Fabric Dyeing Questions

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January Questions

Hi! I am hoping you can help me! I have a canopy for my daughters bed that is 100% polyester netting and white in color. I am wanting to dye it a light blue but everything I have read says that you can't dye polyester using RIT dye (which is what I have). Do you have any tips or advice to do this? If dyeing is not possible, do you have any other ideas to get it to the color I need. I preferred a light blue but am flexible on the shade....except for the current white (smiles). I am desperate so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your time and help!
Dear Angel,
In order to get the canopy that your heart desires, you must start over. You can get nylon tulle in many, many colors right here at the fabrics.net store. Unfortunately, you can't dye the polyester piece. Sorry & happy holidays.
Jennifer

Jennifer,
I happened to get on your website by accident - surfing the net. I have a thin, lightweight, black silk sweater that got candle wax. I tried to remove the wax by ironing the sweeter and putting towels and paper towels to absorb the candle (tip I got also from the internet). That didn't remove the wax completely so I brought the sweater to the cleaners. When I got the sweater, the area with wax discolored into grayish/dirty white. Is there a way to "correct" this, i.e., to get it to be black again? Is it possible to dye it black? I saw your answer to a "similar" question but don't know if this is the same solution to my problem. Any help you can give would be much appreciated.
Loida
Dear Loida,
I don't have much hope here but you could consult with Sherry at www.fabricdyeing.com & see what she says. She is located in northern CA, & has clients all over the world.
Happy New Year!
Jennifer

Jennifer-
A quick question about re-dyeing old faded denim. I have an old (Levi) jean jacket that is perfectly broken-in. Problem? It is also faded so bad it looks in worse shape than it is. I would like to re-dye it with a denim blue dye (Rit) to make it look new again. Will this work? Seems I read somewhere this will not restore the (near) original look of the denim fabric. I'm just too cheap to spend 80.00 on a new jacket when this one has so much wear left in it!
Thanks in advance!
John
Dear John,
First, remember that dyeing is an inexact science. There's only a small chance that you'll get the exact thing that you have in mind. You won't get a brand-new look, because the dye will take unevenly - sort of like adding watercolors over other colors. The faded areas will come out lighter than the darker areas.

Having said this, your jacket is a good candidate for overdyeing. Look at the rit website (www.ritdye.com) & see what they say about denim. You may come out with something even better than what you started with!
Have fun,
Jennifer

Dear Jennifer
I have read all your helpful comments on this subject and note that the usual answer to my question is no - but I have a bridesmaid dress in a shade of olive green that I would like to dye black. I don't have much to lose by trying as I will never wear it otherwise and I am willing to pay a professional to do this. I also have a large sample of the fabric that could be used to check whether the fabric will take to the dye or not. My problem is I do not know what the fabric is - the dressmaker told me it was "microfibre". It has a satin sheen on one side and is matt on the other. I honestly do not know if that is a natural fibre (I suspect not) or some kind of polyester/acetate?
If you are able to help or offer any suggestions I would be very grateful! Many thanks.
Kind regards
Jacqui
Dear Jacqui,
Probably the answer is still no, but contact Sherry at www.fabricdyeing.com & see what she says.
Jennifer

I recently bought a "sage" green pottery barn slipcover off of ebay and the result was not sage green but more of a light yellowy green. I have enclosed a picture with my sage green pillow so you can have an idea. This is not a case of it being shades lighter, but a differnt color, I honestly believe it was bleached because it also had koolaide stains on it. It is a very large slipcover and I believe it is brushed twill (canvas) can I dye this and how would I go about doing it? Are there professionals who do it? The seller would not refund my money even with the red stains. Help! I paid good money for it!
thank you in advance
Robynn
Dear Robynn,
I am sorry you have a big mess here. To me the two colors look fairly complementary! Talk to Sherry at www.fabricdyeing.com. She may be able to assist you. If the slipcover is all cotton, Sherry may be able to move it more toward sage. Otherwise (if it is polyester or some other synthetic), you are stuck & are going to have to start over.
Jennifer

Hello,
Can I still buy denim bluing for my blue jeans? Can you tell me where to get it? What is your opinion on bluing?
Thank you,
Holli
Holli,
Bluing is a laundry product for making fabric whiter or brighter. It's not a dye. In the old days white cottons had a tendency to turn yellow, & bluing would whiten by making the yellow move the opposite way on the color wheel.

The Rit website has some interesting info on overdyeing or redyeing denim. Check it out at www.ritdye.com. Another alternative is to overdye it with one of the industrial dyes available at www.dharmatrading.com. These are hands down the easiest dyes to use - throw the packet in a load with hot water & agitate for 20 minutes. Run a rinse load, that's it.

Let me know if you have more specific questions.
Jennifer

Hello, I had the opportunity to travel to India this Fall and bought a cotton tablecloth with dark blue and red colors in an intricate design. Sure enough, I have to clean the cloth, but I can tell that the colors run because when I tried to lightly sponge the fabric, the dye came off on the rag. What's the best way to clean the cotton, is there a way to set the dye?
Thanks so much, I love your column,
Sandra
Sandra,
I really don't know what will happen but you could try setting the dye with Retayne, which is available from www.dharmatrading.com. Follow the directions on the bottle. You may also want to get a small bottle of Synthropol to wash the cloth in the future. This make sure excess dye rinses out of your machine. You may still need to clean the inside of your washer. I use 409 myself for this purpose.
good luck,
Jennifer

 

You can ask Jennifer questions at dizzylettuce@Fabrics.net.

Jennifer Thompson Miller: I love my work in beautiful textiles, color, trim, and design! I am a devoted student of fashion history and love vintage and vintage-inspired looks. For many years, my main focus was fashion sewing, using natural fibers in beautiful colors. In recent years, much to my delight, I have learned color mixing and silk dyeing. This has added a vibrant, versatile dimension to my fashion design.

I learned design and needlework from my mother and grandmother, and I am very grateful for their inspiration and instruction. Some of my earliest memories are spending time in the fabric store, while my mother designed and picked out fabrics for glamorous outfits. From the age of ten, my mother and other fashion-conscious ladies would ask my opinions on fabrics that they were combining.

About Dizzylettuce

Dizzylettuce is a line of unique, creative, beautiful, and luxurious silk accessories - triangles, rectangles, and circles - that can be worn as shawl, wrap, waist and hip wrap, sash, exciting ensemble layer, and suit or coat accessory.

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