Name: Mina Ha
Message: How do I dye crinoline, a nylon netting used for making a ballet tutu?

If the nylon has not been treated with any finish which might repel water (and dye), you can dye it with the same acid dyes that are used for wool. You must use heat when dyeing nylon or wool. See "About Acid Dyes".

There are many choices of acid dyes to use. You can actually use an all-purpose dye, such as Rit® brand dye, since it contains some acid dye, though the final color is often not quite as expected. You can use food coloring if the color(s) you want happen to be represented among the readily available forms of food dye, such as unsweetened Koolaid drink mix. 

The best results, the brightest and most washfast, will probably be obtained by mail-ordering some high quality acid dyes from a company such as PRO Chemical & Dye. I particularly recommend PROchem's Lanaset dyes, especially when the desired final color is black. Like other acid dyes, the Lanaset dyes should be steamed into the fabric.

Be sure to carefully follow the instructions provided by the retailer from which you buy your dye.

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Name: Sherry
Message: I am trying to dye new white hotel towels dark deep black. I used RIT in the washing machine, it came out grey (ugh) I was unsure of how much to use. I used 4 boxes in a full washing machine tub of hot water. I rewashed it before it drained too. I dyed 4 bath towels (med size) 4 hand towels and 4 washcloths. Can you advise me please? What should I do to get rich deep black? I have so many to do. If I have to order a dye, fine but I want to make sure it will work.

I cannot recommend all-purpose dye for use on cotton. It works poorly unless you simmer the fabric in the dyebath at 190 degrees F. for half an hour or longer and then treat it with a mail-order after-treatment fixative such as Retayne or Raycafix so that it does not bleed in the laundry. Boiling a lot of towels would be a huge amount of work, especially when you consider that the cooking pot you use with the all-purpose dye should never again be used for food. Fiber reactive dye is much easier to use, and produces richer deeper colors which last far longer in the laundry.

Are your towels 100% cotton? A towel that is 50% cotton can never come out darker than grey, because the polyester portion cannot be dyed except by a rather unpleasant process.

What I would advise you to do, if your towels are 100% cotton, is rewash them several times in HOT water, without fabric softener, to remove excess dye. Purchase some high quality fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, and then redye the towels according to the instructions on "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?" . You should use one ounce of Procion MX type dye per pound of fabric, in order to get black. (Lighter colors require much less dye!) You will need to weigh your towels in order to know how much dye to use. You will also need 10 pounds of salt and three-quarters of a pound of soda ash, for every five pounds of towels that you dye black.

The two recommended types of fiber reactive dye that are available by mail order in the US are Procion MX dye and Cibacron F dye. PRO Chemical & Dye is the best source for Cibacron F dye, which they call Sabracron F. Procion MX dye is available by mail order from most of the dye suppliers around the world listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

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Name: Scott
Message: I would like to dye an older sun bleached carpet.  My carpet is red and I would like to dye it black.  Is that possible and what process would you use?

It depends very much on the fiber content of the carpet. You simply cannot dye a polypropylene or polyester carpet.

Nylon and wool carpets may be dyed with acid dyes, if you purchase the correct type of dye and carefully follow the instructions. See the instructions for "Dyeing and Painting Carpet using WashFast Acid Dyes" from PRO Chemical & Dye.

Note that black requires a lot more dye than other colors do. Also note that, since dye is transparent, lighter spots before dyeing will still be lighter spots after dyeing.

A custom carpet dye kit for redyeing just the bleached spots is available commercially from www.ecarpetstains.com. I've never used it myself, but it might be just what you need.

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Name: Robyn
Message: There are bleach stains on my new jeans (daughter) tried using RIT dye (twice) didn't work. Any suggestions?

All-purpose dye does not work well on cotton unless the clothing is heated in the dyebath at just under a boil for a long time.

Your question is answered in the FAQ section of my web site, under "Help! I ruined clothing by spattering bleach. How can I fix it?". Please read my FAQs.


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Name: Lee-Ann
Message: Where may i buy this disperse dye? 

You will almost certainly have to order the dye and have it mailed to you. 

There is a list of different companies around the world that sell dyes on my page of Sources for Dyeing Supplies. In the notes under each name, on that page, is a list of the types of supplies sold by that company; look for one that has 'disperse' indicated.

In the US, look at PRO Chemical & Dye (ProChem) or Aljo Dyes. In Australia, try Batik Oetoro, The Thread Studio, or  KraftKolour. In the UK, look at George Weil Fibrecrafts, Kemtex Educational Supplies, or Rainbow Silks. In the Netherlands, disperse dye is sold by Zijdelings. All of these companies have links and/or contact information in their listing on my page of Sources for Dyeing Supplies.


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Name: Rebecca
Message: I want to tie dye a mens white collard shirt and all that I have is food coloring. I wanted to know if it will work with food coloring. If you can do it then I was wondering if you know how to mix it. Would I just do it with water? I really have no idea how it works. I would really appreciate if you are able to help me. Thank you

No, it is impossible to dye cotton with food coloring. It will just wash out, no matter how you apply it. Food coloring can be used to dye wool, but never cotton!

What you need to do is buy some proper dye for cotton.

For dull-colored dye that gradually washes out in the laundry and requires simmering to fix the dye in the fabric, you can use all-purpose dye, which is avilable at any grocer or pharmacy.

For bright or intense colors that never bleed in the laundry and can be applied with squirt bottles, you should mail-order some fiber reactive dye from any of the companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. Any of the tie-dye kits sold by any of the companies listed on that page will do very well; here is a direct link to a tie-dye kit at Fiberarts.com.

If you are lucky, perhaps you will be able to find a Tie Dye Kit made by Jacquard or Rainbow Rock in a local crafts store; avoid brands of tie-dye kits which contains all-purpose dye, which is far more trouble to use in tie-dyeing, and gives poor results. Dylon Cool Water dye is good fiber reactive dye, but avoid Dylon Multi-purpose dye, as it is just another brand of all-purpose dye. Buying dye by mail-order is usually much better than buying locally, because the prices are lower per amount of fabric to be dyed, the color selection is much wider, and the dye may be fresher.


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Name: Sable
Message: I have a black 100% polyester dress with three-quarter sleeves that hits just below my knee. I'm almost positive that I can't die it, but I need to make it a dark purple color. Should I use fabric paint? How much would I need and is it possible to use paint thinner with it?

Dyeing can be used only to darken fabric, not lighten it. Since black is the darkest of all colors, it is impossible to dye it any color other than black.

Most fabric paints are transparent, so they work just like dyes, in that they darken fabric, never lighten it. The exceptions are those fabric paints which are specifically labeled as being opaque, pearlescent, or metallic.

Dyeing polyester is no fun at all, anyway. It requires that you boil it for an hour with a special kind of polyester dye, called disperse dye, plus a noxious carrier chemical, and that you do this in a cooking pot that will never again be used for food. It is often better to use fabric paint on polyester, even though paint usually gives less professional-looking results than dye.

Your difficulties in painting a dress will mostly involve getting the color even. It's probably impossible to do this perfectly. However, with some paints, this is considered a virtue. Pigment dye, which is actually fabric paint and not dye at all, is renowned for giving a subtle aged effect. 

Not all fabric paints will cling well to the slick fibers of polyester. One fabric paint which is recommended for polyester is Dharma Pigment Dye, sold by Dharma Trading Company; see their listing on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page, at <http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyesources.shtml>. I believe that it may be nbecessary to use the white or pearlescent bases in order to cover black fabric.

I do not know how much fabric paint you will need, as this depends both on the paint you buy and on how thickly you choose to apply it. Weigh your dress so that you know how much material you have, before you call the company from which you purchase your paint, and ask them how much you are likely to need.

Fabric paints are water-based, so you can thin the fabric paint with water or with fabric paint extender, never with paint thinner.


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Message: Hi there!   I was wondering if it is possible to tie-dye an EZ-up portable shelter, the type used by vendors and tailgaters everywhere.  The ez-up awning is white and 100% nylon.  I use it for camping and as you can imagine, it gets a little cruddy from time to time.  I would like to tie-dye it to hide the camping crud and just to make it look cool.  What do you think?   Pete

I generally recommend against dyeing EZ-up shelters for use at crafts shows and the like, because the light that comes through a white roof looks better on the items being sold than the light coming through a colored roof. Not a problem for you, obviously.

Has the shelter been treated with a water-resistant coating, such as NikWax? Coatings that resist water will also resist dye, resulting in muddy, uneven, light-colored dyeing. It won't look good, though it might look better than the dirt you have now. To test this, spray water on the shelter, and see whether it beads up, or soaks in. If water does not soak in quickly, dyeing or fabric painting are not likely to work well.

If the shelter does not have a water, resistant coating, your two choices are acid dyes or fabric paint. Acid dyes penetrate the fabric, while fabric paints do not; however, acid dyes typically also require heat-setting, using steam or boilign water. How big is this fabric? If it is small enough to fit into a washing machine, it is possible to use acid dyes in it, as in the recipes on "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?", though higher water temperatures work a lot better with acid dye. It's also possible you might be able to steam-set the dye as in PRO Chemical & Dye's recipe for "Dyeing and Painting Carpet using WashFast Acid Dyes", or use the wool recipe for dyeing with the aid of a black garbage bag to absorb heat from the sun, as in "Garbage Bag Dyeing with Wool using PRO MX Reactive Dyes". Unlike all other synthetic fibers, nylon can usually be dyed like wool. Note that this last recipe actually calls for the use of the same Procion MX type dyes we use for tie-dyeing cotton. You cannot dye nylon with the recipes used for cotton dyes, because nylon will not accept the dye at high pH, as in the presence of soda ash. It requires acid. It's very convenient to be able to use the same dyes you already keep on hand for dyeing cotton clothing, though.

Some fabric paints require heat-setting, but others do not. For example, Dharma Pigment "Dyes" (which are actually paints, not dyes), sold by Dharma Trading Company, are recommended for tie-dyeing nylon even without heat setting, though they warn that fabric treatments on nylon that is not prepared for printing can be a problem.


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Name: Juan

Message: I love your site and I want to thank you for your loving work.

Ever since I can remember I have loved dyeing...but some short time ago I have had a weird feeling that the constant touch of dyed clothing leaves a certain amount of it on you.  I am now paranoid of colored fabrics, drinks, etc. I still enjoy dyeing but I treat it no different than the car paint or resins of polymers...I like looking at it but I do not wear it or eat it.

I am not 100 percent sure if my concerns are founded in anything sane, but I would like to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Your concerns make some sense, but only for certain classes of dyes.

Some people have skin allergies to some of the dyes in polyester (disperse dyes) or acrylic (basic dyes); allergies can develop only if tiny, tiny quantities of the dye have gotten into the skin. It is generally felt that these quantities of dyes are harmless to wearers, except for those people who have developed these allergies, but I know of no proof that this is so. It could be that your sensitivity is due to having developed such an allergy or it could be just the idea. In either case, even if you just dislike the idea of it, it makes sense for you to avoid exposure to these dyes. The direct dye that is a part of all-purpose dye bleeds so easily in the laundry that it seems likely that it, too, might come off in tiny quantities during wear, if there is moisture on the skin, and indeed some allergies have been reported for wearers of garments dyed with particularly non-washfast direct dyes, such as C.I. Direct Blue 106. (Ref: Kimber et al, Contact Dermatitis 52 (5), 295-295.)

In contrast, fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, form a strong covalent bond with cellulose fibers, such as cotton, as well as with silk. If you dye properly with this type of dye on this type of fiber, all you then have to do is carefully wash out all unattached dye. This requires repeated washings in hot water. Once you have completed this step, none of the dye is going to be coming off onto your skin. The only remaining dye is actually a part of the same molecule as the cellulose, at this point. Of course improperly rinsed garments can shed enough unattached dye for allergic contact dermatitis to develop, but this is rare and the result of inadequate washing before initial use.

Allergies to fiber reactive dyes can occur from exposure to the dry dye powder, such as when measuring out the dye powder in order to mix it with water, in getting ready to dye fabric. Sometimes an individual dyer will develop an allergy to one class of dyes. There is one well-known quilt artist who had to switch from using Procion MX dye to using Cibacron F dye. These two types of dye are very similar, and are used similarly, but she has no problems in working with the type she is not allergic to. It is very important to carefully avoid breathing dry dye powder, so that one does not develop a similar allergy.

I understand how you feel about food dyes. Somehow, since the dyes I used in my PhD work were hazardous (of course, we skipped the more boring dyes that we did not expect to do anything!), I just feel kind of disgusted at the idea of dyes in foods. It's not that I think that the food dyes in use are actually very harmful for most people; I just find the idea of consuming them to be very esthetically unappealing. Eating artificial colors and flavors seems to me to be a lot like eating something that simply is not food. I also find very odd the idea of eating insects in pink-colored yogurts and in lipsticks which are colored with the apparently quite harmless natural dye carmine, derived from the cochineal insect.

Note that all-purpose and direct dyes, indeed any dye other than the positively charged basic dyes that are mostly used for acrylics, can be at least partially sealed into the fabric by use of a cationic dye fixative aftertreatment, such as Retayne or Raycafix. These treatments can be applied at home, in the washing machine, and can be purchased from most of the dye suppliers listed on my page of dye suppliers around the world.


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Name: Karen
Message: HI!! I got a bridesmaid dress (I have pics if you want to see) and it is a burgundy color. It says hand wash on the tag and says "Lace, Satin & lining- 100% polyester".  Can I dye this black? It was pretty expensive and I dont want to ruin it but I will never wear the burgundy. Thank you so much for your time.

Unfortunately, dyeing polyester is a lot more trouble than dyeing cotton. The biggest difference is that cotton can be dyed at room temperature, if you use a cool water fiber reactive dye (not all-purpose dye!), but polyester must be dyed at or above boiling temperature (using only a specialized polyester dye, of course). 

It's quite likely that you will decide that this is not worth the expense of the required equipment: a very large, non-aluminum cooking pot that will never again be used for food. The pot has to be large enough for the dress to move around in freely, or else the final color will be uneven. You can use an enamel canning pot, but only if it doesn't have any chips in the enamel on the inside. Stainless steel pots are the best, but I can't find a 5 gallon stainless steel pot for under $40. (An excellent source of dyeing pots would be a home brewing supplier, such as our friends at DeFalco's, because the requirements for brewing and for dyeing are very similar. Unfortunately, you can't use the same pot for both dyeing and brewing, since only food-safe ingredients must be allowed into the brew kettle.)

Once you have a dyeing pot, you just need to buy both the special polyester dye known as 'disperse dye', and a noxious carrier chemical to make up for the fact that boiling temperature is really too cool for dyeing polyester well. If you skip the carrier chemical, you will be unable to get intense colors or dark shades. The process of dyeing polyester will certainly be more pleasant if you do skip the carrier chemical, but then black will not be an option. You can mail-order disperse dye from PRO Chemical & Dye or from Aljo Dyes in the US, or from Batik Oetoro in Australia, and from several British suppliers. For contact information, see my listing of different companies that sell supplies for dyeing. 

The final consideration is whether your garment will actually survive being boiled for an hour. Many garments are marked dry clean only, but even washable garments are often labeled for washing in cool water only. Boiling is far harsher than washing even in hot water, since hot water is typically no higher than 140 degrees F. (60 C.).


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Name: chele
Message: hi!
I checked out dharma traders and I think I will buy a mini kit since it seems to come with everything I need to make cute baby clothes.  I am pretty sure that the kits comes with procion dyes (right?) and here comes my question...

All of the "Tie Dye Kits" sold by that company, as well as by all of the other companies listed on my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies" page, contain Procion MX type dyes, one of the best dyes you can possibly use for this purpose. These kits are a great way to start dyeing. Baby clothes are among the most gratifying of projects to start with, too, because most baby clothes are so bland and boring. Even the most amateurish first attempts will look a whole lot better than the standard offerings at any baby store.

my baby gear is part polyester... (cotton/poly blend)
so now what? I cant retun all the baby gear and I heard that procions arent good for polys.

If it's at least partially cotton, go ahead and dye it. The polyester fraction of the garments will remain completely undyed, but this should not be a major problem for baby clothes. A garment that is 50% polyester and 50% cotton will produce very nice pastels when dyed with the bright colors in a Procion MX dye tie-dye kit. You'll just want to avoid large sections of red if you may be dyeing for a boy, because people are so uncomfortable about allowing boys to wear pink. A garment that is 80% cotton will dye up only a little less bright than 100% cotton.

I think you'll also want to acquire some 100% cotton baby clothes to dye. It will be interesting for you to compare them when you dye them side by side. The best assortments of inexpensive blank dyeable cotton baby clothes are available at Dharma Trading Company and Alegre fashions, but you'll do fine with any 100% cotton white clothing, at least if it is not treated to make it stain-resistant.. (See my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies" page for contact information.)


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Name: Ann
Message: Do you know if I could possibly dye a large cream sofa cover brown. It is made from 70% cotton and 30% polyester. I would like it all to be the same colour. If at all possible could you also tell me which dyes to use and also let me know where I can purchase them from? 

Yes, this should be possible, if your sofa cover is washable, and if there is no stain-resistant coating on the fabric, which would resist the dye. The 30% of the fiber which is polyester will not dye (the requirements for dyeing polyester make it impractical for dyeing large items at home), but the 70% of the fiber which is cotton should be dyeable, and that will be enough.

It is important to use a cool water dye only. A hot water dye, such as all-purpose dye, requires temperatures which may shrink that cover, possibly making it too tight for the sofa. The best type of dye to use would be a fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. You can mail-order this type of dye from most of the companies listed on my page of Dye Suppliers around the world. (Here is a direct link to a brown Procion MX dye at Fiber-arts.com.)

The easiest way to dye something a solid color is in the washing machine; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". Otherwise, you must dye in a large enough container that the fabric can move freely, and you must stir it constantly.


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colors of Rit Dye. I have used before but for maybe one color at a time. I spent on this occasion about two hours of dyeing each coloring followed by bleaching my arms and hands free of color to do the next [using undiluted chlorine bleach]. The next day my face, arms chest broke out in a terrible rash. My arms had deep blisters and my face was all bumpy. I tried everything in a panic...after about two weeks I got one side of my face fairly clear took another three weeks for the other side and by then the upper chest all cleared. What I have only left is from my upper calf to my feet terrible bad swollen legs, red and bright. burning. My feet got so swollen I couldnt put shoes on. I have been to doctor they ran every blood test imaginable and nothing came up. He is stumped, he said I had viral chicken pox...no way. Now the legs area of affliction is purple surround by a deeper purple. He gave me steroids and that seemed to help the sweeling. But my legs were so swollen you could poke a indentation two inches deep. They were like hard but very soft. Now this strange color. Any ideas here....it scare me. Is it the dye or bleach or both? Did I somehow poison myself? My feet are so dried out my toenails are all gone, or barely there and not growing much. Thanks for any advice

What an awful experience! I think that your biggest problem might very well be hypochlorite poisoning. Chlorine bleach is sodium hypochlorite, whose dangers are well known. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says, "If concentrated hypochlorite solutions contact the skin, chemical burns may occur; treat as thermal burns. Patients developing dermal hypersensitivity reactions may require treatment with systemic or topical corticosteroids or antihistamines." An MSDS (materials safety data sheet) page on sodium hypochlorite indicates "IRRITANT, MAY CAUSE BURNS AND/OR RASH ON SKIN AND MUCOUS MEMBRANES."

I think that it is much more likely that you were injured by bleach than by exposure to the Rit dye that you used, though it's impossible to be sure. Rit dye is an all-purpose dye, typically consisting of a mixture of a type of dye called acid dye (for wool and silk) and a type of dye called direct dye (for cotton). Some acid dyes are quite harmless (food colorings are in the class of dye called acid dye), while others can be toxic. The Rit dye company says that their Proline brand line of direct dyes is non-toxic, but I have not seen the same claim for Rit all-purpose dye, presumably due to the acid dyes it also contains. The MSDS (PDF) for Rit all-purpose powder dye indicates that this dye (like all dyes other than food colorings) must be used only with waterproof gloves, and that extended skin exposure may produce skin sensitization. Unless you have seen reliable certification indicating that a substance really is non-toxic, you should assume that it is not.

Proper usage of gloves is important with all dyes (with the exception of certified food & cosmetic colorings), including most natural dyes as well. Small spills of the fiber reactive dye which I prefer for use on cotton quickly react with the dead cells on the surface of the skin, potentially allowing less of the dye to penetrate inside the body as the result of skin exposure, though serious allergies have been seen among those who have carelessly allowed themselves to breathe the dust from the dye powder. If you ever feel like using dyes again after your bad experience, I would recommend that you use fiber reactive dyes, if only because you are less likely to have become sensitized to them, since you have not used them before. I would also, of course, recommend that you use good protective equipment such as gloves and a respirator (the latter only when using the dry powder form of the dye), and that in future you avoid the use of all chlorine-containing cleaning products. There is really no need at all to do more than wash to remove dye from the hands, though using gloves to reduce exposure is very wise. Chlorine bleach is among the most toxic of household chemicals, more dangerous than dye stains on the hands. The best way to remove dye from the skin is to use soap, water, and perhaps a loofa scrubber, and then be patient for time to take away the stains that remain.

It is possible that your systemic reaction was to the hypochlorite in the bleach, or that it was an allergic reaction to one of the dyes, or that your exposure triggered another condition to which you were susceptible, perhaps simply as a strain on your body when you were fighting something else off. It is good that most of your rash is gone, but your edema is quite alarming. See the page on edema at InteliHealth, from Harvard Medical School. There are many possible causes of edema, such as kidney or liver damage, or heart failure. You will want to be sure to have those ruled out; if you're not sure they have been, please ask your physician. If you are not feeling better soon, you should consult another physician for an additional opinion about your legs and feet. Please note that I have no medical training and have no qualifications for giving any sort of medical advice. I hope that you are completely recovered soon.


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Name: Jennifer
Message: Hi there,  I recently bought a chiffon wedding dress for a amazing price.  It is ivory in color and I would really love to get it white.  Is there any kind of bleaching or coloring I could do to achieve this?  Thanks so much

Probably not. It all depends on what the actual fiber content of the chiffon is. 

If it is silk, you might be able to lighten it with sodium hydrosulfite (found in Rit brand Color Remover), but this product might damage the silk if used incautiously. 

If your dress is made of polyester, there is nothing you can do to lighten the color. 

Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) must never be used on silk, nor on any synthetic fiber at all.


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Hi Paula, We bought a newly tie-dyed T-shirt from a vendor on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, CA recently.  I need to wash it now and checked its colorfastness by putting it in some cold water to see if the dye would leave the fabric.  It quickly turned the water pink.  How do I set the colors now?  Does washing with salt or vinegar help? Or do I need to get some Synthrapol laundry detergent as your web page mentions?  thanks!  Mary

No, washing with salt and vinegar will not help. Vinegar might even strip the dye. See 'Is there any way to "set" dye in purchased clothing or fabric?', from the FAQ section of my website.

Many dyers swear by Synthrapol for removing excess dye. Ordinary detergent is good enough, though. The real key is to use first cold water without ordinary detergent for the first rinsing (presumably already done before you bought your shirt), followed by repeated washings in HOT water, with detergent, to remove excess unattached dye. With luck your tie-dyer may simply have skimped on this step, or perhaps your water is a little different than theirs, chemically,  so one more hot washing is required. If s/he did the dyeing properly, the only problem now will be a little bit of excess dye that still remains to be washed out. A properly made tie-dye, made using fiber reactive dye and soda ash, has already had its dye set, but it might also have a bit of excess dye that has yet to be washed out.

If your shirt is of reasonably high quality, it will quit shedding excess dye after about two or possibly three launderings in hot water. To save water, you can leave the shirt to sit in hot water halfway through one of the washings - just turn off the washing machine for half an hour or so, then go back to turn it on and complete the cycle. Soaking in hot water helps to remove excess unattached fiber reactive dye.

If this does not work - if dye continues to come out even after several washings in hot water, or if the brightness of the dye is visibly diminished by washing in hot water - then it was made wrong and should be replaced by the vendor. This is very unlikely if quality dyes and a recipe using soda ash was used, but it is actually quite likely if all-purpose dye was used. Good dyers do not use all-purpose dye for tie-dyeing cotton t-shirts, though. If all-purpose dye is used, the garment should be labeled "hand wash separately in cool water, or dry clean".


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Name: Taal
Message: Thank you for the easy-to-follow instructions. Now that i have tie-dyed - how would you recommend to wash the garment so that the dye does not dye the white areas of the fabric?

Did you use a good fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye? If so, the most important step is to allow so much time for the dye+fabric reaction to take place that there will remain no unreacted dye to stain in the wrong places. I like to leave tie-dyed items to react overnight at 70 degrees F (21 C.) or above, just to make sure of this. Sufficient ambient warmth is essential; if you have dyed out-of-doors in cool weather, or in a cold room, you should wrap each item in plastic wrap (carefully shielding lighter regions from darker regions with the plastic wrap so that they do not touch!), then move them to a warmer location overnight.

The next step is to rinse the garments out once in cool water with no ordinary detergent. The point is to remove all auxiliary chemicals such as soda ash before exposing the garment to heat. If you have Synthrapol, you can use it in this step, but do not use an ordinary high-pH detergent. Some people do this rinsing step in the sink; I like to just dump dyed items directly into a washing machine full of cold water for the initial rinsing.

Finally, wash the garment several times in the hottest water it can tolerate, using either Synthrapol or an ordinary laundry detergent. (If for safety reasons you have set your hot water to 120 degrees, you can turn up the thermostat on your water heater temporarily, or turn off the cold water to the washing machine just until it has filled.) Washing in hot water will remove all unattached dye. Once all unattached dye has been removed, you can safely wash your brightly dyed items in even hot water, even with white clothing, and there will be no dye transfer. If you want to test to be sure that all excess dye has been removed, place your garment between layers of damp white fabric and press with a hot iron; if no color transfers, you know that you are done with the initial washing-out.

If, however, you did not use a fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, but instead used an all-purpose dye such as Rit brand dye, you must proceed very differently. First, the all-purpose dye must be heat-set while still wet, either by simmering at length in the dyepot at 190 degrees F., or by wrapping it in plastic wrap and steaming for half an hour, just as you might steam vegetables. After the items dyed with all-purpose dye have cooled, they should be rinsed out carefully in cool water, and then treated in the washing machine with a special mail-order cationic fixative, such as Retayne or Raycafix. (You can buy Retayne and similar dye fixatives from most of the dye suppliers on my list of Sources for Dyeing Supplies.) Otherwise, all-purpose dye will inevitably run in the laundry. Items dyed with all-purpose dye should always be washed in cool water, preferably hand-washed only, and always washed separately from other garments.

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Hello,
I have been looking for MONTHS for the White Silk Rolled Cord.  Dharma Trading carries it but they do not expect more until mid-November.  I am really desperate to find some.  Do you carry it or know where I may purchase some by-the-spool?  I do appreciate any help you can give me.  My very best, Kathleen

I don't sell dyeing supplies, though I do list a number of different companies around the world that sell dyeing supplies on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

In addition, you might try RibbonSmyth's. They have dyeable 2 mm silk cord, but I don't know if it is rolled. You might want to contact them to see if they might have other cord which is not currently shown on their site.

Tinsel Trading Company sells 1/4" and 1/2" wide twisted silk cording; contact them to find if they sell it in undyed or white.

Many fabrics and crafts stores, such as Joann's, sell nylon or rayon 'rattail' satin cord. Nylon cording can be dyed with silk dyes, with the exact same recipes and steaming as for silk. Rayon cannot be dyed with silk dye, but it is very easy to dye with cotton dyes, such as Procion MX dyes. Be careful when buying 'satin' cord whose fiber content is not labeled, as satin can be woven from any fiber, natural or synthetic. For a source of rayon rattail cord whose fiber content is known, see Earth Guild. Avoid all synthetic fibers other than nylon and rayon.

Many jewelry supply companies sell very narrow silk beading cord. This will be difficult or impossible to dye if it has been waxed, however.


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Name: Kris
Message: Hello, I want to dye my linen sofa covers (they're off white) however since the tags say dry-clean-only I am concerned about ruining them by getting them wet when dyeing them.  Can you please offer some advice and direction on this.  Thanks.

If they are truly dry-clean-only, you simply cannot dye them. All dyeing requires a significant amount of washing.

Many dry-clean-only items can actually be washed in cool water and line dried, but it's a big risk. I cannot really recommend that you do this, unless you hate the slip covers so much in their present form that you'd rather throw them away than continue using them.

If you are willing to take the risk, you can try washing them. If they survive the pre-washing, the only possible dye to use would be cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. Linen dyes quite well with this type of dye, and it's very easy to use. Hot water dyes, such as all-purpose dye, would shrink the material so that the slip covers would no longer fit on the sofa.



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Name: Elena
Message: I looked, and didn't see this question...Is it possible to die black fabric white? I'm not too sure what type of fabric it is, I had it made years ago. It also has a lace jacket I'd like to dye white. Is any of this possible?  Thank you SOO much for your help!

No. Dye is transparent. That means it can only add color to fabric, not remove it. What you're interested in is not dye, but discharge agents that remove or destroy dye.

Some fabrics will tolerate bleaching. Synthetics such as polyester and nylon are destroyed by it, however, as are silk and wool. If you don't know the fiber content of your outfit, I strongly advise you to avoid bleach.

Another color discharge agent, sodium hydrosulfite (sold as Rit Color Remover or Carbona Color Run Remover), will also remove some dyes from fabrics, and it is safer for the fabrics that cannot tolerate bleach. It is not completely safe, however, and there is no guarantee that it will be effective. Many dyes cannot be discharged at all, or if they are, they may turn an odd color, such as a brownish orange, rather than white. Even if the fabric turns white and avoids disintegration, the stitching will probably stay its current color.

Also see "Is there a such thing as white dye", from this blog on the date September 11, 2005.

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[updated February 22, 2008]

Name: DeAnn
Message: I am costuming a local production and was given some white tricot.  I would like to dye it a bubblegum pink.  What type of dye would you recommend and which process would be best.  Because of the large quanity, I would prefer to use my washing machine. 

What type of dye you should use depends entirely on what the fiber is that it was woven from. Tricot is a plain knit weave which may be made from artificial or natural fibers.

If your tricot is made of silk, wool, or nylon, you can use acid dye to dye it. While it is possible to use all-purpose dye for this (all-purpose dye performs much more acceptably on these fibers than on cotton), you might want to purchase special acid dye meant for use on these fibers. 

If your tricot is woven from cotton or from viscose rayon (this is the usual type of rayon seen in the US), you can dye it with cool water fiber reactive dyes. You can also use all-purpose dye on these two fibers, but the hot water required will shrink the fabric and might damage rayon, and it will not withstand a great deal of laundering. However, the dye is easy to find in local stores, though it costs considerably more per pound of fabric than mail-order fiber reactive dye.

If your tricot is woven from polyester or acetate, I do not recommend that you attempt to dye it. The dyes required for these synthetics are not suitable for dye novices.

Instructions for dyeing in the washing machine may be found at "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".


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Name: mary
Message: hi i hope you can help me.  i have bought a corpse bride halloween dress and want to dye the whole thing a light lilac the hand dye the train in a distressed dark purple flowing into a distressed teal.  the dress is lace in the bodice and chiffon polyester/polyester blend.  is this possible and how do i do it???? it doesen't have to be perfect as the whole dress is supposed to look tattered out of the grave.