An ineffective D.I.Y. dye
>> Saturday, September 4, 2010
I found this great 80's shirt dress at a vintage shop up north. The only hitch was that I didn't like its bubble gum pink color. I bought some dye at the local JoAnn Fabrics, hoping to change it to a lovely shade of wine. Yeah, not so much. It's now more of a raspberry. Since the shirt is 65% polyester and 35% cotton, the poly keeps it from absorbing the dye. I want to try again and really soak it for a good long time. Anyone have any advice?
Before: bubble gum pink. After: raspberry pink.
I definitely recommend using rubber gloves and a 5 gallon bucket.
You can see the different shades. The pink buttons are the original shade and the foam from the shoulder pad is the shade I was hoping to achieve- a nice deep wine.
Yours,
I have never tried dying clothes a different color, does the color actually stay on the clothes after washing it?
Good Luck!!
Most of my experience has been with dyeing blue jeans darker, or dyeing cotton fabrics only. I just found this article:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5158944_dye-polyester-fabric.html
It does recommend boiling the fabric and the dye, which is actually how I always dye anyway. I usually use a huge stewing pot for it. I wonder if that might help? The article also suggests some sort of chemical washing beforehand, but I'm not sure if that's really necessary or not... That dress would be really cute in a wine color though! Best of luck!
xx
Still look great... i haven't tried dying so i have no idea to share.
It is definitely an improvement, but I do really like the wine color of the shoulder pad! ;) Good luck with the re-dye!
(http://showersofsunflowers.blogspot.com)
What a pain!! I still think it looks cute though!
I wish I could offer up more helpful advice - but I've found with polyester, no matter what you do, it's just not going to absorb the dye as effectively as a natural fiber. Having said that, the hotter the dye bath and the longer you leave the dress in the better the results will be. SO maybe a second try will get you a bit closer?
Good luck!
So fun! Hope you end up getting the colour you want. I've thought about dying some of my clothes before but never tried it.
The bubble gum color looks great on you and the raspberry probably will, too. I think either way you go, it's a win win.
This website is pretty informative- sounds like you need to use a disperse dye. This site gives some brand names and has a supplies link.
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dispersedye.shtml
I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard that when dyeing something, the garment will take better to the dye if you immerse it in hot water first. I have no idea if this is true!! Also, I do think that each time you dye it's able to deposit more color, so it may take a few rounds. And make sure the water is super effing hot!
The raspberry color is really sweet though, if it doesn't end up getting much darker- I say it's a score either way!
xo Mae
The color is still wonderful, it was definitely worth the buy, it's so beautiful!
I hope the second dye works the way you want it to!
Much Love,
Norah x
I have never tried my had at dying clothing but I did try painting and I observed the same problem with any fabric other than pure natural ones (cotton, silk etc). I am not sure if there is any way to counterreact the effects of the synthetic fibres on the dye/ paint or not. Is there a special binder or medium you can use?
If anybody knows, please do let me know.
However, I like the dress much better now than in its original condition. Can't wait to see how it turns finally.
Love from Toronto, Canada
P.S: I am hosting a giveaway on my blog. Please do take a moment to visit and enter.
That must have been frustrating! If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Good luck. The dress is a great fit. What's up with the 80's and pepto bismol pink?
xo
nancy
swayreport.blogspot.com
Have you tried the RIT dye website? They have great tips!
RIT Dye
You might need to combine two different colours of dye to get the deep shade you want.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
Lisa
Butterflies and Daisys Vintage
for fabrics with poly in them go two shades darker than you want the dress to be and add salt to the dye mixture as it helps fix in the colour :) hope that helps some!
got a pair of lace up sheepskin boots on a giveaway on my blog, love it if ud check it out :) x
I was going to say heat too. When I do the silk dyeing, I boil them in the dye on the stove. You can also use a microwave.
Have no idea how you can get the colour you want, but reading the comments above lots of them have great advice. However I really like the colour it is now. I may be a bit biased because I love pink...
I've never been the best at dying- and I worked in theatrical costume shop for 3 years!- but I recently discovered that Joann's now sells the brands "Dylon" and "iDye" which should cost as much as RIT but have a far nicer color selection.
The beauty of iDye is that it comes in both natural and poly varieties. So, for a cotton/poly mix, buy one cotton formula packet and then a matching poly formula packet. Then, process once with one dye, wash that out, let it dry, and then process it again with the other.
So far, this has worked pretty well for me. I've been able to get a nice, deep hunter green out of a stained, cream-colored, cotton/poly slip. Next up is getting the right navy blue!
I also have a big, ol black pot that I use only for dying and I do it on the stove so that it can simmer for at least an hour. I think someone recommended using salt? A big cup of that wouldn't hurt, either.
Best luck!
amazing!
Hi! Problem solved- the fabric paint company Jacquard sells a powdered dye called idye poly, made specifically for poly, you can probably call up any specialty fabric stores
you might want to mix the same color of poly and regular dye, though, so that it all dyes evenly (this is called cross dyeing - sometimes people do it with two different colors for a different effect, like on heathered fabrics)
good luck!!
your friendly neighborhood art store should have procion dyes, which are much stronger and richer than rit. also, make sure you're using hot hot hot water (i usually boil a bunch on the stove in multiple pots). good luck!
...just a note im pretty sure procion dyes are only for natural fabrics, you'll need to get something that specifically says "made for polyester fabric" otherwise its not going to work, since poly is essentially a plastic it doesn't take most dyes.
I wonder if you approach it like you would dye easter eggs...do a little color mixing!
Try a bit of black.
Thank You So Much for all the amazing feedback. I'm new to dying fabric so it's great getting such awesome advice.
I'm definitely going to try boiling water next time with both poly and regular dye!!
xx
Maria