The thrift store was having a half price sale last week and I found a very nice knit top (either 100 percent cotton, or cotton/poly) for $2.50. It had black trim that I liked, and a pattern with black plus several shades of red and pink that I thought were too bright. I almost passed it up, but I decided to bring it home and run it through a couple baths of black dye. It worked like a charm to considerably darken the colors to shades of purple and burgundy, something I'll enjoy wearing. It even looks more "seasonal" for fall!
By ChloeA from OH
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Cheap alternative dyes from the ThriftyFun community.
By Concetta
By Claudia, MD
By Mary Lou
Also, if the fabric is cotton, a strong coffee or tea can be used to make it look old or to give it a tan or brown look, mix the tea or coffee in water and soak item until desired color is reached. Also try any berry jucie, or even grape juice with vinegar to set.
By martha pitts
Post your own tips below.
I remember my mother using a cold water rinse with salt. She said it would "set the dye". She did this with all the red garments she bought me and the fabrics before she sewed them. In those days not all fabrics were color fast and would fade on a person's undies if caught out in the rain or if you perspired too heavily. Precautions had to be taken and salt was what worked for my mama.
Yes I agree with MartyD, it would best if u set the dyes with something called a mordent. Salt, washing soda and also, believe it or not, rusty nails!
Everyone is forgetting the fun stuff, like cooking onion skins (nice golden yellow), beets for a purplish blue and fleshy green leaves(a soft clouded green)You have to pound these last and put the fabric in without adding too much water.
Aurorasilk.com is a natural dye supplier in Portland, Oregon.
The owner Cheryl Kolander has wonderful tutorials on the
web. I worked for her for a year and answered email, etc.
Natural dying is so much fun...
There are also great tutorials on the web.
I found an alternative source for alum is Oriental food
stores. It comes in chunks which have to be dissolved of
course. Where alum is the appropriate mordant use 10-25%
by weight to dry textile. If you are just experimenting,
start low and work your way up and save your samples.
Alum is THE mordant for wool.
I am trying to dye some curtains white. They were originally an off white. Respond at sandyholy6 AT aol.com
I purchased a bridesmaid dress and never got to use it due to the wedding being called off. Now I'm stuck with a dark charcoal color dress that I was told was not my color.
So I was thinking of dyeing it, but am not sure what color that I could use that would work on transforming it from gray to? Any help?I have this blue dress that I need to get pink, what is the best way to do this?
I am going to dye some shirts and I only want them to be light purple. I want one large one to be dark purple and then the rest to be light purple. Should I add more water to do the others or does dying one dark take out some of the dye properties? If I do them separately, should I just use one pack for the light? I am doing tiny t-shirts, how many do you think I can do to get them light purple? The shirt I want to be dark is an adult sweater type knit, LG size, 100% cotton tank top. The ones I want to be light are light blue 100% cotton tiny t-shirts.
By Stephaniwize from Phoenix, AZ
I would think that if you put them all in the dye bath, then check the colors periodically, you can remove the ones that you want to be lighter colored sooner, and just leave the ones you want darker in longer. The dye packet should tell you about how many shirts you can do with one packet.
www.ritdye.com may have some answers. Good luck!
I don't use dye. I use acrylic paint. It is much more permanent and you can get any color you want, mix whatever color you want. I thin out the paint with a little water in a small cup, and then I pour warm water into a large bucket, adding the diluted paint to the warm water. Stir well, add the garment, stir again for a couple minutes to distribute the color evenly. Wearing plastic gloves, remove the clothing, squeezing out as much water as you can. Hang on a line until completely dry. (This is what makes the color permanent) It will be a little stiff and smelly!! Wash and dry as usual, and the smell is gone, the color lasts forever, (no fading) and it's not stiff. I swear, I think using the paint helps the fabric last longer. I have tie-dyed using the paint, and the areas that got no paint wore out!
Can a green cami be dyed to hunter green, if it is 8% spandex, 46% cotton, and 46% modal by using dye?
By Syd from Goldendale, WA
Probably, yes. Go to DharmaTrading.com and ask their customer service department to recommend the best type of dye to use on this kind of fabric. I'm not an expert, but I think you might be able to dye your cami hunter green. Not sure if RIT dye will work, you can try it, but I would check with someone at DharmaTrading first.
I agree with the previous poster, consult someone who deals in dye products. I am sure there is also a customer service number on the Rit dye box as well. Cotton always dyes well, but I have had good luck dying a satin bathrobe that was some synthetic material.
Yes! I'm a costume designer for the theatre, and I do this a lot; buy clothing in thrift stores and over-dye them to make them into costumes. RIT dye is a multi-fiber dye, so it will work on your cami's various fibers, but you'll need to do it a pot of very hot water in order to dye the synthetic portions. And there's a good chance your cami will shrink a little bit. RIT makes a Hunter Green shade (not in their current palette, but still plenty left in grocery stores, etc.)
Be sure to follow their directions! You'll want to use the correct proportion of salt to set your dye. Good luck!
I have these stripped stockings I'm trying to turn yellow.
I was wondering if you could please help me. I have a grey dress with a white collar. I want to match the collar with dress color.
What should I do to achieve this? The fabric is viscose.I dyed a formal dress from a champagne colour to a blue. I am loving the colour, but in some spots there are darker bits where it dyed too much and the rest of the dress is lighter.
How do I get these darker spots out without removing the rest of the dye?I have a dark purple maxi dress made of 97% viscose and 3% elastane and I am wanting to dye it so it is paler in colour. Its for a fancy dress, I'm going as Meg from Hercules. Is this possible and how would I go about this? What is the best product to use?
Many thanks.