Fabric Dyeing Questions

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June Questions

Hi, I was wondering if you could help me? I have a satin two peice dress that i bought for a wedding earlier this year and now my friend is haveing a wedding with the same dress except wine instead of silver. Is it possible to dye it and where can I get that done? Thanks Theresa
Dear Theresa,
Sorry, you are stuck. You can't dye a synthetic satin dress, & even if it were rayon or silk, it would be very difficult to move it from silver to dark red.
Sorry. Have fun at the weddings.
Jennifer

I want to dye some fabric sage. Are there any products on the market to do this? I have only used Rit dyes and sage is not available. Thank you, JoAnn
Dear Joann,
Go to www.dharmatrading.com & request one of their paper catalogs. Read all about working with the reactive dyes. I have a sage green in my line - but I have to mix it to get what I want. It is a combination of dark yellow-green (actually, in my case, it is desert green which is available from www.prochemical.com) & dharma's charcoal gray with a tiny pinch of dharma's yucca. Sage is a big word & I am not sure exactly what color you want.

Your fabric will need to be a natural fiber, such as cotton, silk, rayon, linen, or hemp. Get some extra with which to experiment.

You will have a fun time developing the exact color you want! Or you may find one on the list that is close enough.
Jennifer

hi jen...
i have a black pair of pants... one of my favorites that's been bought by a friend of mine in asia... i was cleaning the kitchen and i accidentally splashed it with clorox bleach... now its ruined but i would really like to dye it all black again... is it possible to do that? if it is, is there anyway i can do it on my own... what kind of dye should i look for and what process should i do... I really need your help... thanks!!!!!! petite
Chere Petite,
Sorry, you can't redye these yourself. Consult with Sherry at www.fabricdyeing.com. She's the only one I know who will take this on.
Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
I am getting married in August and I recently picked up my dress. I thought the color was pure white, but it is actually closer to ivory. The flower girl dresses and the sashes of my bridesmaids dresses are white. Is it possible to dye the dresses and sashes to match my dress? If so, where should I have it done? Thank you so much for your help.
A stressed bride,
Cory
Dear Cory,
I am sorry, you can't dye the dresses and sashes. There are way too many factors involved, the biggest of which is that an elaborately constructed dress with lace, trim, etc. cannot withstand the hot water process of dyeing. Plus, synthetic fabrics, trim, thread, etc. will not take the dye.

At least you have a couple of months to deal with this. I would suggest that your first step be to take all the dresses, preferably on the people, & line them up in the wedding venue with the wedding lighting. See what happens. Get an interior designer, wedding planner, or your most trusted fashion expert friend to go with you.

At the very most you may have to have a seamstress construct the new sashes & purchase new flower girl dresses. Maybe you can return them? By August the girls may have grown out of the dresses you have now anyway.

Good luck & have a fantastic, blessed wedding!!
Jennifer

Hi can you die cloth seats in a car and what do you suggest? I just bought a used car and the seats are light gray and stained I would like a dark gray. Thank You Terry
Dear Terry,
You can't do this process yourself. Consult with a car detailing place & see what they say. Probably, the only alternative is recovering them. Car upholstery is synthetic material which cannot be dyed by mere mortals.
good luck,
Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
I received a beautiful "Indian suit" mailed to me from India. The colors are jeweled green and blue. After wearing it to the theatre, I came home with green hands, arms and under clothing! Evidently the green was dyed onto the original blue and is now coming off whenever it touches skin or even white clothing. From an non-expert, the scarf feels like chiffon type cloth and pants are some kind of cotton blend. What should I do to make it possible to enjoy this lovely suit without it fading onto everything.
Kate
Dear Kate,
There is only one hope, & I don't know if it will work. Treat the fabric with Retayne, available at www.dharmatrading.com. The directions specify using Retayne with hot water - you could try warm & then launder on cold. Apparel from India is a big mix of synthetic & natural fibers now, so I don't know if you risk extensive shrinkage or not. You may as well try it. Your only other option is to hang up the suit & look at it.

Follow the directions on the bottle of Retayne.
good luck,
Jennifer

Are there places where you can have clothing professionally dyed? If so how would one go about finding them? I tried google...which is how I found you, but not a profesioal clotlhing dyer...please help!! Lin
Dear Lin,
There are two excellent resources: www.fabricdyeing.com & www.sampledyeing.org. Please read my column at fabrics.net in order to see some caveats about having garments dyed. good luck,
Jennifer

Hi.
I have a pure white cotton dress that I would like to dye a light green. It is cotton, has one zipper, no buttons and is machine washable. What is the best way to dye my dress? What type of dye should I use? I thank you for your time.
Katie
Dear Katie,
You can dye this dress & probably will be pleased with the results. Here are the caveats: the zipper tape will remain white, & the thread that it is sewn with will remain white. If you are going for a lighter green, this probably won't matter so much.

Get a catalog from www.dharmatrading.com & read their instructions on dyeing cotton. I suggest that you do it in the washer for the most even results. Bucket dyeing is possible too but in my experience it is much more likely to streak or splotch.

Have fun & drop me a note if you have any questions.
Jennifer

Hi:
I have a satin bridesmaid dress that I would like to dye black. It was custom-made, and I really like the cut, but I have no need for a purple dress now that the wedding is over. I tried dying the shawl myself with Ritz dye, but it did nothing. I found your address during a Google search and noticed you're in Austin. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Kara
Kara,
Sorry, polyester and acetate, the fibers of most bridesmaids dresses, cannot be dyed with any kind of ordinarily available dye. Even if the dress were 100% silk or rayon, it would be hard to get it to be solid black.
Jennifer

Hi there! I'm attempting to dye white velvet, using cold water dye in dark blue. I believe I followed all the directions exactly as written, but after waiting the required time (one hour), I rinsed the dye and much to my horror, the velvet remained white. The measurements of the velvet are 110cm x 2 m, and I used three tins of dye. Help!
Dear Pat,
Velvet takes the dye beautifully, but it must be the silk & rayon velvet. Acetate, nylon, & polyester velvet will not take the dye, as you found. If you still want to proceed, get a copy of the paper catalog from www.dharmatrading.com & study their instructions. They also have the proper sort of velvet for sale there.
Jennifer

Hello, I have heard that one should wash new fabric(dark prints) in a cold salt water solution. Could you tell me how much salt to use to set the colour so that it does not run or leach out?? Thank you. Kendra
Dear Kendra,
Most fabrics that are commercially available are color fast. Occasionally an imported fabric will run or leak dye. If you are really concerned about it, you could treat the fabric with Retayne, available at www.dharmatrading.com. Follow instructions carefully. Wash colors separately. Ivory Snow liquid is also a good idea to keep colors dark & saturated.
Hope this helps,
Jennifer

Hello - great website!!
I had a question... Is it possible to dye an organic cotton fabric with high quality bright vegetable based ( or otherwise natural) dyes? Do you have any source for that? I am trying to make a sincere effort at being green. Need a little help! Any info would be appreciated!
Thanks very much!
Margaret
Dear Margaret,
It is possible to dye this fabric with good results. I don't have any experience with the natural dyes, but I do know that some of them are toxic in spite of themselves. All the info that you need is available at www.dharmatrading.com. They carry the fabric, the natural dyes, the reactive dyes (the ones I personally use), and the books on this matter. Get a copy of their paper catalog & peruse it carefully.
have fun,
Jennifer

Have you ever heard of sprinkling salt (rock salt or coarse salt – I think) on shirts that are being tie dyed with Procion MX dyes (I order from Prochemical and Dharma)? Someone mentioned this to me once, but I don’t know the details. I use the typical soda ash soak method then squirt the shirts with procion mx dyes. I am looking for new ideas and was curious about what the rock salt would do and exactly what the process would be.
Thanks! Laurie
Dear Laurie,
Here is what my friend reports about using rock salt for special effects dyeing:

"We use rock salt. It tends to cause "fracture"--separates the different colors in the dye and causes some of the interesting designs/patterns that you see in your finished product. When dyeing a garment, we put a skimpy layer of salt in the bottom of a tupperware type tub, add the dye mixture (stir a bit), and put in the pleated, folded, or scrunched garment. Do a quick pushing of the garment to soak up some dye, then quickly flip it so that the other side gets some salt treatment right away. We have found that the initial dunking has most to do with the outcome. I also think the salt has something to do with keeping the colors vibrant (but I have no science of consensus to back this)."

I have seen some of the beautiful patterns that she has dyed with this method. It is not exactly tie-dyeing, in that it is mainly 1 color with special effects.

Check out the books & other resources at www.dharmatrading.com for further ideas, too.
Have fun!
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.

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