Tips for At Home Fabric Dyeing

We've been experimenting with all sorts of home dyeing projects lately! Today I'm sharing how I dyed my bride's maid dress. Elsie choose to have all her bride's maids wear white (or off white) dresses of their choice for her wedding day last May. It was such a beautiful affair and although I really loved my white dress I got the itch to change it up—so I tried home dyeing it a deep lavender. I was emailing my friend, Missy, about home dyeing (specifically natural dyeing, which we will be sharing projects on soon) and a great piece of advice she gave me was to go into the project with no expectations. It's hard to predict how a home dyeing project will turn out the first time, but here's what I did and what I learned from it:1. Supplies: cotton (or other natural fabric) garment, Rit dye, salt, bucket and gloves. 2. Follow the directions on the package/bottle to mix your dye (Rit brand suggested I use hot water and add salt to the mix). 3. Dye your garment, consult your dye package for suggestions on how long to leave it in the dye bath. 4. Thoroughly rinse the garment until the water runs clear. Wash your garment (by hand or machine) before wearing it in case any dye remains.

I choose to wash my garment in my washing machine after I had thoroughly rinsed it after dyeing. I washed it with a load of dark towels but I threw one white sock in as I was curious if the dye would bleed onto other clothes. Here's what I got:As you can see, the sock on the left (the one I washed with the dress) did get dyed a very soft purple.Our Top 5 Tips for Home Dyeing projects:

-Prepare properly before you begin. You should wear gloves. You should wear old clothes and possibly an apron. It can only take a second for you to dye your skin, carpet or clothes so you need to plan out every step of the process before you begin.

-Keep your spirit of adventure! As you can see the thread in the upper bodice of my dress did not dye but remained white. Also the lace trim along the bust is a slightly different purple than the rest of the dress. These "imperfections" are what make home dyeing projects fun—but only if you don't go into the project with too high of expectations.

-Use cheap buckets or stainless steel to dye and rinse garments. You could also do the rinsing outdoors with a hose. Do not use your bathtub or porcelain sink as it will probably stain. My kitchen sink is stainless steal so it was ideal for this project but I was sure to remove all dishes before the project and I cleaned the sink after. You don't want to eat dye. Gross.

-Rinse the garment as thoroughly as you can; but the first time you wash it do so with other dark clothes or wash it by hand separately. As I learned from my sock test, even a thoroughly rinsed dyed garment will probably bleed the first time it's washed.

-Check your dye package for any allergy information. Most store bought dyes contain chemicals that you (or your loved ones) could be allergic to. In general they are perfectly safe, but it's best to double check before beginning a project.

Be safe, and above all have fun with home dyeing! xo emma

Comments

[Gina_AcuteDesigns]

Love it! I feel inspired to dye something... :)

[Sofia Clara]

ooh cute dress! I think I like it even better in purple, you can see more of the details.

http://withlovesofiaclara.blogspot.com/

[Inez]

I love it in purple. the details on the dress show up in purple.

[Kaitlyn]

Turned out great! I actually love the darker purple lace trim on the bodice. Gives it a little contrast.

[Jene']

I finally moved to a place with a stainless steel sink! I can't wait to start dying again. Great post, thanks!

[hollysarah.]

Love it!! Also, seeing emma's blue hair brought back so many good memories! XO

[Kate @ Songs Kate Sang]

Beautiful!

[Anne Walterich]

I would use a Shout Color Catcher or two in the wash with the dyed garment. Those little babies are a staple in my laundry arsenal, and I use the used sheets in other scrapbook and craft projects.

http://sunsetscrapbooks.com/wordpress/?p=100

[La Vie Quotidienne]

ALWAYS Amazing DIY....Elsie i love your BLOG...You have a great Future

You can check my CAPE SANDRO Outfit in:

www.laviequo.com

XOXO from MUNICH

La Vie Quotidienne

---SHOP LAVIEQUO.COM---

http://laviequo.blogspot.com/2012/04/laviequocom-shop.html

[lauren]

Really good tips, and I love the dress both before and after. :)

http://Teaforowls.blogspot.co.uk

[Norah]

hah i learned the wear-old-clothes-part the hard way when i was experimenting with dye myself. ruined one of my favorite skirt, luckily it can be worn both sides but of course i had to ruin the fun side... still haven't forgiven myself. also, my dog came along when i was doing it thinking that she should definitely try eating the dye and well, our whole house plus the dog was red because of the dye. quite a funny memory :)

[Tori]

Soaking clothes in diluted white vinegar is great for setting dye as well!!

[Lady à la Mode]

super fun!

xxx
www.ladyalamode.com

[Monica]

Can't wait to see more dyeing projects. Tie-dye something perhaps? :)

[Shauna]

The thread is probably nylon and doesn't hold dye-- there are quite a few fabrics that won't. For an on-stage costume dress I used fabric spray paint (found in the floral area of a craft store) and it works, just makes the garment stiff.

I also asked my awesome dry cleaner about dying something professionally, and he said there is basically no way to do it (because there's no guarantee the color will come out) and you're better off doing it at home with Rit dye!!

Love all your projects. Keep it up!

[Rebekah]

The stitching on the bodice, probably didn't absorb dye because it is a man-made fiber, such as polyester or even a cotton/poly blend. It's a great contrast though, and makes the dress a little more whimsical. If, however, you ever wanted to sew something, with the intention of dyeing it, if you use 100% cotton, white thread, it should dye the exact same color as the cotton fabric. D.I.Y dyeing is so much fun! Thanks for the tutorial!

-BekahDrey
http://bekahdrey.blogspot.com

[Anna D]

Here in England, Dylon is the best brand (http://www.dylon.co.uk/). I'd really recommend giving them a whirl! They're fab and you can use the washing machine which is incredibly easy.

Anna x

[Paps]

I want to try a tie and dye. Is it the same process I wander.
www.thoughtsofpaps.com

[aimee]

Great post. One thing to keep in mind is that while the fabric will dye, most of the time the thread (almost always synthetic) will not. It changes up the look of the garment. Not a bad thing, but unexpected in my own dye adventures. ^_^

[Karolina]

In purple it looks like a completely new dress, so happy and colourful, love it!