Name: Angela 

Message: Hello, For the boys' basketball season which is coming up in about a week, 4 other girls and I are tie-dying shirts...orange...is that ok if we just do it one color or does it have to be more than one color to work. Another question I have is....do you just tie rubber bands around different spots and then put the whole shirt in dye?

Yes, tie-dyeing with a single color will be fine, and is actually easier than dyeing with multiple colors. Instead of using squirt bottles to apply different colors to different parts of the shirt - a process that requires good tie-dye dyes - you can simply fold the shirts in the desired patterns, tie very tightly with rubber bands or string, then throw them into a bucket of dye at the required temperature for the required period of time. (Wet the shirts first in soda ash if you are using good tie-dye dyes.) How hot the water should be, and how long you should immerse the shirts in it, depends on the type of dye you use. Any type of dye that will work on your fabric will work for this type of tie-dyeing.

What are your shirts made of? 100% cotton will be extremely easy to dye a very bright color, following the instructions on my "How to Dye" page, and using good fiber reactive dye. 50% cotton/50% polyester will produce a pastel orange, sort of an apricot.  Watch out for stain-resistant t-shirts, though! Do NOT try to dye a stain-resistant shirt; get an ordinary untreated cotton shirt, instead.

100% polyester shirts will not take any dye, unless you buy a special dye for polyester that is called disperse dye, and boil the shirts in this dye for an hour. Don't try to tie-dye 100% polyester! You can, however, tie-PAINT 100% polyester, using a good fabric paint such as Dye-na-Flow instead of dye. Tie the shirts as for tie-dyeing, then soak them with a good fabric paint which has been diluted 50% with water, then allow to dry, untie the rubber bands, and heat-set as indicated on the label of the fabric paint.

All-purpose dye, such as the dye you see in most stores, produces colors that are less bright, and it requires very hot water, and tends to bleed forever in the laundry, but it does work for tie-dyeing a single color. It is usually a big mistake to attempt multiple-color tie-dyeing with all-purpose dye, but single-color tie-dyeing can work. Tie your shirts as you would if you were using tie-dye dyes, then immerse them in scalding hot water that has been mixed with dye and salt, as per the manufacturer's directions.

If you want to dye your shirts in room temperature water, instead of scalding hot water, or if you want them to stay bright after many washings, you should buy some fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, or Dylon Cold Water Dye (not Dylon Multi Purpose dye!). You have to mail-order Procion MX dyes (see my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies" page for a list of different companies that sell this dye), but fabric stores such as Joann's may carry Dylon Cold Water dye.

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Name: Misti
Message: I have a Lavender formal dress that I would like to dye black.  Is black an easy color to dye? And, should I attempt it?

Black isn't difficult in itself, but your dress probably is.

First, you cannot dye anything that is not washable. Is your dress washable?

Second, you don't mention what fiber your dress is made of. If it is made of, say, unlined silk satin, or rayon, or cotton velveteen, it will be easy to dye, if it is washable. (If it is lined, it will not be washable.) 

However, if it is made of polyester or acetate satin, it will be far beyond your abilities to dye it. Polyester and acetate both require lengthy boiling with a special dye for synthetic fibers called disperse dye. You cannot dye them with all-purpose dye, nor with fiber reactive dye. Nylon can be dyed with acid dye, but only if there are no surface contaminants to interfere with the dye.

It is very easy to dye dresses made of cotton, rayon, or silk, if they are washable, but a polyester formal is essentially undyeable.

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Name: Jolie
Message: I wanted to know if it is possible to dye a pair of wool/lycra pants black, even though they say that they're dye clean only??

You can't dye anything unless you can wash it. Dyeing invariably involves a great deal of washing.

If you don't want to keep these pants unless you can dye them, then you should first try washing them, to see whether they survive. Only if they're still looking good after being washed should you even consider dyeing them. If they're worth anything to you in their present color, you should skip both washing and dyeing and keep them the way they are now.

Wool is best dyed with acid dyes (click on the picture of the dye jars, to the right, to find a good source for black acid dye), which require some heat during the dyeing process, but lycra is highly heat sensitive, easily damaged by heat, so it will be necessary to compromise, using temperatures much lower than are optimal for dyeing wool. This may result in significantly reduced washfastness of the dye. You cannot dye the lycra itself, but if the pants are mostly wool, you can dye them with acid dyes. The easiest way to dye anything a solid color is in the washing machine; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".


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Name: Connor
Message: I am looking to buy a cheap suit out of a charity shop to tie dye, so my question is, what is the best method of going about this? Should I first bleach the suit?

Bleaching is unlikely to be helpful to you in this project. Bleach will destroy most synthetic fibers, as well as silk and wool. Some cotton or linen fabrics can be bleached, but sometimes the dye will not bleach out at all, or will turn a funny color when bleached. Even if the fabric lightens in color in response to bleach, the stitching will often remain the original dark unbleached color.

By far the most important step in your project will be finding a suit made of an easily dyeable fiber. It's easy to dye cotton, or linen, or white silk, or white wool; see About Dyes to select the right type of dye for the fiber content of your suit. It's very difficult to dye most synthetics other than nylon or rayon. Polyester, acetate, and acrylic are extremely difficult for a novice to dye, and they cannot be bleached at all. I don't think that you should even try dyeing polyester, since it's unlikely a ready-made garment would take well to the hour of boiling which is required. A cotton, linen, rayon, or silk suit can be easily tie-dyed using cool-water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye.

You can use fabric paint, such as pigment "dye" , on synthetic fibers such as polyester, or on fabrics of unknown fiber type, but only on light colors.  Fabric paints are transparent, so they will not work at all well on a dark fabric. Using paints, instead of dyes, for tie-dyeing is the technique I most recommend for  materials that are not easily dyed, such as polyester. A good choice of paint for 'tie-dyeing' with fabric paint would be Dye-Na-Flow. If your local crafts store does not sell suitable fabric paints, try mail-ordering them from one of the various companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

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Name: ERIC
Message: I LIVE IN MANZANILLO MEXICO, AND I'M DOING BATIK. I NEED TO BUY REACTIVES. PLEASE RECOMMEND ME A COMPANY THAT CAN SEND IT TO ME TO THE PLACE THAT I LIVE. I'LL BE GREATFULL TO YOU IF YOU CAN HELP ME.

I don't know of a local retailer for reactive dyes in Mexico. There are certainly industrial sources; the problem is whether any of them will sell dye to small-scale users, defined as those who want to buy less than one kilogram per dye color.

An excellent source for ordering reactive dyes from the US is PRO Chemical & Dye (often called PROchem). They will ship internationally. Consider both their PRO MX dyes (which are Procion MX type dyes) and their Sabracron/Cibacron F dyes. (They are having a "10% off" sale on MX dyes as I write this.)

Several of the European and Australian dye suppliers listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page will also ship internationally. Consider Drimatene K as well as Procion MX dyes.

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Name: cait
Message: Hi! Can I dye velour successfully? It is 80% cotton, 20% poly.......

It is easy to dye 80% cotton velour, using cool water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye. However....

There is a bleach mark on the leg. Can I use a dark dye on the pants? Will it cover the bleach mark evenly? 

No, it will not dye evenly. Bleach marks will remain lighter than unbleached areas after dyeing, because dye is transparent. You might get a good enough result by coloring in the spot with a closely matching color of fabric marker, followed by dyeing the whole garment a darker color to help disguise the imperfection of the match. see the FAQ section of my web site, under "How can I fix the bleach spots on my favorite clothing?".



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Name: clenoro
Message: My name is Clenoro, I am 31 years old, man, single, I born at Jakarta in 1975. I don't have a good English. And i am Indonesian People. Can I give a question. Where I can learn about batik ? And how can I to know?

The best way to learn batik is by doing. I'm afraid I cannot tell you where to learn in Jakarta, never having been there myself. Some people like to take classes; I learned at home, from books, and give basic instructions on my How to Batik web page.

Perhaps you could find out more about local methods of batik at the Textile Museum in Jakarta. I often recommend that people in my own country look for notices of classes at local art supply stores, or by calling and asking someone in the arts or textiles departments at a local college. We do not have the batik industry here that you have in your country, however.                                  

It is common for batik artists in Indonesia to use naphthol dyes in batik. This type of dye is very interesting and the results are beautiful, but I would urge you to never allow any of the dye to get on your skin, because it may give you cancer. Naphthol dyes are not used for batik in America, because of their dangers. Instead, we use reactive dyes, such as Drimarene K or Procion MX dye. I don't know where you would buy this dye locally; the closest source I personally know of to you is by mail order from companies such as Batik Oetoro in Australia.             

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Name: John
Message: Hi Paula, Thanks for the great site!!!
With regards to soda ash, is it reuseable? If I mix a gallon of it and soak my shirts to be dyed in it when I wring out the excess can I do it into the bucket of soda ash and reuse it? Also, when using urea, do I mix the dye in the urea water or do I mix the dye and add some urea water to it?

Yes, soda ash solution is reusable indefinitely. The soda ash stays good for months, at least, after being dissolved in water. Nothing can grow in it. Put a lid (or a board) on the bucket so nothing falls in (such as rain). If evaporation is likely to be an issue, then, after finishing with using the soda ash, put a mark on the bucket at the level of the top, and then just add extra water to make up for the evaporation before using it again. Make a new mark after the next use, since the level will go down as you soak items in it.

As for urea, I generally find it convenient to mix a quarter cup of urea in a quart of water and then add the dye to portions of that, but urea is so easy to dissolve that there's no reason not to add a tablespoon (15 ml) of dry urea to a cup (250 ml) of dissolved dye, and stir or shake it in. I've done this on occasion after forgetting the urea at first, with no discernible difference. I would not want to add already-dissolved urea to dye mixtures because that would require an additional step of calculating how much to add, and dissolving more dye to begin with since the urea water would dilute it. I don't always use urea, but it's good to use urea when tie-dyeing, as it helps to keep the fabric damp long enough for the dye to fully react with it.

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Name: Claire
Message: My colors on tye dye items aren't very brilliant (they look faded). Is that normal? Or something I am doing wrong?

No, it is not normal. Properly made tie-dyes are more likely to be too bright than too dull. It is easy to make extremely bright tie-dyes once you figure out what you are doing wrong. There are several possible causes of dull colors:

1. Using the wrong dye. If you want very bright colors, never use all-purpose dye for tie-dyeing!

For bright colors in tie-dyeing, you must use fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, which is best purchased by mail-order from any of the companies around the world that sell good dye, which are listed on my Sources for Supplies page. Note that the dye should look much, much too dark on the fabric before you wash out the excess unattached dye. Start by following the How to Dye recipe, even if the dye looks too dark.

2. Using the wrong fiber. You need 100% natural fibers, such as 100% cotton or 100% linen or rayon. (Rayon is only partially synthetic; viscose rayon, which is known as just 'rayon' in the US, is a pure cellulose fiber which dyes beautifully.) Dyeing polyester with cotton dyes will not work at all; dyeing 50% polyester 50% cotton blends will result in faded or pastel colors. Important: the fabric must not be treated with any permanent press or stain resistant finishes! Also, white fabrics will dye up into brighter colors than off-white 'natural' colored fabrics.

3. Using the wrong temperature. Cool water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dyes, do not require the near-boiling temperatures needed for all-purpose dye, but they don't work in the cold, either. They require a room temperature at or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 C.), and I prefer somewhat warmer temperatures myself. There are many ways to keep the dyed items warm enough in a cool house on a winter's day, but I won't go into them in this message.

4. Omitting the auxiliary chemicals. Procion MX dye requires that you use soda ash or another chemical that will increase the pH to 10 or 11, or at least 9. This is usually done as a pre-soak, but the soda ash can be included in other ways as well. (Soda ash does nothing useful to brighten or increase the permanence of all-purpose dye.) Urea is also useful in tie-dyeing, though you can get by without it if you wrap each item in a plastic bag to keep it from completely drying out while the dye reacts.

5. Inadequate time. Items that have been tie-dyed with fiber reactive dyes must be left to rest, still wet with the dye and soda ash, for one to two days at a room temperature of 70 degrees F., before you rinse them out. Higher temperatures do not require as much time. Eight hours should be more than sufficient at 90 degrees F. Leaving the dye to react for plenty of time also markedly reduces backstaining of lighter areas by dye from darker areas of the same garment.

6. Old dyes. Fiber reactive dyes should be bought fresh every couple of years (or every year, if your supplier is not so good about keeping fresh dye on hand - PRO Chemical & Dye is one of the best sources for really fresh dye.) It must not be stored in a hot place, such as a car in the sunlight, because even one day in a very hot place will destroy the reactivity of the dye. After you mix Procion MX dye in water, it will be good for only a week or two at room temperature, or only an hour or two if you add the soda ash to the dye mixture, as some prefer to do.

7. Bad color combinations. Placing complementary colors together, such as red next to green, or blue next to orange, or purple next to yellow, causes them to mix together and make a dull muddy color, unless you are thickening your dye; it is safer to place colors that are adjacent on the color wheel next to each other, such as purple next to turquoise, or green next to yellow. However, using some black for contrast in your tie-dyeing makes the bright colors appear brighter.

8. Bad water. If your water is very hard, your dyes will work much better if you add a water softener, such as sodium hexametaphosphate (the active ingredient in the original Calgon). You can order this product, often under the name Metaphos, from your dye supplier. Use it also when washing your clothing after dyeing.

Which of these possibilities do you think is the cause of your past problems in tie-dyeing?

Also see the FAQ section of my website, under "My colors are not very bright. What did I do wrong?", and the answer to "What would you suggest to maintain really bright colors?" in this blog for May 24, 2005.


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Name: Sue
Message: I wish to tie dye some chiffon for my daughter's dancing solo and have the colour start from a light shade into a darker shade of pink. Can I tie dye chiffon and how do I go about achieving the different shades?

I have no idea, unless you tell me what the fiber is. Silk chiffon is easy to dye, with the right dye and technique. Polyester chiffon is not!

In dyeing you can't tell anything unless you know what fabric you are using.

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Name: kevin
Message: Is it possible to dye Neoprene? I have neoprene seat covers and I would like to dye tan to black. If it is possible. how would I go about doing it?

No, I do not think that this is possible. Dyeing neoprene probably requires that you mix the dye into the liquid from which the neoprene is made. It is important that any dye mixed into the neoprene not react with the rubber and cause it to break down prematurely.

You could paint the neoprene, but the paint would probably peel off when the neoprene is stretched.

Sorry.


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My child's 8 year old class wish to use a batik technique to create a class quilt.  Are there any resists that don't use hot wax we can use?

Sure there are. There are quite a few brands, such as Presist, Jacquard Clear Waterbased Resist, or Silkpaint water-soluble resist, or you can use Elmer's blue glue gel. The biggest drawback is not being able to immerse the resist-treated fabric in a dyebath, so you pretty much have to paint the dye on. This is a small drawback compared to the horrible risk of a child's getting burned with hot wax, or damaging the children's lungs with paraffin fumes.

There is a page in the gallery section of my site devoted to an example of using Elmer's Washable Blue Glue Gel instead of wax. Note that you must use the BLUE gel, not white glue! The glue gel must be dry before you apply the dye, but don't leave it too many days before applying the dye, or it might not all wash out.

You cannot use a hot-water dye such as all-purpose dye in batiking, whether you use real wax or a water-soluble resist; the hot water dyebath required to dye with all-purpose dye will not only melt wax, but also dissolve water-soluble resists. It is essential to obtain cool water fiber reactive dyes, instead, such as Procion MX dye, or Dylon Cold Water dye (but not Dylon Multi-Purpose dye!). You can mail-order Procion MX dye from most of the different companies that are listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

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Name: jason
Message: Dear Paula, Love your helpful site! I do have a question or two regarding patterns. I can't seem to find the "spider" or the "pinwheel" anywhere. I'm relatively new to this but am getting better and I want to try some different designs but I'm finding it nearly impossible to get any kind of help in the pattern area. If I missed it somewhere on your site, I apologize. If not maybe you could share the secret? Thanx for your time, Jason

The 'pinwheel' pattern is the same as the spiral. A good explanation of how to make the spiral can be seen at Fiber-arts.com, and the fold is described on "How do you tie-dye a spiral pattern?" in the FAQ section of my website. It is also beautifully illustrated in two DVDs on how to tie dye: Michael Fowler's "Art of Tie-Dye" and True Tie Dye's "Tie-dye 101".

The 'spider' tie-dye pattern is what you get of you fold the garment in half vertically before proceeding with a standard spiral fold, with the center of the spiral on the edge of the fold. Apply different colors to the wedges of your spiral as usual, and then apply your dark 'spider' color all over it, on the back.

I strongly recommend that you consider buying the True Tie Dye video and/or 'The Art of Tie-Dye'. True Tie Dye also has a DVD on advanced tying techniques.  These DVDs will take you the next step in tie-dyeing, even if you are expert already. There's nothing quite like watching another artist show you how to do their techniques. You will find that learning other's methods will add to your own style. I find that the videos can teach a lot more than any book on how to make the folds. If you can afford it, I think that you will eventually want to acquire all three of these DVDs. If not, see if your local public library has them, or can be induced to obtain them.

You can buy all of these videos directly from Amazon or Fiber-arts.com. (If you use the links on my Book Reviews page to order, my site will receive a small percentage of the cost via affiliate programs.) I also see them listed among the DVDs available at Target, and you will probably find that your dye supplier carries them, as well.

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Name: Kristi
Message: My daughter (12) is doing a science fair project regarding dyeing using different waters ex: well water, rain water. and bottled water.  She is also using different fibers.  Are there any age appropriate books that may be useful in this project?  Any helpful hints would be greatly appreciated.

No, I'm afraid that I do not know of any kids' books on dyeing that are worthwhile. All of the dyeing books I've read so far are either intended for adults, or so non-scientific as to be useless. (See Reviews of Books and Videos on Hand Dyeing and Fabric Painting for some of my favorites.) For my son's science fair projects in middle school, I have helped him to locate the relevant portions in scientific books, such as John Shore's Cellulosics Dyeing, and then helped translate what they are saying into something a non-chemist can understand. There was simply no alternative; we checked out every possible book from the library, but none of the children's books were useful, and none of the adult books were easy for him to follow without assistance, due to the use of words and procedures with which he was unfamiliar. The single best book for a non-chemist would be "Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers", by Linda Knutsen, but it is out of print. (Our public library has a copy.)

What kinds of dyes is your daughter using? Lower quality dyes, such as the all-purpose dyes that are easy to find in stores, will perform just about as badly with distilled water as with hard water. No matter what dye you are using, three other factors - the choice of fiber, the pH, and the temperature at which you do the dyeing - will each make a vastly greater difference than the choice of water, though bad water can cause difficulties unless water softener is added. Salt will also make a big difference for some dyes. For detailed information about which types of dyes are recommended for each of various natural or synthetic fibers, please see "About Dyes". The best dyes for wool are acid dyes, while the best dyes for cotton are fiber reactive dyes. All-purpose dyes will work on both, though not as well as good fiber reactive dyes on cotton, and less reliably on wool than the best acid dyes available from mail-order dye suppliers (see my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page). 

Your daughter will need to know what is in your well water in order to be able to say anything intelligent about its effects. Have you had your well professionally tested? You can easily test the pH of your water yourself with pH paper (you can order this from a company such as Dharma Trading Company), but you cannot determine the hardness easily by yourself. Hardness is a measure of dissolved minerals such as magnesium or calcium. Large amounts of dissolved minerals can interfere with dyeing, and can also form insoluble precipitates with soap, creating the soap scum that makes such a mess of sinks and bathtubs. The well water in the house in which I grew up contained a large amount of iron; I do not know if the concentration of iron was enough to matter in dyeing, however. Iron in sufficient quantities can alter the colors of many dyes, typically dulling them down to more somber colors, and is used as a mordant to increase the washfastness of some natural dyes. A good book on natural dyeing would be useful for you to look up the effects of iron and other minerals as mordants in dyeing.

Ordinary bottled water is typically just filtered tap water, though it may taste better due to coming from a different location. The best tasting spring water contains dissolved hardness minerals. Bottled distilled water, which tastes too "flat" to be enjoyable to drink, is the ideal for use in scientific experiments, and might actually produce a different result from that of tap water, but it is too expensive and inconvenient for regular use in dyeing. For people who have bad water that interferes with getting the brightest of colors in dyeing, it is easier and cheaper to just add a water treatment such as the original Calgon (not the scented bath salts sold by the same company!), instead of buying distilled water. The chemical you need to buy for use in treating hard water is sodium hexametaphosphate, sometimes referred to as 'Metaphos'. Many of the dyeing recipes at PRO Chemical & Dye's very informative web site call for the use of Metaphos to help avoid any problems in case of hard water. It is also important to use in the washing-out process, if the water used in the laundry is hard.

An interesting way to mimic hard water would be to purchase "Burton Brewing Salts" at a beer brewing supply store. Since the water used in brewing can make a big difference in the final taste of the beer made from it, some home brewers like to add salts to mimic a historical style found in a particular place. Burton Brewing Salts are inexpensive; they contain calcium sulfate, potassium choride and magnesium sulfate. (Check your business telephone directory to see if a homebrewing supply shop is located nearby.)

Rain water is not hard like some well water, but it might have a low pH due to acid rain. This would be interesting to test with pH paper. A neutral pH is around 7; acid rain will have a lower pH. Acid rain will be relatively weak in its ionic strength, however, so even a small quantity of one of the pH adjusting chemicals needed for dyeing, vinegar for dyeing wool or soda ash for dyeing cotton with fiber reactive dye, will easily overcome any differences caused by the pH of the rain water.

It is very important that any science fair project include proper credits for all sources of information. Here is a link to a Microsoft Word document containing the best information I've been able to find on how to cite a weblog entry.

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Name: fiona
Message: this probably sounds like a strange question but i just heard somewhere that you can dye hair with food coloring, i don't suppose you'd know if that's true? tnx!

Yes, it is true. Acid dyes, which is what most food colorings are, can be used to dye animal wool or human hair. It shows up well only on light-colored hair, whether naturally blond or bleached. 

I have heard of people dyeing their hair with artificially colored gelatin dessert mix or with artificially colored and flavored drink mixes. It is best to get the kind that has no sweetening added, or to get the type with artificial sweetening, instead of sugar, if you can. Sugar would make a sticky mess. The artificially colored food product is mixed with enough hot water to form a paste, and applied to the hair as hot as is practical without burning the skin. The hair is then covered with a plastic bag or aluminum foil, to keep it wet, and additional heat applied by directing a blow dryer at the outside of the covering. When washing your hair afterwards, use only cool water, if you can bear to, instead of hot water, to help keep the dye from washing out as quickly.

It is always best, before dyeing hair, to take some hair from your hair brush and use as nearly as possible the same procedure first, to see whether the color you get is what you want.

One very good thing about food coloring as hair dye is that it is certainly safer than most commercial hair dyes. It is always important, before using a synthetic hair dye, to do a patch test for any allergy to it, by applying some to your arm and covering it with a bandage for one or two days; you should never use a hair dye that produces a rash during this test. If you are able to consume the same artificially colored foods without a reaction, though, you already know that you are okay with applying it to your hair, and can proceed without the allergy test. This is particularly nice if you want to dye your hair today, and not wait two days for the result of your home allergy test first.

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Name: Mrs S Minshull
Message: Can I dye polyester cotton, in the same way as bleached cotton?

Yes, you can dye a cotton/polyester blend using a dye intended just for cotton, but your results will be lighter in color than if you dye 100% cotton, because the polyester will not take the dye. Dyeing a 50% polyester garment will result in pastel colors. This is true whether you use high quality fiber reactive dye, or lower quality all-purpose dye.

The polyester portion of the fiber can be dyed only with a special type of dye called disperse dye, which must be boiled with the fabric, or, for hand-drawn designs, can be ironed on. See "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

Alternatively, you can use a fabric paint on cotton/poly blends, for colors as bright as those on cotton alone. Pigment "dyeing" with fabric paint can be used for beautiful effects, though not for perfectly smooth solid color.

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Name: Renauda

Message: I have a light lavender plaid taffeta top with a solid light lavender taffeta skirt that was previously used as a bridesmaid dress.  I want to dye the 2 pc dress black but Im unsure what type of dye to buy and which way is best to get the color dark black.  Thanks!!

I can't tell you without more information. What is the fiber content of your outfit?

Silk taffeta is easier to dye than nylon taffeta; acrylic and polyester taffeta dresses are essentially undyeable. See "About Dyes" to match the correct type of dye to the fiber your dress is made of.

Also, is your outfit washable? You cannot dye anything that is truly dry clean only. If it is washable, and made of a dyeable fiber, the easiest way to dye it a solid color is in the washing machine. The plaid will always show through a little under certain lights, however.

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Name: Bronwyn
Message: I live in Australia and find your site very informative. Where can I obtain the ingredients for fabric dyeing? Dharma Trading USA does not deal with Australia, but I know they have everything one needs.

Although one of my favorite US dye companies, PRO Chemical & Dye, does ship internationally, there is almost never any need for you to order from the US, because there are also excellent supply houses in Australia. Scroll down to the last section of my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page to find links to four Australian companies: Batik Oetoro, Kraftkolour, Silksational, and The Thread Studio. Most of these suppliers sell cool-water fiber reactive dye, either Procion MX or Drimarene K or both. You will also find many other dyeing auxiliaries and dyeing supplies if you browse on their web sites. Unless you are lucky enough to live very close to one of these, you will still have to purchase by mail order, but shipping charges and shipping time will probably be considerably less than when you order from overseas.

The only one of these Australian companies I've dealt with, since I am in the US, is Batik Oetoro. They sell an excellent range of products.

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Name: meri
Message: I have a light blue acrylic/mohair/nylon mix sweater type top that I would like to dye black. Which type of dye can I use for this mix of fabric, and will it even take on the black dye well? I'm confused as to which dye I should use because the site suggests different types of dyes for acrylic than for the mohair/nylon.please reply.

Yes, that is a real problem.

Unfortunately, you cannot dye acrylic in your kitchen. The dyes that will work are not safe for use in an area in which food is sometimes prepared. You would need a lab or studio to work in with strict safety procedures in order to safely use "basic" dye. You would also need to heat the dyebath to temperatures which would probably badly shrink the mohair.

You can dye the mohair and the nylon if you wish, using acid dyes. This will leave the acrylic the original color, however.

I don't know how well pigment "dyeing" works with acrylic, but it may be the best alternative. Pigment "dyeing" is actually not dyeing at all, but rather the use of fabric paint. Dharma Pigment Dye is said to work well for polyester and for uncoated nylon, so it seems likely that it would work on acrylic, too. It will not produce a perfectly smooth, even color, however.

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Name: debi
Message: Hi there, I have been looking for rit dye in the uk but to no avail. It is for colourwashing vinyl dolls and have been told that rit dye is the best, as this advice has came from the usa. Is Dylon dye the same as rit??  is it only a brand name difference??
thanks for taking the time to read this

Rit is a brand of all-purpose dye. It is the most-used dye in the US simply because it is very widely available. There are other brands of all-purpose dye that are very similar, such as Dylon Multi-Purpose and Tintex Hot Water dye. See "About All Purpose Dye".

Dylon also sells other types of dye, fiber reactive dyes, which give much better results than all-purpose dye on most clothing, such as Dylon Machine Dye and Dylon Cold Water dye, but whose suitability for tinting plastics I do not know. Their Multi Purpose dye is much more similar to Rit. Check the label carefully to make sure you have the type of dye you want when purchasing. 

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Name: sanjay agarwal

Message: Dear Sir,
        If you are interested to buy Disperse Dyes from India and it may be cheaper from your country, then i'm ready to supply you,
bye
and thanks
sanjay

I can place your company on my list of dye suppliers only if you are willing to sell small quantities (under one kilogram per color) and can supply me with the URL to a web site from which my readers can place their orders.

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Name: John
Message: Hi Paula:
    I was washing a rugby cotton shirt, white coller and light blue (Pacific Blue ?) base color.   Unfortunatly I used some clorox to help clean the white collar.   It didn't bother the blue color around the white collar, but when I hung the shirt to dry I noticed a small bleached out area on one of the sleeves.   I guess I must have got a drop on the sleeve, and though I thought all the shirt was wet maybe that spot was still dry thus the clorox bleached out a spot about the size of a nickel.

I was wondering do you think I could buy some dye, near that shade of blue and just spot dye that area?   All it needs to be close to the same blue, being it is such a small area.

Thanks for any suggestions.

For this problem I usually prefer the marker solution. If you were to use dye, you'd better use fiber reactive dye , and certainly not a hot water dye such as all-purpose dye, but even with the best dye it is very difficult to match the color of the surrounding area without inadvertantly also dyeing and darkening the previously undamaged areas. 

This question has been answered in the FAQ section of my website. Please see "How can I fix the bleach spots on my favorite clothing?".

The new bleach pens that are being sold in grocery stores these days appear to be an ideal way to carefully target bleach applications to prevent this problem, though I have not myself tried them for this purpose. It would still be necessary to put the shirt in a washing machine that is prefilled with water and a bleach neutralizer such as OxyBoost, immediately after bleaching.

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Name: angela
Message: I have recently moved into a house which has big windows with large  ORANGE louvre blinds, is there any way these can be dyed if so which dye.Thanking you Angie

I have  no idea! Sorry, but you haven't even told me whether the blinds are wood, vinyl, metal, or some other material.

It is impossible to discuss whether something is dyeable unless you know exactly what fiber it is made from.


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Name: Peggy
Message: what is the characteristics of dyeing & printing?
Thank you

I'm sorry, but it is impossible to figure out just what you are asking. Did you just type in a question from a school assignment? If so, the question probably made more sense in context.


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Name: Geni
Message: I have a black jumpsuit that had a little bleach spilled on it. I have tried to machine dye it and no luck. It is 50% cotton, 35% Polyester & 10% Lycra.... Can you give me any suggestions on how to dye it. I am leaving on a trip next week and really would like to take it with me.... Help!!!! Thank you for your time and consideration! 

There are several big problems here. One is that polyester is not a suitable fiber for you to dye at home. Polyester cannot be dyed with all-purpose dye; it can only be dyed with the use of a special polyester dye, which requires that you boil it with the dye for an hour. That would destroy the Lycra in your garment!

If you try to dye your cotton with a high quality fiber reactive dye, you won't get more than half the darkness of the true black that you want, since your garment is only 50% cotton, and the other fibers in your blend will not take the dye. You can't use a lower quality all-purpose dye at all on a 10% Lycra garment, because all-purpose dye requires high temperatures, which would damage the Lycra.

Your only real hope for this jumpsuit is to try to cover up the bleach stains with a fabric marking pen. See "How can I fix the bleach spots on my favorite clothing?".

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Name: jUDY
Message: I HAVE A RUST COLORED CASHMERE DRESS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO DYE BLACK. Can you dye it for me?

No, sorry, I cannot. Please consult my list of contact information for custom dyers. There are several who may dye your dress for you after you mail it to them. Page through and look particularly at True Color Fabric Dyeing and Dye Pro Services Inc.

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[link updated November 29, 2007]

Name: kathy
Message: I have a white shirt that is 96% cotton and 4%elastan(?). I would like to dye it some version of off-white or light tan. Is this possible for this fabric? Should I use tea or some dye that I buy?

It is possible to dye cotton with tea. The tea coloring will gradually come out in the laundry, but will last long enough to make the effort worthwhile. Tea dyeing works best with very hot water, however, which would not be good for your shirt. The cotton may shrink, and the elastane (usually known here in the US as spandex) is highly heat-sensitive and may be badly damaged by hot water.

I do not recommend all-purpose dye for this project because it, too, requires hot water, ideally at least 190 degrees F. (87 C.) for half an hour, and it too washes out gradually in the laundry.

The best type of dye to use to dye cotton clothing is cool water fiber reactive dye. The most popular fiber reactive dyes is Procion MX dye, which is available by mail-order from most of the dye supply companies listed on my page of sources for dyeing supplies around the world. If you are in Europe, you also have the option of buying Dylon Machine Dye, another good fiber reactive dye, which is optimized for use in washing machines.

The easiest way to dye clothing a solid color is in the washing machine. See "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".

Note that the stitching on your white shirt is almost certainly polyester and will remain white.

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Name: shawna
Message: Hi...great web site!! I have two upholstered chairs in my office at work that are old and faded in some spots.  The fabric looks to be in decent shape.  The color is not too good, and as I mentioned, faded in some areas.  I can’t afford to have them reupholstered and the price of slipcovers is also too much (at least quality slipcovers).  I was thinking about dyeing the chairs.  They don’t have to be perfect but if I could dye them a nice light to medium brown, it would cover the old color (faded pumpkin) and spruce them up for a reasonable amount of money.  I have no idea what the fabric is but my guess is cotton.  I thought I could use the spray bottle technique or sponge it on. Any ideas?

Please read the FAQ section on my website, specifically the answer to the question "Can furniture be dyed successfully?"

I cannot recommend dyeing your upholstery unless you first remove it from the chair, because all excess dye must be carefully washed out, which requires a lot of rinsing. I received e-mail from someone who used Rit brand dye to color her sofa, without removing the cover to do so, and the dye rubbed right off onto the clothing of whoever sat in it, ruining it. Please dye your furniture only if you can manage to rinse out the excess dye afterwards. If this will be possible, cotton furniture can be dyed with cool water fiber reactive dyes, but synthetics such as polyester and, especially, Herculon, cannot be. It is best to avoid hot water dyes such as all-purpose dye for this sort of project, both because the heat may shrink the fabric, and because of the obvious problems in figuring out a way to boil the fabric in the dyebath.

Fabric paint is a better idea than dye, if you cannot fully rinse the material after applying the dye. It may not be any cheaper than getting slipcovers made, however.

Scarlet Zebra used to supply valuable information on using fabric paint, instead of dye, to recolor upholstered furniture. Unfortunately, since that company has now closed for business, I can only find that information now on the Internet Archive. It is highly recommended reading.

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Name: Athena
Message: Help!  I've just had an expensive sheer (polyester) "sunburst" made for an arched window.  It's mounted on a wood frame cut to the shape of the window.  Problem is--I'm unhappy with the color.  Can I dye it?  The wood frame is wrapped in white drapery lining, probably cotton/poly blend.  It's too wide to submerge in a tub.  It's currently light pink, it would be better in a darker wine shade.  Suggestions???  Thanks!!

If you ordered a wine-colored fabric, you should return the sheer and get it replaced with the color you ordered. If you did not realize until it was in place that the color was wrong, then you will need to either recolor it, or buy a new one.

The project of recoloring the sheer has several major problems. To dye your polyester, you would have to remove it from the frame and then boil it for an hour with a special type of dye called disperse dye. You cannot dye polyester without boiling it, and you cannot dye polyester with ordinary dyes such as Rit brand dye. Once you have used a cooking pot to dye anything, you will not be able to use that pot for cooking ever again. For an even color, the pot must be large enough for the fabric to move freely during the boiling process. See Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dye.

An easier way to recolor polyester would be to use fabric paint, such as Dharma Trading Company's Pigment Dyes (which are actually not dyes at all, but paints); this has the distinct advantage of not requiring boiling, though the color will not be smooth and even. Carefully applied, an uneven color can be very attractive. However, you will still need to remove the sunburst panel from its frame before attempting to do anything to it at all. You will not want to get the paint on the fabric that wraps the frame, I expect.

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Name: Rochelle
Message: I've purchased some inexpensive stretch satin gloves -- lycra spandex, I suppose.  Can I dye these to match wine-colored bridesmaids dresses and what type of dye and dye-method would I use?

No, you cannot. Dyeing a fabric that contains 100% spandex is not a job for the novice. Your gloves may contain only 10% spandex, but the remainder of the fiber content is probably polyester. A mixture of spandex and polyester cannot be dyed at all, because the boiling required to dye the polyester will destroy the spandex.

Gloves that are 90% or more cotton and 10% or less spandex can be easily dyed with cool water fiber reactive dyes. Gloves that consist mostly of nylon can be dyed with acid dyes, though it is necessary to be careful with the heating that is required for setting acid dyes because excess heat will ruin spandex.

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Name: Grant
Message: Hello,
I have a black raincoat, that is extremely waterproof, I'm not sure what the exterior fabric is but there are a few rips and slight wear spots on the jacket that are turning white. I was wondering if knew what kind of dye I would use to turn these areas black again. Thank You
PS I was not able to find a tag on the jacket noting the materials used, therefore I was hoping you would know the general fabric used 

Sorry. No fabric that is "extremely waterproof" can be dyed at home. The coatings used to repel water also repel dye. Even paint is unlikely to stick.

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Name: Evan
Message: I would like to dye a cotton tee shirt with the red earth I dug up in Kuaui.  How and what do I need to do to set the dye and keep it from running and fading?

I think that the most effective way to do this would be to do some 'pigment dyeing'.  'Pigment dyeing' is actually not dyeing at all, but instead fabric painting, which is to say gluing the pigment to the fiber with a special glue made just for this purpose. The modern and more permanent method for pigment dyeing is to mix the earth with clear fabric paint extender, which will glue the pigment to the fabric. Here is a direct link to a source for Versatex Fabric Extender. This appears to be the method used by commercial companies that claim to sell cotton shirts 'dyed' with dirt.

The traditional method for pigment dyeing with earth is to make your own soy milk and use it as the adhesive. The problem with this is that the soy milk is a lot of trouble to make and cannot be saved more than a couple of days, and smells really bad after a while. Instructions may be found at Table Rock Llamas Fiber Art Studio. (Personally, I'd rather use clear extender, but I am grateful to Table Tock Llamas for providing their kits and instructions.)

Actual dyeing, as opposed to pigment dyeing, requires that the coloring material adhere to the fabric chemically, rather than being glued in as fabric paint is. I go into the subject of dirt dyeing in more detail on my page on About Natural Dyes. Quoting from there: Mud dyeing is more satisfactory as a fun idea than as an actual source of intense color. The ultimate color from simple unmordanted dyeing of cotton with a bright red dirt, after a number of washings, will be a pale buff color. 

A good way to make the iron in the earth darker and more permanent is to pre-mordant your shirt with pure tannic acid, or with a natural material that is very high in tannins, such as oak galls. Unfortunately, this would change the color of your dirt completely, producing a blackish rather than reddish brown. There are links to several recipes for mordanting with tannin on my About About Natural Dyes page.

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Name: Justine
Message: Please advise the technique used to create toddler t shirt drip dying shirt 1994. I think it is Peter in the pic but you made it for Will. i have been looking everywhere for this technique!!

It's really very easy. I put Procion MX dye into plastic squirt bottles, laid my shirt out flat (it was still wet from being presoaked with soda ash), and squirted dye on. The dye was mixed according to the recipe on "Hand Dyeing - How to Do It: basic recipe for Procion MX dyes on cellulose or silk".

I applied the dye in rainbow order, starting with a big diagonal band of turquoise (Turquoise MX-G) from upper left to lower right (as you face the shirt). I placed yellow  (Yellow MX-8G) on one side of this and a purple made by mixing fuchsia (red MX-8B) and turquoise on the other. Next to the purple I placed straight fuchsia, and also next to the yellow. Just remember the rainbow order, fuchsia - purple - blue - turquoise - green - yellow - orange - fuchsia. On this shirt, the green developed automatically from the overlap of yellow with turquoise.

I like to work on a surface of 1/4" wire grid, a material that is sold with the name of 'hardware cloth' in the US; I'm not sure what it is called in your area, but it is just like a window screen with the wires spaced much further apart. Window screen, with its smaller holes, is not as satisfactory because some dye tends to sit on top of the screen in a puddle, so your design gets muddied. You can lay the shirt out directly on the grass, but although the dye is not harmful to the grass, the soda ash is, so this can be hard on the lawn. I think that the folks in the wonderful True Tie Dye video use some sort of rack (I need to go watch that DVD again, for occasions like this one). Some people use layers of absorbent newspaper. The problem with laying the shirt flat on a solid work surface is that the dye can puddle underneath, resulting in muddy colors where all three primary colors have merged. Another option is to hang the wet, soda-ash-soaked shirt up on a line or from a hanger, outside (using plastic clothespins only since wood clips will transfer dye onto other clothing), and drip the dye down the length of the garment.

If you like to see some little swirls of purple against the turquoise, or little swirls of orange against the yellow, then it is good to use fuchsia red MX-8B (reactive red 11) as your red. If you want smooth, even color gradations, it is better to use red MX-5B (reactive red 2) as your red. These are the color names for some popular Procion MX type dyes; you can also use Drimarene K dyes for this sort of dyeing and for tie-dyeing, as well, but I have not yet investigated their individual properties.

If you do not already have a source for fiber reactive dyes, since you are located in Australia, I recommend that you order them by mail from Batik Oetoro, Kraftkolour, or Silksational. Contact information for these and other companies around the world are listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. Scroll down on that page to the section on Australia.

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Name: Anna H.

Message: I can appreciate the fact that you must receive a sometimes unmanageable load of mail and questions.  I do truly hope you might find a convenient time to review my questions for you.

Since I have a short attention span, I briefly reviewed your website, 
I need to know what your preferred suggested method would be for dying clothing as well as shoes various colors that will not fade quickly once washed ( clothing of course. )  What is best example of product to use?  Bringing some color to my clothing will undoubtedly bring joy to my life, the clothing I prefer is manufactured in a limited variety of colors.

Adding color is a good way to bring joy to your life. There is no single answer to your question of which dyes to use, because different fibers require different dyes. If your problem is a short attention span, you just need to know where to start. I would recommend that you start by closely studying my page on "About Dyes".

If you are dyeing cotton, rayon, linen, or hemp, chose a fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. This is the easiest form of dyeing, because you do not have to cook the dye into the fiber, and the dyes are brighter and last longer than other types of dye. 

I have easily dyed cotton canvas shoes using the "How to Tie Dye" recipe. Leather shoes are another issue altogether. There are instructions for immersion-"Dyeing Chrome-Tanned Leather using PRO MX Reactive Dyes", but the instructions are not suitable for shoes that should not be immersed. Some shoe repair stores will sell dye, but I cannot tell you how bright or washfast they are. In some cases your best bet will be to use permanent fabric markers, and in others you will do better to use high quality fabric paints such as Lumiere or Neopaque. 

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Message: Thank you for your web site....I hope, it is one of the best web site about dye and dying. I need your help. Can you help me? Where can I get dyes which completely lightfast dyes and high lightfast value dyes. I also get information about lightfast dyes. 

I'm afraid that there is no such thing as a dye that is completely lightfast. All dyes will fade at least a little in direct sunlight or other intense light. 

I understand that the most lightfast category of dye is that of the vat dyes. This category includes the natural dye indigo and many synthetic dyes, such as the indanthrone dyes.

If you try a web search with the phrase 'vat dyes', you will see many commercial sources. For small-scale use by artists, vat dyes are carried by companies such as PRO Chemical & Dye (in the US; it does ship internationally) and Granat Farvekompagniet (in Denmark; also ships internationally). For contact information for these and other artists' dye supply companies around the world, see my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

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