Dyeing Clothes

[Miss Sis]

You will need to strip out the old colour before you try to redye it, otherwise any stains/faded areas won't take the dye the same as when you dye a uniform fabric.

Unfortunately, Dylon (widest avail in UK and NZ, I would say) no longer seem to do a dye striper for delicates ie/a cold water version rather than a hot one. I would be very, very wary of attempting to use the hot water version as it basically needs boiling which would not be good for any old fabric. You may be able to source one of the old tins on the internet. I think there are some on Aussie Ebay at the moment.

Glad of the recommendation for Dharma Trading - I will have to look into them as I like being able to 'rescue' a garment if at all possible. I have a supply of old stock Dylon dyes but I will eventually run out!

 

[Claireg]

Wow guys, im so glad I asked as ther is obviously much more involved than I had thought!
Will source dye stripper now.
C - dot HI!! its so good to see you again, you were sorely missed!
xx

 

[Gracie Lee]

You can get that through Dharma, too. They literally have EVERYTHING you need, from start (stripping) to finish (fixing).

 

[rachelolive92]

can u share some pics?

 

[Claireg]

will do, I have bit the bullet after extensive talks with my awesome drycleaner, she is going to try to get the stains out for me and even out the colour - we are crossing fingers that we dont destroy it.
So after it returns from the cleaners i will post pics - and maybe take a poll as to what colour to dye it!

 

[Miss Sis]

You will still need to wash it before any attempts to dye as the cleaning fluid will affect the fabric's ability to take any dye.

Looking forward to seeing it!

 

[Lady Day]

I just dyed my first pair of shoes! I feel so accomplished. They are not vintage, but now they look it (kinda).

LD

 

[bunnyb.gal]

Wow! I didn't even know you could do that (dye shoes), except for those satin wedding things. Beautifully done, that looks a gorgeous colour!

 

[crwritt]

I just dyed my first pair of shoes! I feel so accomplished. They are not vintage, but now they look it (kinda).

LD

They came out good. What color were they?

 

[Lady Day]

The color on the box is 'midnight' but they are a dark blue, almost navy. There are more pics on my blog. The original color of the shoe is the inside.

LD

 

[Lady Day]

Finished dying my shoes (the inner three) yesterday. This was so much better than looking around for shoes in the colors I wanted. They are like candy!

LD

 

[Frenchy56]

I recently bought a dress from Etsy that was described as 'ice pink', which I now know was seller-speak for 'faded half pink and half white. It's not awful (and I paid $18 for this vintage 50s dress), but if I hold some parts of it up to other parts they are a completely different color (pink/white). The dress it meant to be a pale pink anyway, but I'm contemplating dyeing it. I'm just cautious when I read that the lighter areas will remain lighter even when you re-dye- so presumably I'll just have darker pink and lighter pink instead of light pink and white. The material feels like crepe but I am not an expert.

 

[Mrs Chaddsley_Corbett]

I Havn't dyed anything for years, I tried to buy fabric dye a few days ago from the Chemist, but nobody sees to sell it anymore?

 

[Miss Sis]

Hmmmm, that's odd. Most chemists do carry dye, but you could try hardware shops (Robert Dyas have it in the UK) or I know Spotlight have Dylon in their NZ stores, so they are bound to have it in Oz too.

Frenchy, you need to be careful with crepe, it could be rayon and not dye very well (and shrink massively), but you would certainly have to strip out the colour first or it would probably be blotchy. Also if it has any synthetic content it won't dye to the full colour either. Speaking from experience here!

 

[Mrs Chaddsley_Corbett]

Spotlight is a good idea will try them, many thanks

 

[swinggal]

Here is a really great article on dyeing from Nicole Jenkins, the owner of Circa Vintage in Sydney. It's from her bog and is very informative. Thanks Nicole!

The perils of vintage: dyeing

 

[swinggal]

Finished dying my shoes (the inner three) yesterday. This was so much better than looking around for shoes in the colors I wanted. They are like candy!

LD

Nice LD! I used to do this a lot on the 90s. It's more of a paint dye right? Hopefully the quality is way better now. It tended to scrape off back then. They look great btw and yes, its great when you love a shoe but can't get the colour you want.

 

[katiesparkles]

Finished dying my shoes (the inner three) yesterday. This was so much better than looking around for shoes in the colors I wanted. They are like candy!

LD

What brand are these? *big eyes* They look gorgeous!!!!

 

[Alice~]

Currently watching over (what I think is) a 40s/50s rayon dress in a tub of purple dye. Really hoping it turns out well - I'll post before and after pics if so

 

[Alice~]

Not as vibrant as I'd have liked, but I'm happy with it