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[char99char]

Originally Posted by RollEXE

I just bought 2m of fabric in the closest colour I could get to a earthy yellow. It's an ecru brown right now ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepia_(color) look at the shades on the bottom), a bit darker than what I want. I was wondering if I could bring some yellow into it while avoiding it going any darker than it already is.
It's stretch drill, from memory the spandex/stretch fabric isn't a big amount.

Is this possible? If it is, what sort of dye/brand/colour should I use, and how much?

I suggest taking a sample and soaking it a mix of bleach and water for a couple minutes - that might lift some of the brown. Make sure the sample isn't damaged by the bleach.

You should be able to overdye with yellow as well - it shouldn't get any darker.

[char99char]

Originally Posted by Omitaali

Im dying a white denim into red for Kairis Valor form. Ive never dyed anything before, so any tips? Should I cut out my pattern first then dye the pieces, or do it as a whole piece?

Definitely dye your fabric first before cutting it. It may shrink. You also have to handle it a lot so you would fray the bejeezus out of the edges.

General tips for dyeing:

* Wear gloves and protect your work area
* Start with a sample - even a few inches of fabric is fine. Dyeing is not an exact science.
* It's easier to add dye then take it away. Start with a small amount of dye in the water bath. You can always add more.
* Wash your fabric before you dye it to get rid of any starch on the fabric (that's what makes it look nice on the bolt). Your fabric should be wet when you dye it so the dye takes evenly.
* When you put your fabric in the dye bath - swish it around every few minutes. Read the box for recommended times. Make sure to check the color periodically - again, it's easier to soak it longer / add more dye.
* There is no easy answer for "how much dye should I use". I usually start with the amount recommended on the box - or if I want the color to be lighter - I try 1/2 the amount on the box. I give the fabric a quick 10 second dunk and pull it out to try to gauge how quickly the dye is taking. I've dyed stockings in under 30 seconds.
* When you are happy with the color - take the fabric out, rinse it in cool water till the water runs clear then wash it again (woolite in a sink is fine - just enough to get out the stinky dye smell). Some dye may wash out so keep your dye bath around and go back in it if you want your fabric darker.

On a side note : polyester does not dye. If you have a cotton / poly mix, the cotton will take the dye but the polyester won't. It could end up with some cool effects.

Overall - the key to successful dyeing is to experiment! Test samples. Mix colors. If you want to see what a color will look like - drop some on a white paper towel.

PS - there is nothing to be afraid of. If you are really nervous, buy some inexpensive cotton muslin or take an old t-shirt or wash cloth and experiment on that. Most cotton fibers can be dyed in a bucket with the hottest water you can get out of the tap - no boiling requried.

[KittyAngel]

Originally Posted by char99char

What you see on the fabric dye package is not necessarily what you will get. You can influence how dark or light it is by how much dye you use and how long you soak the fabric for. If the color is right, you can control how dark you make it.

*gasp* Thanks so much for your help char99char Yeah, I have a big peice of the fabric I'll use to test it with^^ I think I should be okay with this, but I still like to double check before I actually do something.

Originally Posted by char99char

Definitely dye your fabric first before cutting it. It may shrink. You also have to handle it a lot so you would fray the bejeezus out of the edges.

General tips for dyeing:

* Wear gloves and protect your work area
* Start with a sample - even a few inches of fabric is fine. Dyeing is not an exact science.
* It's easier to add dye then take it away. Start with a small amount of dye in the water bath. You can always add more.
* Wash your fabric before you dye it to get rid of any starch on the fabric (that's what makes it look nice on the bolt). Your fabric should be wet when you dye it so the dye takes evenly.
* When you put your fabric in the dye bath - swish it around every few minutes. Read the box for recommended times. Make sure to check the color periodically - again, it's easier to soak it longer / add more dye.
* There is no easy answer for "how much dye should I use". I usually start with the amount recommended on the box - or if I want the color to be lighter - I try 1/2 the amount on the box. I give the fabric a quick 10 second dunk and pull it out to try to gauge how quickly the dye is taking. I've dyed stockings in under 30 seconds.
* When you are happy with the color - take the fabric out, rinse it in cool water till the water runs clear then wash it again (woolite in a sink is fine - just enough to get out the stinky dye smell). Some dye may wash out so keep your dye bath around and go back in it if you want your fabric darker.

On a side note : polyester does not dye. If you have a cotton / poly mix, the cotton will take the dye but the polyester won't. It could end up with some cool effects.

Overall - the key to successful dyeing is to experiment! Test samples. Mix colors. If you want to see what a color will look like - drop some on a white paper towel.

PS - there is nothing to be afraid of. If you are really nervous, buy some inexpensive cotton muslin or take an old t-shirt or wash cloth and experiment on that. Most cotton fibers can be dyed in a bucket with the hottest water you can get out of the tap - no boiling requried.

Thanks for the helpful tips you gave in general^^ Not only does it help me in the future, but also someone else too

[myalchod]

You can dye a garment once it's made up, rather than the fabric itself -- I've done this with several pieces instead of dyeing the fabric ahead of time, mostly where I didn't have time to dye and was on a timeline or didn't want to worry about finding a good colour match for thread later. The critical tricks with dyeing as a finished piece rather than as fabric are to preshrink the hell out of EVERYTHING (wash your fabric on the hottest setting it can take, dry it likewise), to finish all your seams, and to make sure that you use (at least on exposed seams) a dyeable thread. My very first dyeing experiment was turning a lovely piece of silk chiffon from grey to blue, but I didn't realise my thread was polyester -- and so there are now grey stitches on the edges where I had seamed it. It's doable, you just have to make sure you account for things.

Seconding the above recommendation for Dharma Trading; I've bought quite a bit of stuff from them, and their fabrics and dyes are consistently good quality. (And their customer service is fab; the few times I had problems, they fixed it posthaste.)

If you're dyeing larger pieces, a good idea is to throw a scrap of fabric into your dyebath so that you can pull it out and rise and check your colour along the way. I tend to do dye tests beforehand (usually with little jars and tiny scraps) to ballpark my ratios, especially when I'm mixing dyes. You may wind up with a lot of tests before you get one you like, but trust me, it's worth it compared to pulling your fabric out and realising it's not what you wanted. When in doubt, err on the side of too light; it's easier to add more than it is to discharge.

(Just some rambles from this dye-happy corner. XD )

[char99char]

I'm doing a panel this weekend at a local con for dyeing wigs with RIT. I threw in some other samples for fun. These are all done in the same dye bath.

http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3045091/

...and here is a photo of Kelly Green RIT versus what you get out of the box.

http://www.cosplay.com/photo/2924951/

I've also ordered from Dharma Trading company. They sell a great silk / cotton blend. It's great for dyeing. It has the sheen of silk but the durability and stability of cotton.

[Bulletearsfall]

So I'm planning on being BSAA Jill Valentine this Halloween. Her pullover sweater/jacket is extremely difficult to find as is so I've been debating about buying a fleece jacket and dying it the color I need.

This is the jacket (well, almost similar to it, in the store it looks like an off-white) --> http://www.target.com/p/C9-by-Champi...r/-/A-12759065

This is what the top looks like on Ms Valentine --> http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0...-bsaa_jill.jpg

What color would any of you describe this? Where could I purchase dye? Would this work? I know these sound like pretty simple questions, but I'm still relatively new to this.

[myalchod]

Originally Posted by Bulletearsfall

What color would any of you describe this? Where could I purchase dye? Would this work? I know these sound like pretty simple questions, but I'm still relatively new to this.

It looks like a fairly vivid sky blue in the picture you linked -- somewhere between sky blue and peacock blue.

The problem you run into with trying to dye the fleece you linked is that it's 100% polyester, which is kind of a crapshoot when it comes to dyeing. Sometimes you can get great results, but pure synthetics don't like to take the kinds of dyes we can buy. If there's any kind of surface treatment, that'll screw up the dyeing even more, and with outerwear that's more likely.

You could theoretically try to dye it with something like iDye Poly, but even that's got an element of crossing your fingers and hoping the polyester cooperates -- plus requires more finessing of the dye with the limited colour range.

[Bulletearsfall]

Originally Posted by myalchod

It looks like a fairly vivid sky blue in the picture you linked -- somewhere between sky blue and peacock blue.

The problem you run into with trying to dye the fleece you linked is that it's 100% polyester, which is kind of a crapshoot when it comes to dyeing. Sometimes you can get great results, but pure synthetics don't like to take the kinds of dyes we can buy. If there's any kind of surface treatment, that'll screw up the dyeing even more, and with outerwear that's more likely.

You could theoretically try to dye it with something like iDye Poly, but even that's got an element of crossing your fingers and hoping the polyester cooperates -- plus requires more finessing of the dye with the limited colour range.

So taking that into consideration, what do you think is my best course of action? I've been looking in thrift stores for the shirt and have come close but not on point like I'd like. I found an aqua-ish half zip at one of the shops and was about to get it but I'm not sure as to how I'd get the black on the sides. Do you think sharpie would do the trick or would I have to work with some fabric?

[KittyAngel]

Okay, I tried out the fabric dying today and it turned out great The first piece came out too dark because I added too much dye to my mix. The second piece turned out great because I didn't add alot of dye and here was the result.

Fabric Dye tests.JPG

I'm going with the second test piece Thanks for your help everyone^^

[myalchod]

Originally Posted by Bulletearsfall

So taking that into consideration, what do you think is my best course of action? I've been looking in thrift stores for the shirt and have come close but not on point like I'd like. I found an aqua-ish half zip at one of the shops and was about to get it but I'm not sure as to how I'd get the black on the sides. Do you think sharpie would do the trick or would I have to work with some fabric?

Personally, I'd use a heat-settable fabric marker rather than sharpie; less chance of it running (though I'd still test a little somewhere inconspicuous first). If your fabric has a fairly smooth surface, you could try fabric paint -- it generally looks cleaner than colouring over that size of an area. Paint if you can, marker if you can't and really don't want to try fabric; if you do graft or overlay fabric, get something with equivalent stretch.
(Dye isn't really a good option in that sort of situation, IMO. Just sayin', given the thread we're in. XD )

[Bulletearsfall]

Originally Posted by myalchod

Personally, I'd use a heat-settable fabric marker rather than sharpie; less chance of it running (though I'd still test a little somewhere inconspicuous first). If your fabric has a fairly smooth surface, you could try fabric paint -- it generally looks cleaner than colouring over that size of an area. Paint if you can, marker if you can't and really don't want to try fabric; if you do graft or overlay fabric, get something with equivalent stretch.
(Dye isn't really a good option in that sort of situation, IMO. Just sayin', given the thread we're in. XD )

Thanks for all your help, I'm leaning more towards the fabric paint.

[SailorSetsuna]

OK... I am at a loss.. I am new at sewing and 2 years into cosplaying.. I have been working on and off a Sailor Pluto fuku for awhile now.. I bought some bows off ebay because I just couldnt get them right... well, neither could they.. I LOVE the shape of the bows so much I dont want to destroy them afraid I may not put them back together correctly but, they are the wrong color. Not by much though. They are maroon but bright maroon and Sailor Pluto is a dark maroon almost brown. They are satin I believe. Is there a hope of dying them or am I stuck with the color? Picture attached. Thanks

http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ent=Pluto1.jpg

[KittyAngel]

Originally Posted by SailorSetsuna

OK... I am at a loss.. I am new at sewing and 2 years into cosplaying.. I have been working on and off a Sailor Pluto fuku for awhile now.. I bought some bows off ebay because I just couldnt get them right... well, neither could they.. I LOVE the shape of the bows so much I dont want to destroy them afraid I may not put them back together correctly but, they are the wrong color. Not by much though. They are maroon but bright maroon and Sailor Pluto is a dark maroon almost brown. They are satin I believe. Is there a hope of dying them or am I stuck with the color? Picture attached. Thanks

http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ent=Pluto1.jpg

What I would do is go to your local fabric store and get the same color fabric as your bows. Don't get yards and yards, maybe 12 foot and find some fabric dye, that takes satin fabrics, and determine the color(s) that would give you the result you want. Once that happens, use that 12 foot of color satin fabric and do some swatch tests.

You may have to add very little or alot of dye to your fabric mixture, depending on how dark you want it. Good luck to ya

[Zhiana]

Hi!

I'm trying to dye a white unitard for my Dark Phoenix costume.

Long story short: I bought some iDye in Crimson and dyed it, and it came out pink. So then I bought some Dylon in Tulip Red and it just turned even more pink. I realised that it's because it's a polycotton mix, so I need to go out and buy some iDye Poly in Red to fix the mistake.

The question I have is: should I use a colour remover to get it back to a whiteish colour before I try dyeing it again? Right now it's a sort of medium fuschia colour. I'm worried it'll still come out pinkish if I try to dye it again even with poly dye.

So should I just go ahead and dye it or should I colour remove it first? Any help would be much appreciated <3.

EDIT:
Ok, I just went ahead an dyed it. Messed it up the first go, put the wash cycle on "delicate" instead of regular so it didn't set properly, but now I'm going to leave it for a while and stir it by hand to see if that works better for the second go.

EDIT 2:
It's still pink. Thinking about just colour removing it, because it's clearly not working .

[myalchod]

Originally Posted by SailorSetsuna

OK... I am at a loss.. I am new at sewing and 2 years into cosplaying.. I have been working on and off a Sailor Pluto fuku for awhile now.. I bought some bows off ebay because I just couldnt get them right... well, neither could they.. I LOVE the shape of the bows so much I dont want to destroy them afraid I may not put them back together correctly but, they are the wrong color. Not by much though. They are maroon but bright maroon and Sailor Pluto is a dark maroon almost brown. They are satin I believe. Is there a hope of dying them or am I stuck with the color? Picture attached. Thanks

Most costume satins are polyester, so it's hard to tell what will and will not work as a general rule because poly is cranky when it comes to dye. Also to consider is what else is in those bows -- are they interfaced, wired, glued, etc.? If you've got any extra, you could try test-dyeing it in a relatively poly-friendly dye (iDye Poly, RIT, Dylon), but there are no guarantees of it taking with polyester. If you do get dye to take, though, you should be able to tint the existing colour -- possibly with a black-brown dyebath. I've overdyed things more than once to adjust a colour I wasn't happy with, but again, poly is cantankerous.

Originally Posted by Zhiana

I'm trying to dye a white unitard for my Dark Phoenix costume.
Long story short: I bought some iDye in Crimson and dyed it, and it came out pink. So then I bought some Dylon in Tulip Red and it just turned even more pink. I realised that it's because it's a polycotton mix, so I need to go out and buy some iDye Poly in Red to fix the mistake.
The question I have is: should I use a colour remover to get it back to a whiteish colour before I try dyeing it again? Right now it's a sort of medium fuschia colour. I'm worried it'll still come out pinkish if I try to dye it again even with poly dye.
So should I just go ahead and dye it or should I colour remove it first? Any help would be much appreciated <3.

You've got two potential problems, as I see it -- one, you're working with something that's partially polyester, and two, you're working with red dye, which is prone to washing out if you look at it wrong. I'm not really sure what advice to offer, especially since you say it seems to not be working; you could try to counterbalance the pink tones by adding a bit of yellow or green to shift it back towards red, but it sounds like the odds are against you getting the shade you want. If you're going to redye, I'd definitely try discharging before doing it ... but you might be better off looking for something already red, or something more readily dyeable. :S Either way, good luck!