Fabric dye help! HELP!

[Dr.Girlfriend]

I bought a very light blue nightgown to use for a Halloween costume for my daughter (she's going to be Wendy Darling, my son is going to be Peter Pan). The nightgown was way too light and I had white ribbon that needed to be dyed to match the gown.

I followed instructions but the color didn't hold at all after I dyed the gown (the ribbons are the perfect color). So now what? Do I get another bottle of dye and dye again? Or does this mean that the dress won't hold the color?? I was hoping to take them to Sea World Saturday in their costumes

 

[We_Love_Disney]

By no means do I have any experience with this, but .... try dyeing it again, this time allowing the fabric to be in the dye longer. It could be that the nightgown is of a material that does not accept dye well.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Polyester materials do not take/hold color. Cotton works best.

It's an odd idea, but I know some people who swear by putting some vinegar in it (just like you do with Easter eggs).

 

[beaucoup]

Could it be that since its a nightgown that its treated with some type of flame retardant that is preventing it from absorbing color?

 

[MichelleinMaine]

As said, poly blends don't hold the color as well as 100% cottons. (And getting the ribbon and nightie exact same color can be tricky if the fabric content is different.)

Is is safe to assume you're using Rit dye? That stuff isn't all that good. You'd have better luck with a fiber reactive dye. (Procion is one brand. Our ACMoore used to carry it, but I don't think they do any more. Another craft store might.)

 

[Imzadi]

As other people have said poly blends or synthetics do not dye well. They aren't very absorbent.

You could try a soft fabric paint, like Setacolor. There is almost no feel to this fabric paint. Paints adhere to the surface of fibers, whereas dyes absorb into the fibers. But, I've never used them on a synthetic material, so I'm not sure how well they would stick.

You can get Setacolors from DharmaTrading.com

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

As said, poly blends don't hold the color as well as 100% cottons. (And getting the ribbon and nightie exact same color can be tricky if the fabric content is different.)

Is is safe to assume you're using Rit dye? That stuff isn't all that good. You'd have better luck with a fiber reactive dye. (Procion is one brand. Our ACMoore used to carry it, but I don't think they do any more. Another craft store might.)

Yeah, used RIT and I guess it won't work since it's a polyester blend nightie.