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Dyeing Clothing

October 11, 2010

A girl wearing a red shirt.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!

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By ChloeA from OH

 
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15 Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

October 10, 2007

tie dye shirtCheap alternative dyes from the ThriftyFun community.

Koolaid or Jello For Animal Fibers

Koolaid powder works great with animal fiber based clothing! There's tons of tutorials online about it. There's also been people who've dyed with Jello powder on craftster. Cotton and plant fibers need an acid dye, or somethng like RIT dyes. They're a little bit harder to do.

By Concetta

Teas and Spices

I have used cumin powder to dye things saffron yellow and tea works for a beige.

Rit Is To Dye For

I am in a real 'dyeing' mode right now. I buy clothes and linens in the thrift store and dye them. Recently dyed a pretty sheer ruffled white top (plus bra and camisole) a very pale blue/green. It turned out great. Rit Dye is inexpensive here in the States, only a couple of bucks for a box/bottle. The bottle stuff is better, the powdered stuff in the box is hard to get dissolved and can leave darker spots where the undissolved powder touches the fabric.
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If you can only find the powdered kind in the color you want, prepare it by mixing it well into hot water, then filter it using a coffee filter.

By Claudia, MD

Anything That Stains Will Dye

Think about the kind of things that stain clothes and you'll have some great ideas for dyes. Most of these suggestions are for cotton fabrics, most others are too hard to dye. One that works well is Freshie or Koolaid powder, unsweetened. Or beet juice (nice pink or purple), onion skins (golden yellow) All these dyes need what is called "fixing". After the fabric reaches the color you want, rinse it in warm water in which you have dissolved washing soda (also called borax), swishing the fabric though the rinse until color stops bleeding out of it. Dry by laying flat or hanging. Be careful, it can stain floors etc, so use old rags or paper. When dry, try drying again in a dryer as hot as the fabric will take.
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By Mary Lou

Food Coloring, Rit, Coffee Or Tea

One thing I can think of is to use food coloring with vinegar, much as we use to dye Easter eggs. You can also try Rit. Use the hottest water you have and rinse with cold water. Dry in dryer to set dye or if have no dryer, hang to dry, then set color with iron. Use bleach and run washer through an empty cycle with laundry detergent immediately after use of dye.

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.

Answers


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 169 Posts
October 10, 20070 found this helpful

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.

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BTW I love lace aged with tea stain!

 
October 10, 20070 found this helpful

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!

 
 
October 10, 20070 found this helpful

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.

 
By pikka (Guest Post)
November 6, 20070 found this helpful

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.

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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.

 
By Sandy D. (Guest Post)
February 22, 20090 found this helpful

I am trying to dye some curtains white. They were originally an off white. Respond at sandyholy6 AT aol.com

 
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February 14, 2017

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?

Dyeing a Bridesmaid Dress - dark grey dress on hanger
 
Dyeing a Bridesmaid Dress
 
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December 29, 2018

I have this blue dress that I need to get pink, what is the best way to do this?


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January 13, 2011

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

Answers

January 14, 20110 found this helpful

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.

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www.ritdye.com may have some answers. Good luck!

 
January 15, 20110 found this helpful

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!

 
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January 13, 2011

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

Answers

January 15, 20110 found this helpful

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.

 

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
January 15, 20110 found this helpful

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.

 
January 17, 20110 found this helpful

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!

 
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October 16, 2016

I have these stripped stockings I'm trying to turn yellow.


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October 13, 2015

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.

grey dress with white collar
 
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October 9, 2016

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?

blotchy dye
 
Fixing Uneven Dye on Dress
 
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August 21, 2016

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.

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