Dyeing Clothes

[Tough Cookie]

Do you guys do anything afterwards to set the dye? I've always heard that washing the item with salt of vinegar was a good thing to do.

 

[Vintage Betty]

That'ss really cool. Thanks ladies, wasn't aware that you could dye in the washing machine. Anyone try this method with well water and chlorine? Same results?

 

[KittyT]

Do you guys do anything afterwards to set the dye? I've always heard that washing the item with salt of vinegar was a good thing to do.

if you use RIT dye, on the back of the package you will find instructions for setting the dye with salt. it is only necessary for certain fiber contents.

 

[Miss Sis]

Lavender/Lilac shades seem to fade really badly. I think it is just a very unstable dye as I have never seen any vintage dresses where it doesn't look faded.

I overdyed a 40s crepe evening dress with dylon and it did give it a bit more colour but there was still a difference between parts. Not too noticeable to start with so it was ok. I think I used a cold water dye but I can't remember now.

Salt will set the dye and dylon have it as part of the instructions..

 

[Foofoogal]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p194/foofoogal/P1010015.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p194/foofoogal/P1010016.jpg

I so want to dye this but am scared. I don't know what to do with it. [huh]

You rest of the dress is blacker. It has soutache and satin embellishments.

 

[Sunny]

Be careful!

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'm glad it worked, but - Don't mix bleach and oxi-clean!! They react together and the fumes are dangerous. http://www.ascleanedontv.com/oxiclean-faqs.html

 

[Nashoba]

I'm glad it worked, but - Don't mix bleach and oxi-clean!! They react together and the fumes are dangerous. http://www.ascleanedontv.com/oxiclean-faqs.html

wow good to know, thanks sunny! I just closed the door to the laundry closet went downstairs and didn't give it a second thought! I'll never do that again :eusa_doh:

 

[dakotanorth]

Garment redyeing help?

Ok, we were talking about dyes bleeding and it got my brain back into the mode of redyeing.
I've tried it before, several times, and I get mixed results. I studied the fiber-reactive vs acid dye rules, soda ash, salt, etc etc.

Does anybody know of a business that does this WELL? Naturally, we are hopefully talking about someone who understands "modern" colors aren't the same as "vintage".

 

[Snookie]

The only people I've met who know much about dyeing are costumers. What about Western Costume? It seems like they're doing more business with the public these days (not so exclusive to the entertainment industry).

Even if they can't help you, you could shop there, and maybe pick their brains about who/what/how.

www.westerncostume.com

 

[Miss 1929]

My favorite dye trick!

I don't know if this will help you, but it will help someone!

This is perfect for those garments that have sun fading on the shoulders or outside sleeves where the closet exposed them.

You do need to find dye in the closest match possible. Powdered Rit works best for this. NOT the liquid kind!

Fill a spray bottle halfway with rubbing alcohol and the powdered dye, shake it to mix well.

Take the garment outside (on a non-windy day, and wear clothes you don't care about), and hang it up.

Spray the affected area once only, allow to dry (fast as it's alcohol). If it needs more, repeat until you have an even color.

Put the garment in a plastic bag and take it to the dry cleaners. I suggest not telling them about this process - it will not hurt their equipment or solution, it is far too little dye to really matter, but they will sometimes freak out at the word dye!

Once the garment is cleaned, the dye will probably set perfectly. I say probably because there are no guarantees in life, but I have had great success with this method on navy blue rayon gabardine!

 

[dakotanorth]

Redyeing magic!

I don't know if this will help you, but it will help someone!

This is perfect for those garments that have sun fading on the shoulders or outside sleeves where the closet exposed them.

You do need to find dye in the closest match possible. Powdered Rit works best for this. NOT the liquid kind!

Fill a spray bottle halfway with rubbing alcohol and the powdered dye, shake it to mix well.

Take the garment outside (on a non-windy day, and wear clothes you don't care about), and hang it up.

Spray the affected area once only, allow to dry (fast as it's alcohol). If it needs more, repeat until you have an even color.

Put the garment in a plastic bag and take it to the dry cleaners. I suggest not telling them about this process - it will not hurt their equipment or solution, it is far too little dye to really matter, but they will sometimes freak out at the word dye!

Once the garment is cleaned, the dye will probably set perfectly. I say probably because there are no guarantees in life, but I have had great success with this method on navy blue rayon gabardine!

Funny you should mention this, I wondered about using my airbrush!! I have a few items that are faded across the shoulders (And sadly, right across the collar too).
RIT tends to work because it's a blend of fiber-reactive and acid dye; the ol "Shotgun" approach. Then again, I guess that would be better with blended fibers, no?

 

[Laughing Magpie]

I might look for costumers too. Maybe seamstresses who specialize in wedding parties who might need to dye bridesmaids dresses, etc? High-end vintage clothing sellers?

There is a group of mostly hobby costumers that might have people in your neck of the woods: The International Costumer's Guild.
http://www.costume.org/

For fun I put 'over dyeing' into Google and I was utterly flabbergasted to discover these guys who professionally dye things are actually based in my own home town! So you'll never know who you might find
http://www.dyeproservices.com/dye_pro_services.htm

I haven't re-dyed actual clothes so I don't know from personal experience. I have over-dyed some costumes that were sort of meant to look rough and messy anyway or ones that started off as white. And I've dyed white fabric from scratch to make both clothing and costumes.

But if you decide to ever try it yourself, here's my two bits:

The biggest issue is knowing what your garment's fabric content is. If there's any synthetic in it at all, you could run into trouble. I guess technically Rayon could be considered a synthetic, but since it's cellulose (as opposed to the many shades of plastic that the other synthetics are made from) it actually dyes very well, and should follow the same rules as cotton.

The next is that there may be all kinds of finishes in clothing, which in addition to being less than clean, could stand in the way of the dye job.

I would try tests first. I'd look for some fabric that's the same content and maybe even close in colour to the garment, so you can see what colour you'll end up with when over-dyed and test your method to see if it works.

I try to "release expectations" when dyeing stuff. It never turns out exactly the colour I thought it would, so I try to accept it as a sort of organic thing. Very Zen.

However, going darker than the original garment but in the same general sort of colour obviously would be easiest. I like the sound of the airbrush on the shoulders, especially for easy to match dark colours.

Finally, I would recommend Dharma Trading's website for advice on how to dye stuff. Sometimes I email them with questions. Their website is here:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/
And, for example, their advice on fiber-reactive dyeing is here:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/info/procion.html

There are two pieces of vintage I own that I do want to re-dye myself. One is an inexpensive early 60s navy dress with faded shoulders and the other is an apricot 30s dress that I adore. Guess which one I will learn on first?

Jen

 

[satindoll]

I don't know if this will help you, but it will help someone!

This is perfect for those garments that have sun fading on the shoulders or outside sleeves where the closet exposed them.

You do need to find dye in the closest match possible. Powdered Rit works best for this. NOT the liquid kind!

Fill a spray bottle halfway with rubbing alcohol and the powdered dye, shake it to mix well.

Take the garment outside (on a non-windy day, and wear clothes you don't care about), and hang it up.

Spray the affected area once only, allow to dry (fast as it's alcohol). If it needs more, repeat until you have an even color.

Put the garment in a plastic bag and take it to the dry cleaners. I suggest not telling them about this process - it will not hurt their equipment or solution, it is far too little dye to really matter, but they will sometimes freak out at the word dye!

Once the garment is cleaned, the dye will probably set perfectly. I say probably because there are no guarantees in life, but I have had great success with this method on navy blue rayon gabardine!

That's a great tip, Miss 1929! I can't wait to try it. Do you know if it works on 40s rayon crepe? That fabric is notorious for fading.

 

[MissHannah]

I've got some cute white cotton capri pants that I want to dye navy blue.
Can anyone recommend a home-dye that guarantees good even colour coverage, preferably a machine dye.

Thanks ladies

 

[KittyT]

RIT is where it's at. You can use it on the stove or in a machine.

 

[Miss 1929]

And you'll get better color on the stove, the machine doesn't get hot enough.

 

[dani]

i have always used RIT, i have only tried it on the stove though, and it works really well that way.

 

[epr25]

I use RIT as well. I goggled dyeing clothes before I tried it the first time. I found a really good site but now can not locate it:rage: But I do remember that they recommended using more dye then what the box called for. I did this and turned my old dress to new again black so I would think navy would be the same?

 

[Lady Day]

Use RIT, but the LIQUID one, not the powder. The liquid gives better overall coverage, and rinses out faster/cleaner than the powder. I dyed some vintage nylons and some cotton stockings in both, and both took better to the liquid than the powder mixture.

LD

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

I have heard Dylon is really good and practically foolproof. Never seen any RIT on sale here either!