Dyeing Clothes

[ohairas]

Ok girls, show me your dye jobs! Preferably not just black... and what type of fabric did you dye?

I just got my "periwinkle" dress from ebay but it is SO faded. And the lace just looks blahhhh. I think perhaps the dress was dyed before, or it's just faded from window or wear. But the lace looks like it turned from either dying or washing. ANYHOO... I think I want to dye it because the color is just gross. Esp. against my skin.

I'm thinking of periwinkle again just to brigten it up. Oh, and it's rayon.

When dying fragile items do you still go with the hot water? I don't know if I want to do that... much less run it through the washer. I guess if I use a garment bag?

Yikes.

Nikki

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I have dyed a couple of faded dresses (one pink, one navy) using Rit dye, and followed the directions exactly. I do not have pictures, but they did turn out well. The most important thing is that the garment is thoroughly cleaned before dying--areas stained from residual dirt, oil, sugar and so forth (and these do not always visible) won't take the dye in the same way that 'clean' areas will. I washed the garments by hand, both before and after, and I did use hot water with the dye.

 

[ohairas]

Thank you JBD! Now to get brave enough to do it. I wouldn't have thought to wash it first.

How many of you wear faded dresses? I mean, this one is pretty much faded evenly all over, but then one sleeve is pretty noticable.. at least by me.

I'll keep y'all posted if I do it!

Nikki

 

[frontmanvintage]

To dye or not to dye?

I have tried overdying a couple of dresses without success; The faded areas take the dye at the same rate as the unfaded areas and still remain lighter. And if the thread is not the same material as the fabric in the dress, it will not dye the same, and sometimes not even take dye at all.

Rit dye has to be used with hot water which will make some fabric shrink.

The Kool-Ade dye can be used in cool or cold water, but is next to impossible to get out of your washer - even with bleach.

I've heard of a dye that you get from the auto supply shop that is used on upholstery. I think you mix it up and spray it on the item / garment and I've heard some say they had good luck with it.

Best of luck.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Thank you JBD! Now to get brave enough to do it. I wouldn't have thought to wash it first.

How many of you wear faded dresses? I mean, this one is pretty much faded evenly all over, but then one sleeve is pretty noticable.. at least by me.

I'll keep y'all posted if I do it!

Nikki

I will wear them depending on how they are faded. I have a several 'royal purple' dresses that were originally royal blue, and have now faded to a fairly even purple shade. I also have a lavender dress that must have been facing out in a window; the front is a good shade lighter than the back. You can't really tell unless you open the pockets, which reveal the true color beneath.

If the garment is not in wearable condition as it is, it doesn't hurt to try dying it.

 

[ohairas]

Ack, now you're scaring me! I wonder if using a dye specifically for rayon would be better? http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/
I wouldn't mind if this dress shrunk a little, except the arms are already pretty snug.

Nikki

 

[Vanessa Anne]

Dying

Hello,

I've dyed all sorts of stuff over the years and the one thing I will say is that you get better, even result if you use the dye that can go in your washing machine. If you check the label of the packet of dye it will tell you if it is suitable for machine use.

If your item of clothing is made from "man made" fiber then the results will be much lighter then the colour on the pack. So try to figure out what it is made from first.

I've used the cold water hand dye and the stuff that you need to boil in a pan and to be honest they have never turned out good for me.

I also think that if you are not going to wear it unless you fix the colour you might as well take the chance and dye it.

As for the possibility of the stiching not taking the dye - I had a item do this and the contrast in the stitching looked really good actually.

This is a UK site but you may get some ideas from it. I use dylon all the time.

http://www.dylon.co.uk/main.htm

 

[ohairas]

Here's the dress, but let me tell you.. it photographs much better than it looks! It looks like there's a LOT of contrast between the lace and dress shade and there really isn't.
It's a lot lighter and much more grey.. the lace is darker than the pics. A very dingey, washed out blue grey. By the color of the thread and hem tape I know it used to be a much darker shade. You can see the left sleeve is really light. There are quite a few mend spots that lead me to believe this was a much loved dress. And I like it too!

Perhaps I'll wear it for a while as is, that way if I dye it and it doesn't turn out at least I got some use out of it!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=260103606671&rd=1&rd=1

Nikki

 

[Trixie]

I dyed a couple of items using RIT. Exactly as frontmanvintage said..the thread on one item was nylon apparently and remained unchanged in color. The jacket turned a gross shade of indeterminable and shrunk! Then the dye washed out in the sprinklers (I left it on a chair to dry). I just threw the whole mess away.

The other item I dyed were my old pointe shoes. They turned a beautiful black shade, prettiest color you've ever seen but the shoes shrunk about three sizes and were hard as stone lol . I amuse myself in any case.

I do wear dresses that are faded. Particularly if they're patterened and it's not too obvious.

I've never attempted to dye rayon so good luck! And let us know how it turns out if you do it!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Ack, now you're scaring me! I wonder if using a dye specifically for rayon would be better? http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/
I wouldn't mind if this dress shrunk a little, except the arms are already pretty snug.

Nikki

I hand wash most of my items, and haven't found that any shrank noticeably regardless of water temperature. [huh] Both dresses that I dyed were crepe (one rayon, one silk), which always shrinks when wet, but can be steamed back into shape once dry.

 

[Donna Stewart]

That dress is absolutely darling, I love the lace detailing. Shame it didn't live up to expectations.

I'm seconding jitterbugdoll on the stains- I once dyed a (just washed) cotton dress with no visible staining only to find that the armpits had been so saturated with deodorant over time that they didn't pick up the colour. Also, if using Dylon dye in the small button containers, remember to pick up a packet of fixative salt to go with it, as the colour will fade quite badly without it.

 

[Vintage Betty]

So, I have a vintage 1920's cotton blend woman's suit.

It does have stains. Is it worth dying it? From what I can tell in this thread, I'd be wasting my time, even with a dark blue or black dye.

Vintage Betty

 

[KittyT]

i have only tried dying nylon slips and mixed fiber content girdles (and one modern bra), no dresses. the slips are gorgeous - i'll post pictures later. i dyed one slip coral and the thread stayed white, but it really doesn't look bad that way. as for dresses, i will wear them if they're faded, though most of my dresses are patterned so the fading doesn't show so much. any solid dresses i have with fading have faded evenly, so it's also not such a big deal. i do have one off-white and green print dress with green grosgrain ribbon trim. there is a faded spot (pretty significant fading) in the trim on top of one of the shoulders. i still wear it. if i really wanted to i could probably replace the trim, but i don't care that much and i'm also lazy and hate sewing.

 

[Miss Dottie]

I too have dyed quite a few slips and sometimes the results are perfect, and sometimes, well, not so perfect. But worth the effort for something that I'll wear under a dress.

I think that dress O'Hairas is gorgeous and I understand your desire to try dying it to a darker color. Is there a way you could "practice" your dyeing skills on another less dear piece of clothing?

 

[Tough Cookie]

I'm always afraid to dye in my washing machine, for fear the residual dye won't come out afterwards, and might affect future wash loads! Plus i just got a brand-new washer, so I am a little more protective than usual, heh.

Has anyone had a problem getting Rit dye out of the washing machine after a dye job, or am I just being too over-protective?

 

[ohairas]

I've used blues and pinks in my washing machine and just did a hot bleach rinse afterwards without any trouble.

Good idea on a practice peice Dottie. I should try a peice of chantilly lace and see what it does.

On further inspection of the garment there are vibrant robins egg/turquoise shouder pads inside. Sigh, makes me really wonder how bright this dress really was at one time.

I think they washed it, it bled onto the lace, and then they tried to bleach it out. Who knows.

Nikki

 

[Vintage Betty]

Actually, that's what I was thinking. How DOES your washing machine hold up after a dye job?

 

[Lady Day]

Just run it once on the hot setting with a sheet you dont mind getting grungy, and a normal amount of bleach and it will be fine

*done it many a time*

LD

 

[Tough Cookie]

Just run it once on the hot setting with a sheet you dont mind getting grungy, and a normal amount of bleach and it will be fine

*done it many a time*

LD

Thanks, now I feel better about giving it a go.

 

[Nashoba]

I have a gorgeous 40's silk blouse that had was a champagne color that had some rust stains on the buttons and on one of the sleeves and for a long time I was terrified to dye it. But a couple of weeks ago I thought what the heck it's just going to sit here if I don't so I put it in the washer with a packet of scarlett RIT. It turned out the most gorgeous shade of coppery rust and I've been thrilled with it. I ran the washer again right after with about a cup of bleach and a full thing of detergent and a scoop of oxi-clean. All traces of the dye in the washer are gone.
I would say just go for it, you've got nothing to lose and if the dress isn't in wearable condition the way it is, even if the dye job goes badly you've taken a good gamble. The other thing that you can try before you actually dye it is the RIT color remover. It helps to prep the fabric and I've found that it actually helps get any stains out too.