Name: April
Message: I'm looking for a stunt to incent students to donate money for a charity. I'm wondering if there is a safe way to die my body the school colors (maroon and gold) -- and a way that will fade in a week or less! Not surprisingly, I'm not finding much info on this on the web. How about Kool-aid for this "project?"

Food coloring is definitely the only way to go. Any dye that has not been tested for safety in food or cosmetics should be regarded as too dangerous to apply to yourself.

Kool-aid is certainly one option for food coloring. Would the strong perfume of the artificial fruit flavors be a good thing, or a bad thing, from your point of view? Be sure not to get the type that has sugar in it, because it would be sticky and might draw bugs.

You might also consider the little bottles of food coloring sold at the grocery store on the baking aisle. That's what I have used for this purpose. The yellow would be suitable for your gold, while the red would need a little bit of blue added to it to make maroon, as the red in those food coloring sets tends to be rather orangish. The best assortment of colors would be either the Wilton cake decorating colorings, usually found at crafts stores, or cosmetic colorings sold online for soap making. Be sure to buy only FD&C or D&C approved colorings if you look at soapmaking supplies.

The smoothest way to apply liquid food coloring is via air brush, if you happen to have a friend who has one, but if you do not, you can apply it with foam brush or a sponge. I tried both ways, over twenty years ago. The dye will not actually 'take' on your skin, since you will obviously not be using the high temperatures required to make the dye permanent, so it can rub off on almost anything you touch, especially if you are warm enough to perspire at all. A bit of care will prevent any permanent damage to anything. Avoid sitting on light-colored leather or non-washable upholstered furniture! It will require several showers, and several days, to get the last bit of dye off of your skin.


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Name: Sandie
Message: Hello there,
I hope you'll be able to help me. I'd like to dye a 100% cashmere sweater from an orangey-red to black. What would you recommend to change the colour completely, where the colour won't run and the process won't shrink the sweater? Thanks very much.

My favorite black dye for silk and wool is Lanaset Black B, which is available from PRO Chemical & Dye under the brand name of Sabraset Jet Black. Unfortunately, it seems quite likely that the steaming required to set this dye might shrink the fiber. Perhaps you should contact them and ask for their advice.

There is a recipe for dyeing wool and similar fibers with only a small amount of heat, using the same type of fiber reactive dye that is more commonly used for tie-dyteing cotton, using acid instead of soda ash; see "Garbage Bag Dyeing with Wool using PRO MX Reactive Dyes". This method is wonderful for creating mottled colors that are not entirely predictable. A black cotton dye mixture may produce a different color, such as dark green or navy or brown, when used on an animal fiber such as cashmere. There is considerably less risk of shrinkage, however.

As a general rule, you should wash dyed wool only gently, with cool water, to prevent the dye from running. You can't expect a dye used on cashmere to be as permanent as Procion MX dye on cotton.

Since you are located in Canada, you may prefer to deal with Maiwa Handprints in Vancouver, which sells Lanaset dyes under the brand name of Telana, or G&S Dye in Toronto, which does not sell this type of dye, as far as I can tell, but which does sell another type of acid dye for animal fibers. Of course, you should only contact PRO Chemical & Dye for technical support, as I suggested above, if you intend to purchase from them. (They do ship to Canada.) Always call only your own supplier, if that becomes necessary.


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I am a grandmother of twin 9-yr. old girls. They got 2 cat costumes (black) from some internet supplier. The kids want them dyed, one a golden brown, the other a dark brown. It is really cheap material, but these were so hard to find that I do not want to ruin them. Thus, I am looking for a professional in this field who I can pay to dye these costumes for me. Please help. Where in San Diego do I start to find someone like this?

Sorry, but there is just no way to dye anything black to make it a lighter color, such as golden brown or dark brown. Dye darkens the color of fabric; it can never lighten it.

What is the fiber content of the costumes? It is impossible to make any recommendations on how to dye them without knowing what they are made of. Cotton fabric can usually be bleached to lighten its color, but synthetic fibers will generally be destroyed by bleach. Polyester, in particular, must never be bleached.

Professionals do not want to dye polyester or acetate. The only company I know that is at all willing to try dyeing 100% polyester is Color Creek, in Alaska. I am highly doubtful that you will find any dyer in your area who will be willing to dye these cat costumes, even for a lot of money.

It is pretty easy to make a cat costume. Start with 100% cotton leggings or tights (or at least 80% cotton), a 100% cotton long-sleeved t-shirt or turtleneck and a cotton cap, plus two pairs of cotton socks per child and some 100% cotton white PFD fabric to use to make the tails and ears. Buy Procion MX dye or even all-purpose dye, since the problem of all-purpose dye washing out in the laundry won't be much of an issue for a one-time-wear costume, and dye everything to match at the same time in the washing machine. Cut, say, a twelve-inch-wide strip of the dyed fabric the longer way (the full 60" width of the fabric) and roll it lengthwise, to make a tail, and safety-pin it to the back of the leggins; sew the tail and stuff it if you have time. Cut out ears from cardboard and glue some of the remaining fabric on them to cover them, then staple them to the dyed cotton watch caps. The children should put their dyed socks on both feet and hands as part of the costume. Finally, buy some children's costume makeup at the local pharmacy and decorate the kids' faces with whiskers and stripes.

The poor quality of most commercial costumes for children makes even the poorest hand sewing - or stapling, pinning, or gluing - look extremely good in comparison.


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Name: kathy
Message: I have tried getting 3 pr. of satin shoes dyed to match a silver/taupe dress. They all come out pink. I have now invested as much into shoes as my dress. Is there a way to bleach out satin shoes or go over them with a dye that will give them a silver/taupe look. THEY ARE A PINKISH TAUPE NOW AND I NEED A SILVER TAUPE

A problem with your question is that you don't say what the fiber content of the satin fabric covering the shoes may be. The word 'satin' means only that the fabric is woven in a particular smooth weave, but satin can be made from any fiber. However, it is most likely that what you have there is polyester, as I have not heard of shoes covered with a natural fiber recently. Polyester is a difficult fiber to dye, as it will take dye only at boiling temperatures or above, which will destroy any shoe. Most likely your shoes have been 'dyed' with paint, rather than actual fabric dye.

Polyester cannot be bleached in any way. Bleach will permanently damage polyester fibers, turning them an ugly yellow.

By 'silver taupe', do you mean grey? The problem with your pinkish taupe shoes is that they have too much red in them. The addition of the right amount of the opposite color, green, may help to tone down the pink to a neutral grey; adding just the right amount can be difficult, however.

Alternatively, you could use an opaque fabric paint that will cover up most of the color. An excellent brand of opaque fabric paint is Neopaque; you would have to mix black and white in order to achieve a grey. However, if you are purchasing fabric paint to use on your shoes, perhaps you would prefer to use a true metallic silver, such as Lumiere Metallic Silver. If you have a friend with an airbrush, using it to apply this paint, after mixing it with water, would produce the smoothest results. Otherwise, use a foam brush to dab the paint on, a little at a time. There is no guarantee of perfect results, especially the first time that you try to do this yourself. It is highly unfortunate that whoever dyed your shoes has not corrected the problem for you.



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Name: Kelli
Message: what is the recipe, or ratio, at which to mix the beeswax and paraffin wax for best results?

This depends entirely on your own preferences. If you do not want any 'crackle' in your design, or if you have any special concerns about the effects of paraffin fumes, use pure beeswax. If you wish for a great deal of crackle, that is, dye lines that penetrate through the wax where it has cracked, use a large proportion of paraffin, and be sure to use excellent ventilation when melting the wax.

A common ratio to use is 75% paraffin to 25% beeswax or microcrystalline wax. Note that beeswax is more expensive than the synthetic microcrystalline wax that can be substituted for it, but it melts at a lower temperature and is thus easier to work with.


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Name: nicole
Message: I have been looking at all the web sites I can find. I am unable to find a place to purchase white cotton childerns clothing. I don't want just tee shirts. I am looking for more of a girly look, shirts with ruffles, skirts with layers, capri pants ect. I did find the darmhatrading web site which is the best I found so far.

Another source I know of that specializes in children's dress blanks is Alegre Fashions Inc., but you may have seen this already, as they are listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page.

You should also look at B Coole Designs. Ms. Coole designs and sews clothing, including children's dresses, either undyed or dyed to order with Procion MX type dyes. Orders may be a little slow at times since they are sewn and dyed to order, but are worth the wait, as some styles, colors, and/or sizes are not available elsewhere.


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Name: Lauren

Message: I know you spoke about dying natural fiber canvas. Is there any way natural fiber canvas can be dyed with a latex household paint and used for upholstery? Let me know--Thanks!

Paint cannot be used to dye anything. Paint and dye are completely different concepts. Dye is a chemical that bonds directly to the fiber, while paint is a pigment combined with a glue.

The best dye for cotton canvas is fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. If your canvas is made of cotton, linen, or hemp, you can use fiber reactive dye on it. Fiber reactive dye can be painted directly on the fabric, with soda ash, or the dye can be applied to canvas as a solid color in the washing machine. Canvas tends to repel water to some extent, so it is difficult to get dye to penetrate it; overnight soaking in water with a drop of detergent can be very helpful, before dyeing.

However, yes, certainly, latex paint can be used on fabric. It should be applied only to dry fabric. Some pigments can be bad for fabric, especially the mineral-based pigments, which is why artists traditional pretreat their canvas with white gesso or white latex paint. The layer of white protects the fiber from degradation by the pigments in the paint that is applied on top.

Latex paint tends to be quite stiff and is usually used only on canvas that has been stretched flat. It may crack when you bend it around the upholstery frame, if the paint has been applied thickly. It would be better to use diluted artists' acrylics that have been mixed with Textile Medium to make them more suitable for use as fabric paint. Or, you might want to just start right out with a high quality fabric paint, such as Setacolor or Dye-Na-Flow.

Any form of paint will wear off of fabric much more quickly than dye, since dye penetrates further into the fiber. When people sit on furniture, they inevitably wear off the top layer of fabric. For better results, you might want to set your base color by dyeing your canvas with Procion MX dye, then after this dye has been set, washed out and dried, adding fabric paint on top to get more complex results.

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[Updated June 8, 2008.]

Message: Help! This is a large project. 14 50/50 T-shirts a volleyball team wants to Tie-Dye with only Red so they are just red and white (school team colors) and then fabric paint applied in black (school color). I can't find anything but Rit Red Dye. I need to do this in the simpliest quickest manner. Here are my thoughts please let me know if this is going to work:

No, it will not work.

8. Whats next?

You cannot dye 50% polyester shirts so that they are red - you will only get pink! Buy 100% cotton shirts. Give the 50% polyester shirts away to charity, as they cannot be dyed red for your project. Polyester cannot be dyed except with a special kind of polyester dye called disperse dye, along with a toxic carrier chemical which is completely inappropriate for use by novices such as yourself. Polyester cannot be dyed with an all-purpose dye such as Rit brand dye, nor with any dye that is suitable for use on cotton or other natural fibers. If only these shirts can be used for your project, you'd better skip dyeing altogether, and use fabric paint alone. Fabric paint tends to wear quickly, but at least you can get a true red on polyester with fabric paint.

Do not use all-purpose dye, because it fades quickly even when used on good 100% cotton shirts and therefore will eventually also yield pink. Use fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, or Dylon Cold Water dye (*never* Dylon Multi Purpose dye!).

Soda ash is useless with all-purpose dye. You are confusing the recipe for fiber reactive dye with that for all-purpose dye. Soda ash has no role in dyeing with all-purpose dye and does nothing to help it. Soda ash is for use only with an entirely different type of dye, not for inferior all-purpose dye.

I'm afraid that your ideas for using all-purpose dye, even the liquid all-purpose dye, will not work at all. If you want to use all-purpose dye, either powdered or liquid, you must buy a five-gallon non-aluminum pot (very expensive!), tie the shirts if desired, mix 14 boxes of all-purpose red dye with water and salt (one box of dye per shirt, which makes Rit one of the most expensive types of dye), and simmer the shirts in the dye for one hour, at 190 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Then, in the future, you must reserve your expensive new pot for dye use only, because pots that have been used with dye, such as all-purpose dye, must never be used for food. Finally, you must purchase some commercial dye fixative, such as Retayne, by mail-order from a dye supplier, if you do not want your all-purpose dye to gradually come out in the laundry.

If you do not want to boil your shirts, throw away your all-purpose dye, and buy some decent quality dye instead. The best dye for cotton is fiber reactive dye; the most popular brand of fiber reactive dye is Procion MX dye. You can order Procion MX dye from any of the dye supplier companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. Here is a direct link for an excellent source for red Procion MX dye: <http://tie-dyed.com/product.php?productid=7&partner=ProcionMX>. (For fourteen shirts, you'll need four of the little 2/3 ounce jats, or just one 8 ounce jar, which is enough for 48 shirts but costs less than $10.) This type of dye can be used at room temperature, with soda ash. It is much easier to use than all-purpose dye, costs less for the amount of dye you will need, produces much brighter colors, and lasts far longer in the laundry.



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Name: Deborah Joyce
Message: I want to know if I can get a batik look using Elmers Glue and Acrylic paint. I want to teach 4th grade batik style dying, but need it to be easy and safe. I don't know how to mix soda ash or what it is. Do you have any lesosn plans or ideas?

I would not combine acrylic paint with Elmer's glue. The heavy-duty washing required to remove the blue glue gel may remove the paint, as well. Better to combine real dye with the blue glue gel. I could be wrong; perhaps you could wash the glue out without washing out the paint. This will require experimentation in order to be sure, however. I would also avoid the use of all-purpose dye, because it washes out a little with every washing, which is far from ideal when it takes several washings in hot water to remove the glue gel, and because simmering the fabric in hot dye, as is required for hot-water dyes such as all-purpose dye, is inconvenient in the classroom.

Soda ash is used with fiber reactive dye. It is not used with fabric paint, and it is not used with all-purpose dye.

I think that the BLUE Elmer's Washable School Glue Gel is an excellent wax substitute for batiking with children. Do not attempt to use white glue! Only the blue glue gel will work for this method. The children should be given bottles of blue glue gel to apply to 100% cotton fabric. After they apply the glue gel, it must dry completely. You can hold it for them overnight to dry, or you can issue them a lot of hair dryers (which would make the class very warm and very noisy). You should obtain some fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, and soda ash to use with the dye.

To prepare for this class, obtain one 100% cotton (or silk) handkerchief or bandanna for each child, or buy 100% cotton fabric and cut/tear it into appropriate-sized rectangles (allow a little extra, as unhemmed edges will shred in the wash). The fabric/bandannas should be pre-washed in hot water before use. Buy Procion MX dye and soda ash, using mail-order if necessary. Good sources for Procion MX dye are listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. You can also buy it, for a little more money, from a popular art supply catalog suck as Dick Blick. Look for Procion MX dye. You can use Dylon Cold Water dye. (Be careful to look for "cold water" in the name of the Dylon dye, as Dylon Multi Purpose dye is a hot water dye and not nearly as good.)

For a very quick and easy project, have the children apply the glue gel and let it dry. The next day, let them dip their fabric briefly into a bucket of soda ash dissolved in water, while wearing the kind of heavy rubber gloves that are used in washing dishes. (If they get soda ash on their skin, they should wipe it off right away and then go wash their hands, as it is rather harsh to the skin, though not actually dangerous.) After allowing excess soda ash mixture to drip back into the bucket, they should dip their fabric into your bucket of dye mixed with water. Ideally each piece should be spread out, on a plastic surface, after this, so that none of the moistened glue contacts another portion of the fabric, because the glue will transfer! I would rather not have 20 or 30 fourth-graders handling wet dye, if only because of the potential for mess, so perhaps you or an assistant should do all of the removing of fabric from the dyebath, letting it drip back into the bucket, and spreading the fabric out on the plastic. You will need to discard the dye in your bucket at the end of the class period, because the soda ash that gets into it will 'activate' the dye, and it will go bad after an hour or two.

You can stop there, or you can repeat the process with another color on another day. On the first day, you would use a light color, such as yellow. After the fabric has dried, the children could apply another layer of glue gel, which again must be allowed to dry thoroughly before dipping it in dye. The regions that are covered with glue gel before the first dyebath will stay white. The regions covered after the second one will stay yellow. The regions that are not covered with glue gel will end up a mixture of the two dye colors; for example, if the second dye bath is a deep blue, the combination of the two colors will, of course, be green. When all dyeing steps are finsihed, you should take the fabric pieces home and wash them, first in cold water, and then two or three times in hot water with detergent.

The amount of time that the glued fabric is immersed in the dye must be kept to a minimum, to avoid dissolving the glue gel. Another potential problem is that, if you allow the children to dye the same piece of fabric more than once, as in traditional batik, the dried dye on the fabric could transfer to their clothing and ruin it, and of course it is never a good idea to breathe in dry dye powder. It would probably be best to rinse each piece of fabric in cool water to remove some of the excess dye, before working on it again, though there is the danger of removing some of the glue from the piece before this is desired. A single round of dyeing is certainly much easier, though it omits the important color mixing lesson.

For the recipe for using Procion MX dye, see "How to Dye". For more details about using Elmer's Blue Glue Gel as a resist, see "Immersion Dyeing with Water Soluble Resist, September 2005". Also see "I would like to teach a small 4th and 5th grade class to batik".

The color distinction between the gel and the dye is not obvious until after the fabric has been thoroughly washed in hot water two or three times. The gel actually itself becomes dyed; the undyed regions become clearly visible only after the glue and the excess dye are washed out.



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Name: Sarwan
Message: Can we use the radium(Ra) in Disperse dyeing of Polyester Fibers? if yes then How can we do this? what radium is harmfull for human body if it's use in dyeing?

Where did you get this peculiar idea? Is there any published material about it, or is this a joke?

The dangers of radioactivity are too well-known to require my comment, but I've never heard of the use of any radioactive element in dyeing any fiber, nor of any pure element for dyeing polyester. The only dyes for polyester of which I am aware are the disperse dyes listed in the publications of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.



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Name: Nathalie
Message: Hello,
I have a queen size bedding set that is 50% cotton and 50% polyester that is ivory and I would like to dye it white. Do you know how I could do this.

It can't be done. Removing color from fabric requires bleaching, or discharging, not dyeing. Dyeing involves the addition of color, and thus cannot ever produce white from a darker color such as ivory.

Unfortunately, polyester cannot be bleached, and in fact can be permanently damaged and yellowed by exposure to bleach.


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Name: Laura
Message: I'm doing a project on Batik and Tie/dye for D.T could you plese tell me what they are because i carn't seem to find it anywhere i only need a couple of lines on each. Thankyou

The answers to this may be easily determined by reading my web site under "How to Batik" and "How to Tie Dye". If that is too difficult, another excellent resource for questions as basic as this would be a dictionary, or perhaps an encyclopedia.

Any public library will have many encyclopedias, but an interesting online collaborative encyclopedia you might look at is the Wikipedia. It includes entries for Batik and Tie-dye.



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Name: Sandra
Message: Your information was good on how to dye the clothes but I need to know what to do after we have dyed the shirts. I need the washing instrucions.

What kind of dye did you use?

If you used all-purpose dye, hand wash separately, in cold water only. All-purpose dye is not very washfast and will bleed in the laundry with every washing, possibly ruining other clothing. It should be treated with a dye fixative such as Retayne or Raycafix to help reduce this risk.

If you used good fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, and you followed the recipe correctly with soda ash, then the main issue is just to remove excess unattached dye. The shirts should be washed once in cold water first, without detergent (or with Synthrapol), and then two or three times in hot water with detergent (preferably Synthrapol). Once all excess unattached dye is removed in this way, future launderings can be done any way you like, in hot, warm, or cold water, as long as you avoid bleach. Fiber reactive dye that has been applied correctly will last for hundreds of washings at any temperature, and are safe to wash with white clothing.

Caution: public water supplies that have been disinfected with chloramine, rather than chlorine, will tend to fade all dyes, even fiber reactive dyes, after many washings. The use of Antichlor in the final rinse might prevent this from happening.



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Name: Heather
Message: Hi. I have a pair of khaki pants that I absolutely love. They have a stain on them that I can't get out. I'd like to dye them black to cober the stain so I can still wear them. They are 76% cotton, 20% polyester and 4% Lycra. Is it possible to dye them black? What kind of dye should I use? If it makes a difference-the label does say no bleach or fabric softener, wash cold, and tumble low. Thank you.

I'm sorry, but that stain will always be there, even after dyeing. Dye is transparent, and will darken the stain as much as it does the surrounding region. In addition, neither the polyester nor the spandex will accept the dye, so at most only 76% of the fiber will be darkened at all by the dye. This might be enough for merely changing the color of the pants, but it makes it even harder to cover a stain. Furthermore, the polyester thread that was used to sew the pants will not accept dye, so at best you would end up with dark grey pants with tan stitching.

(Is there any possibility that a good dry cleaner's establishment would be able to remove the stain?)

If you decide to dye the pants anyway, to make the stain less obvious, please let me steer you away from all-purpose dye. All-purpose dye is noted for poor washfastness, which means that it will bleed in the laundry forever, and will fade rather quickly. Another problem with all-purpose dye is that it works best when used in extremely hot water (preferably 190 degrees Fahrenheit), which will tend to shrink and ruin any pre-sewn garment.

The best dye to use to dye cotton garments is fiber reactive dye, such as, for example, Procion MX dye. It is best to purchase fiber reactive dye via mail-order. You might want to buy enough black Procion MX dye to redye a washing machine load containing all of your black cotton clothing that has become faded. Procion MX dye can be purchased from any of the suppliers on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. (Here is a direct link to purchase black Procion MX dye at Amazon.com .) Dyeing a five-pound washing machine load requires five ounces of black Procion MX dye, ten pounds of salt, and three-quarters of a pound of soda ash. (Producing a paler color requires much less dye.)


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Name: Marc Message: Hello!!
I have roughly 30yards of polished cotton drapes with beige background and large floral prints (very 90's). I like these drapes and the swag but would like to change the look of the fabric. Would you be able to recommend someone or company that would do this. I live in Ottawa Canada.
Thank you in advance for your reply


You might try mailing your curtains to Dye Pro Services in Calgary, Alberta. Contact them first to work out all the details.


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Name: jelena
Message: Emergancy!!!!
my formal is on the 22nd of september and i have been trying to find a place that dyes RAYON. i bought a beautiful scarf but it is white...and i need it to be black or a dark blue.
would lincraft have the dye i need?
what dye do i need?
what are the chances of my scarf not turning out even and nice for my formal?
what dying procedure do i use?
PLEASE HELP ME!!!

I have no idea whether Lincraft sells any dye at all. I've never heard of Lincraft; it must be local to your area.

To dye your scarf nice and evenly, use the washing machine method. See "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". Rayon is extremely fragile when wet, so buy a large lingerie net bag to put it in while dyeing it in the washing machine, or use a very delicate cycle if your machine has one. You don't want to shred the edges of your scarf in the machine. A small net bag may interfere with even dyeing, but a large one should be fine, if the scarf can move freely within it and is not squashed into a bundle.

It is possible to dye rayon with all-purpose dye. I generally recommend strongly against the use of all-purpose dye on cotton and rayon, but you are in such a hurry that you may have to use whatever dye you can get locally, instead of mail-ordering superior dye from one of the companies listed for your part of the world on my Sources for Supplies list. If you can find Dylon Cold Water dye, or Dylon Washing Machine Dye, or Tintex Low Temp Dye, your results will be much better than with an all-purpose dye such as Dylon Multi-purpose dye, Tintex High Temp Dye, or Rit Tint and Dye.

Keep in mind that you should at least double the amount of dye when trying to dye something black.

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Name: Mindy
Message: hi I am doing a tye dye project with a group of kids at church and we thought it would be a neat thing to be able to tye a cross. if you have any suggestions on how to accomplish this we would very much appreciate it.

See my dyeing weblog entry from March 4, 2004, on "How to Dye a Cross Pattern".

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Name: Laura
Message:I have a machine-washable polyester dress of my mothers which I'm dying (!) to dye black for some winter university balls, as this is a much cheaper option than bying a new dress! As I can machine-wash it, is there anyone who can do this for me?

I am not sure how much cheaper this would be than buying a new dress. Polyester is not an easy fiber to dye; it requires a special type of dye called disperse dye, and a nasty toxic carrier chemical, and a very large non-aluminum cooking pot which will never again be used for food. I do know of sources for this type of dye in the UK, where you are, but large non-aluminum cooking pots are quite expensive, if you cannot use them for cooking food afterwards.

There are some dyers who are willing to custom-dye clothing, but they avoid dyeing polyester. The only business that I know that is willing to dye a 100% polyester dress is Color Creek, in Alaska. The cost of shipping a dress there from overseas and back would probably pay for a new dress.

Sorry for the bad news.


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Name: Lynne
Message: I'd like to dye a Kelly green silk dress just a few shades darker, to more of a deep emerald green. Should I use black in small quantities, or use a green dye close to my desired shade? Thanks!

Either one could work. A problem with many but not all black dyes is that they may not make a neutral grey when used in concentrations too small to produce a dark black, but instead be a little bluish or reddish, say. I would prefer to use a high concentration of a rich dark green dye, for more predictable and richer results. A good black acid dye for silk, such as Lanaset black dye, ought to work, too, though.

A more important question is what dye to use. All-purpose dye requires the use of very hot water, preferably almost boiling (190 degrees Fahrenheit); can your dress survive this treatment? If not, you may wish to use cold water fiber reactive dyes.

Do not even try to dye your dress if it is not washable. The easiest way to dye a garment a single solid color is in the washing machine; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?".


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Name: Anne
Message: Just wondering if you know where to buy dyes wholesale in US or Canada.

There are a number of good dye suppliers in both the US and Canada listed on my Sources for Supplies page. All give price breaks for large quantities. Contact them individually to determine their policies on wholesale sales.


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Name: Jeffery
Message: I am in the business of selling Polyurethane Foam Pre-Filters for aquariums. I have a Patent Pending on one of my filters and to increase sales I would like to offer a variety of colors. I have tried dying them with Rit and Tintex dyes and it works for a while but after about a week the color fades and then disappears. Will your product last in a water (Aquarium) environment? I know Polyurethane can be permanently colored I just need to find the right type of non toxic dye. The color doesn't have to last forever but a few months would be nice. Can you help me?

I don't know what exactly you are referring to as 'my product', but it does not matter since, as far as I have been able to determine, there is no way to dye polyurethane after-market that would be suitable for your purposes. Polyurethane is dyed in liquid form, during the manufacturing process, before the polymer material is extruded or cast into a solid form.

The acid dyes in all-purpose dyes such as Rit and Tintex can be used to dye polyurethane, if the water temperature and pH of the dyebath are correct, but they will not dye permanently enough for use in an aquarium. Some of the dye will wash out in the aquarium water. I can't recommend that you dye your own polyurethane foam for long-term underwater use. Unfortunately, dyes used for polyester or for acrylic do not work well on polyurethane, either.

In order to sell polyurethane foam pre-filters with a permanent color, you will need to purchase your polyurethane already dyed.

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Name: Cookie
Message: Have been looking for a white dye to change almond colored curtain. I can only find britener and color/white remover. Is there a such thing as white dye?

There is no such thing as white dye, because dye is transparent, and can only add to the color of the object you are dyeing, never make it lighter.

In order to turn an almond-colored curtain to white, you must remove the color that is already in the curtain. Do not bother trying to do this if your curtain contains polyester! The color of 100% cotton can be lightened with chlorine bleach or with sodium hydrosulfite. You must never use chlorine bleach on any synthetic or on animal fibers such as wool or silk, but it may be possible to use sodium hydrosulfite, with great care, on silk or nylon. Stop chlorine damage to the fiber from continuing indefinitely by following bleaching immediately by rinsing and treating with Anti Chlor or chlorine-free oxygen 'bleach'.

One of the most readily available brands of sodium hydrosulfite is Rit Color Remover. Use it in the washing machine, but be sure to buy enough boxes for the size of your washing machine, possibly two or three boxes for one load. Another product containing sodium hydrosulfite is Carbona Color Run Remover.

Rit Whitener & Brightener is another product, which you might want to try after removing as much color as possible from your curtains. It contains an optical brightener which makes whites appear whiter and brighter, just as the name implies. It will not be sufficient by itself to lighten an almond colored curtain, however.

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Name: John
Message: Hi, I'd like to know if when making the urea and mixing the dyes in the urea does it need to be a certain temp ? Also when pre-soaking in the sodium carbonate does this need to be a certain temp and do you leave the garment soaking wet then apply the dye or do you ring it out then apply the dye. Thanks for all you info on your site

Urea is pretty easy to dissolve, and does not have to be any particular temperature. However, when you dissolve fiber reactive dye in water, with or without urea, the temperature of the water should be low enough not to spoil the reactivity of the dye. Room temperature is best for dissolving fiber reactive dye. Colder temperatures make the dye more difficult to dissolve, but hot water can kill the dye.

Sodium carbonate (soda ash) dissolves most easily in water that is at a temperature of 95.7 degrees Fahrenheit (35.4 degrees Celsius). It will be harder to dissolve soda ash in water that is either warmer or cooler. It does not much matter what temperature the soda ash solution is when you soak your fabric in it. Room temperature is good.

Temperature is key for dye usage. Warmer temperatures cause the dye to react more quickly. This is good after you get the dye on the fiber, but bad beforehand. Store dye solutions (*without* soda ash) at room temperature for no more than a week before using, or longer in the refrigerator; if you store dye solutions in the refrigerator, allow them to warm to room temperature before use. Use dye within one hour of adding soda ash to it, if you ever do that. After applying the dye to the soda-soaked fabric, keep it overnight at 70 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer, to allow the reaction between the dye and the fiber to take place.

In direct dye application of soda-soaked material, it is best to wring out excess moisture before applying the dye solution. Some dye artists prefer to line-dry their soda soaked material before applying dye; the dry soda ash in the material works as well as wet soda ash, as long as it is not rinsed out at all.

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Name: Lisa
Message: i searched your site and found a little information about this but i hope you could be more specific with me. i was tought how to batik in high school, although instead of dyeing the entire thing one color, i used a method of actually coloring the lines in, like painting, with cold water dylon fabric dyes. i always used plain washed muslin, but in attempt at something new i bought some shirts that i wanted to batik on the back of. the shirt styles i like are mens workshirts, which the best i could find was a 60 cotton 40 poly blend and a 50 cotton 50 poly blend. will the batik wax stick to the fabric? and will the cold water dylon dyes stick to the fabric? any help or adice you could give me will be very helpful. thank you.

Sorry, but I have bad news for you. The polyester cannot be dyed with any dye that can dye cotton. Dylon cold water dye is a type of fiber reactive dye, which works well on cotton, far better than any all-purpose dye (though the tiny tins are much more expensive per garment than other brands of fiber reactive dye). Polyester is very difficult to dye at home, however, and entirely unsuitable for batik, since wax melts at temperatures below that required for dyeing polyester with its special dye. If you batik these shirts, your colors will be only 50% as bright as usual. While the pastels obtained by dyeing 50% cotton can be attractive in tie-dye, it will probably be very frustrating for batik.

You will need 100% cotton (or rayon, or silk) shirts for batiking. If you cannot find them locally, you can certainly find them on the web somewhere. (Try a search for "cotton work shirts".) However, shirts sold specifically as blanks for dyeing are more dependable than shirts sold for immediate use, because the latter may be treated with finishes that repel dye. Avoid any shirt with stain-resistance or a permanent press finish, as the coatings will prevent the dye from reaching the fabric evenly. Various styles of shirts sold specifically for use as clothing blanks may be obtained from various sources, such as Fiber-arts.com (click on 'blank apparel'), Alegre Fashions, and Dharma Trading Company.

It is possible to transfer the special polyester dyes known as disperse dyes to polyester fabric with an iron, after using them to create designs on paper. See "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

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Name: Shams
Message: We are running a hotel and we have a number of good terry cloth towels which are stained from use by the crews. We have been wondering if we could dye them dark burgundy to match our carpets and and use them as pool towels.. It will be a shame to just throw them away. Any suggestions and how to go about it.

Yes, you can dye 100% cotton towels in a washing machine, using fiber reactive dyes. Avoid all-purpose dye, which bleeds forever. You will need to mail-order Procion MX dye from any of the companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. (Here is a direct link to burgundy Procion MX dye at Fiber-arts.com; for custom color matching of large quantities of dye to your carpet color (5 pounds or more of dye), contact PRO Chemical & Dye directly.

My web site includes a page about how to dye in the washing machine.

While stains are almost never completely hidden by overdyeing, they do usually look better on a dark color than on white towels.


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Name: Chris
Message: Do you have any suggestions for dyeing jeans bright neon colors such as green and orange?

Since dye is transparent, dyeing any color of jeans besides white will not produce bright colors at all. In order to produce bright orange or green jeans, you must start with white jeans.

If you have a source for white denim jeans, this is perfect. If you do not, you will have to remove as much of the original indigo dye as possible first, using either chlorine bleach or a product called Rit Fast Fade for Jeans. If you choose to use chlorine bleach, you must immediately follow the use of bleach of a bleach stop agent such as Anti-Chlor, which is the most economical option, or a rinse of pure 3% hydrogen peroxide, in order to prevent the bleach from eating your fabric.

Once you have obtained your white or nearly-white jeans that are ready to dye, you must choose the correct dye. All-purpose dye will never give you the neon-bright colors you crave. The brightest and best dye for cotton is fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye.

You can mail-order Anti-chlor and good Procion MX dyes from any of the companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page; you cannot, as a rule, buy them in local stores. (Here are direct links to Anti Chlor and Strong Orange MX dye and Brightest Green MX Dye at Fiber-arts.com.)

Note that the characteristic crossover pattern of the twill denim fabric can never be obtained by dyeing garments, since the denim look requires white threads to be woven with colored ones. The brightest colors are obtained by using the same color for both directions of thread, though, so this is probably not a problem for you.


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Name: Janet
Message: I have A PAIR OF BLACK FABRIC SHOES THAT i HAVE LOVED FOR YEARS AND CAN'T FIND ANYTHING LIKE THEM.
I WANT TO WEAR THEM TO A WEDDING BUT BLACK WILL NOT WORK. IS THERE A WAY TO REMOVE THE C0LOR AND THEN DYE THEM. ANY SHADE OF LIGHT BROWN OR TAN WOULD WORK.

No. There is no way possible to bleach black shoes in order to make them white. The color will inevitably remain in the crevices and stitching of the shoes, leaving a mess. Bleach is also apt to destroy the shoes, if you try it anyway. The risk is high, and success is highly unlikely.

I'm afraid that you will just have to buy a new pair of shoes in the appropriate color.


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Name: Paul

I want to dye an old garment. The material is 65% Polyester and 35% cotton. What I would like to do is bleach the old pattern so that it is almost non existant and then dye my own pattern on top of it.

Can this be done? If so, how would you suggest I go about it?

No, you cannot bleach polyester. Bleach will damage the synthetic fiber permanently, and will not remove the color. There is no possible way to accomplish your goal.

Bleach should be used to remove color only from natural cellulose fibers, such as cotton or hemp.

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Name: Jane

Message: I have a black hat (believe it is sinamay) which has a black fabric band and decorative black feathers at side. I bought this hat for a wedding but now realise it does not go with my outfit. Can you please give me some advice about dying it, the colour I am aiming for is a burgundy colour.

Dye is transparent. As a result, dye can be used only to darken colors, not lighten them. There is no dye that can turn any fiber from black to burgundy.

Chemicals that lighten dye are called discharge agents. The most popular, and also one of the most destructive and dangerous, is household bleach. Chances are that it would destroy your Sinamay hat, though I am not familiar with Sinamay and am not certain that it would do so. Another slightly more gentle discharge agent is sodium hydrosulfite, commonly available as Rit brand Color Remover. If you use this chemical, or submerge your hat in any other liquid, be prepared to have to have the hat reblocked to regain its shape.

It would probably be best to buy a new hat in the color you desire, but it might be possible to alter the color of your hat acceptably with fabric paint. See "Fabric Paints: a different way to color fibers". If the hat is quite stiff, you can use artists' acrylics, instead of fabric paint. Artist's acrylics will stiffen any fabric to which they are applied, but this may not be a problem with a hat that is already quite stiff.

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[Updated June 8, 2008.]

Name: Katherine
Message: Hi! I am looking for a (preferrably local) contact to dye some slipcovers. I have looked at your site, and the only qualified resource I found was in Canada. Do you happen to know of anything near Seattle, WA?

No. It is generally quite difficult to find a local company to do custom dyeing. As a rule, it is usually necessary to mail your item to be dyed to a company in another town that will do the dyeing for you.

Several companies that perform this service have listed themselves on my website's Custom Dyers Listing. Try True Color Fabric Dyeing in California or Dye Pro Services in Alberta.

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Name: Margo
Message: I really hope you can help me. I have two Polo shirts that got ruined because the color ran onto them and was absorbed during the wash. So now I have orange on a green shirt, etc. They are very expensive new shirts. Is there any way to get the color that ran onto the shirts out again? Thanks for any help you can give. The shirts have been wasshedm but not put in the dryer.

THe first thing to try is simply washing in very hot water. Unattached dye is much more easily removed in hot water than in cool water. Try this several times in a row, if necessary.

If washing with hot water does not do the job, then you can try Rit brand Color Remover. This might also remove the original color - there is no way to tell in advance whether or not it will. However, it is better to have paler shirts than shirts with obvious stains. Try the Color Remover only if the shirts are not usable without it.

If the color is pale after using Color Remover, you could possibly redye the shirts the original color. If you decide to do so, I strongly recommend against the use of all-purpose dye. You will get much better results with the use of cool water fiber reactive dye, because it can be used at room temperature, and because it is easier to use and much more permanent than other types of dye. The most popular brand of fiber reactive dye is Procion MX dye. You can mail-order Procion MX dyes from most of the dye supply companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page, or via Amazon.) The easiest way to dye 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: Faruk
Message: Hello! I have a question that I don't think has been answered directly in your FAQ section. I've bleached a pair of jeans and now they are pretty much white. Now I want to dye them a deep red color, but I don't know which dye would be the best to use for this kind of material. This is not for simply decorative purposes, since I would still like to wear the jeans, so I am looking for dye that won't stiffen the pants. I hope you can help me (and from the looks of your site, you probably can :-) Thank you!


The best kind of dye to use for 100% cotton jeans is cool water fiber reactive dye, because it can be used at room temperature, and because it is easier to use and much more permanent than other types of dye. Unlike fabric paint, it will not stiffen the fabric at all.

Hot water dyes, such as all-purpose dye, must be used only with very hot water, which may shrink your jeans, and they fade quickly, and bleed with every pass through the laundry. I do not advise the use of all-purpose dyes on cotton clothing.

The most popular brand of fiber reactive dye is Procion MX dye. You can mail-order Procion MX dyes from most of the dye supply companies on my Sources for Dye Supplies page, or click on the Dick Blick Art Materials ad at the left.

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

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