linen. I soaked them again overnight and it faded but has not gone, should I soak them in household bleach? I've learnt my lesson. Many thanks in advance

First try washing the linen in hot water, if it can tolerate it. The dye that ran is sticking to the fiber due to its property called substantivity; substantivity is significantly decreased in hot water.

Bleach would probably do the job. In this circumstance I have always used Rit brand Color Remover, which is a brand of sodium hydrosulfite. It is sold alongside Rit brand all-purpose dye in many locations, and is certainly a better product than Rit dye. If this chemical is not easy to find in your local shops, bleach would be worth a try.

Name: Steve
Message: I have been told by someone in the US to source Rite clothing dye. They say that it is commonly found in the supermarket etc. Iasked them in return if they mean Rit dye. to which they said no. it is Rite. Can you tell me if Rit and Rite dye are one and the same or if there are two products readily available in the US of similar name? Please help.


I have heard of most dyes, but I have never heard of a dye being sold under the brand name of Rite. I think someone has made an error. The only references I can find to "Rite" dye online are clearly errors actually referring to Rit® AllPurpose Dye. Another common mangling of the Rit name is "Ritz". There is no Ritz dye, however, only Rit.

Rit® is a brand of all-purpose dye which is very commonly used simply because it is nearly ubiquitous here in the US. Nearly every grocery store or pharmacy carries it. All-purpose dye is a mixture of a type of dye called direct dye, which dyes cotton, though not with any great degree of colorfastness, and acid dye, which works well on wool and on nylon (though not on other synthetics).

Fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, are often much easier to use than all-purpose dye, because they do not require hot water for permanence, and they tend to give much more satisfactory results on cotton. Clothing dyed with ll-purpose dye fades quickly in the laundry, and should be washed only in cold water, by hand, separately from other garments, but clothes dyed with Procion dyes will stay bright for years even when washed in hot water.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)

[Updated July 11, 2008]

Name: Kelly
Message: I can't find this info, on your website. If you can direct me, I would appreciate it. What is the name of the company in Alaska that might be able to dye a polyester dress white for me.

Nobody can dye a colored polyester white, because polyester cannot be bleached. There is, however, a company in Alaska which offers a custom dyeing service and can dye a white polyester dress to any color. The company is called Color Creek: see http://www.color-creek.com.

[Update (November 29, 2007): Color Creek appears to have gone out of business. Now there is no commercial establishment willing to redye polyester clothing. See "Where can I find someone to dye my clothing for me?".]

Message: [Can any] supplier GUARANTEE without a disclaimer that black raw silk (or silk noil) yardage will for sure discharge into beige/brown tones depending on the amount of discharge paste used and how long the iron is put on the fabric and the heat of course.

I have never heard of a company doing this. Overseas suppliers tend to change dye without warning, so that an easily dischargeable product is unexpectedly replaced by one which cannot be discharged satisfactorily. They seem to think that one dye is the same as another, even when the properties vary markedly, just so long as the colors are the same. The only way around this problem is to find someone to dye your goods for you with a certain specific dye or dye mixture, with the promise to always use that same dye, or to do this yourself, in a washing machine.

I have recently worked with Dharma Trading and with Rupert, Gibbon and Spider and they both have a disclaimer on the black raw silk they sell saying that they do not guarantee that the silk will discharge.

Yes, that's the way it always works. I am sure that both companies would love to have a sufficiently reliable supplier that they could guarantee dischargeability! The only things I've seen anywhere guaranteed to discharge are the black t-shirts sold by Dharma.

I am hoping that you can give me a supplier and some info on this issue!

I'm sorry that I cannot help. This is a very frustrating problem.

Your discharged scarves are very nice.

Message: hi. thanks for your site! ... I am wanting to make wall hangings. I want fabric dye/paint that is easy to use (preferably no boiling required)... but i would also like to find the most environmentally sound option! Can you help me with any suggestions?? Ta.

There are just a few environmental questions.

Natural dyes are usually used with heavy metal mordants, which can be a problem environmentally, but it's unlikely you'd be using them to paint with, anyway; natural dyeing typically requires at least an hour of boiling in the dyestuff. Among the mordants used, alum is fairly safe, but tin is toxic, and chromium is extremely toxic and bad for the environment. Even copper and iron can be problems.

Fiber reactive dyes bind tightly to fiber, making a non-irritating bond that is ideal for many people with chemical sensitivities, but they require a considerable amount of rinsing. The amount of water used is an issue at an industrial scale, and might be an issue for you if you live where there are water shortages, though the effluent from home use of fiber reactive dyes is fine for septic tanks. Procion MX dye requires no steaming, but the colors are lighter after rinsing out, which can complicate matters when painting by eye. Cibacron F and Drimarene K are very similar to Procion MX, but may require slightly less rinsing.

There are a number of fabric paints which can be used with no steaming. The higher quality fabric paints leave the fabric feeling much softer than lower quality ones do (though not as soft as dye will), and are thus suitable for use in clothing. For mail-order sources for fabric dyes and paints in Australia, scroll down on the list at my "Sources for Dye Supplies" page. Even ordinary artists' acrylics will work well for a hanging, though, in spite of the fact that they feel much too rough for clothing that will be worn, and they are probably the most economical option. They must be diluted with water if you want them to look more like dye in their effect.

Disperse dyes can be used, for example in the form of fabric crayons (not to be confused with the normal wax crayons they closely resemble), to make iron-ons that can be used half a dozen times on one piece of polyester, making possible interesting repetitive effects. These dyes can wear off against the skin during wear, resulting in allergic reactions for a few susceptible individuals, but that, too, is not an issue for wall hangings. They do not work on natural fibers.

The source of the fabric you use may have a greater environmental effect than any effect of your paints. Normally, cotton is grown with the use of large quantities of pesticides. If you can find an environmentally sound source of organically grown cotton, linen, or hemp, using it for your hangings could make a difference. However, you will get brighter, clearer colors if you paint on a bright white surface, so chemical bleaching may be necessary, depending on the effects for which you are striving.

Depending on just how far you want to take this environmentally sound thing, there's a very interesting option of painting with earth oxides, bound to the fiber with soy milk. You have to make your own soy milk, as store-bought won't do. See the instructions at The DyeWorks, if you want to get an idea of what is involved. I think I'd rather skip the soymilk method, since some dye experts such as Karren Brito point out that it is not very washfast under modern laundry conditions. This would not be such a problem for wall hangings, however.

Message: I can't find this info, on your website. If you can direct me, I would appreciate it. What is the name of the company in Alaska that might be able to dye a polyester dress white for me?

Nobody can dye a colored polyester white, because polyester cannot be bleached.

There is, however, a company in Alaska which offers a custom dyeing service and can dye a white polyester dress to any color. The company is called Color Creek: see <http://www.color-creek.com>.

Name: lisa
Message: Hi Paula,
What blessing your website is! I am in the midst of tie-dying some t shirts and was told when i went to order more dye that i needed "dye activator" to go in the Procion Mx fiber reactive dye? Is that true?? I'm using the urea and the soda ash. I wonder if the kits come with dye activator already in the dye. I hope my efforts/money/ havent gone to waste! Looking forward to your response so i can move out of limbo and either go ahead with my project or freak out;) Thanks:), lisa

Dye activator is exactly the same thing as soda ash, so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

You cannot add the soda ash to the dye before use, or the dye will go bad. The fiber reactive dye will react with the fabric only in the presence of the soda ash (or anything else that will raise the pH to between 9 and 11). Without soda ash, most of the dye will rinse away.

Soda ash can be added to the mixture before the dye, at the same time as the dye, or following the dye, with different results. If you pre-soaked your shirts in soda ash before adding dye, then all is well.

Once your t-shirts have both dye and soda ash on them, having applied them in whatever order you prefer, be sure to leave them to react at a warm enough temperature. At 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 C.), leave them for 24 to 48 hours. At 80 degrees, six to eight hours will suffice. At 90 degrees, two hours is good enough. The purpose of the urea is to help them stay damp throughout this process, as the dye reaction stops if it dries out completely.

Many thanks in advance for your kind help.

Pro Chemical & Dye told me that they will ship to Venezuela. They will ship your package by mail. Their web site is <http://www.prochemical.com>, or you can telephone 1-508-676-3838 or fax 1-508-676-3980 to request a paper catalog from which to order. Their web site is excellent, however.

They have very good prices on dyes and excellent technical support, and they sell everything you need , including tjantings. See their page of Batik/Tjanting Tooks at <http://www.prochemical.com/catalog/batik.htm>. Also see the instructions for "Batik using PRO MX Dye", at <http://www.prochemical.com/directions/MX_Batik.htm>.

You must use cool water dyes, such as Procion MX dyes. Many other types of dye require heat in order to attach permanently to the fabric; the heat would melt the wax before the dye could set. You should also use 100% natural fibers, such as cotton or silk. In addition to one or more tjantings, you will probably wish to use a brush. Any natural fiber brush will probably work quite well, though you can never again use it for anything but wax.

Name: judi lieberman
Message: Hi. You really seem to be an expert on dyes. My cat threw up on my white wool oriental carpet. Red #40 seems to be the ingredient which has stained the carpet. I wonder if you know a solvent which would take this out, or "un-dye" the fibers. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Isn't it annoying how pet food manufacturers add huge quantities of dye to their foods? Pets don't care about the color, but it can really damage a carpet. You may wish to change brands of pet food to prevent a repeat of this experience.

There is a product sold specifically for removing red food dye from carpets, called Red Relief. I have never used it and cannot comment on how safe or effective it may be, but the name alone suggests that it might be worth a try. It is possible that this product will also remove the original color, as well, though, so be careful.

It might be wisest to consult a local carpet-cleaning company.