using RIT dye ?? help, please!!!

[mafibisha]

Trying to SAVE money (so this is truly a budget question) so I want to dye a couple things with RIT dye.

First though, where the heck do you find it? I've looked so many places! Or am I looking in the wrong place? (laundry aisle?)

Also, is it possible to dye something that's medium blue, to a bright pink color?

Thanks so much for any ideas!

 

[momtwo4]

RIT dye can be found at walmart and usually larger grocery stores.
I'm not sure about dying something blue to bright pink though, it might come out more of a purple hue? If you have a small piece of fabric you can snip off I would try to test it first.
Good Luck, and pick up some plastic gloves!

Edit- sometimes it is in the craft aisle, others laundry ailse, if you cant find it make sure you hunt down a customer service rep

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I'd skip the Rit altogether. The color is mushy at best and doesn't last. Go with a higher quality dye. You can get single colors of Procion at AC Moore/similar. I think they run about $4 a bottle. (That will dye ALOT.) Use a 40% off coupon from the paper.

Medium blue to bright pink won't work. As pp said, you're going to come out with purple. You need to start with white, or at least a light color.

 

[mom of 3G's]

I bought mine at Walmart in the laundry aisle, it was in a bin that hangs at the end of the aisle. I tried it once and it didn't work so I will never use it again.

 

[msmayor]

Also remember that the clothing item must be completely free of any stains, especially grease, no matter how light it may appear to the eye. Dye will only magnify the stains; won't mask them.

 

[EthansMom]

I've done a very little bit of dyeing (yarn). Rit dye isnt' the best and is prone to bleed and fade.

Your ability to dye the item will partly depend upon the fiber it's made of. If it's a manmade fiber, it probably won't dye nearly as well as cotton, silk, or wool. You really want to do some test dyes using exactly the same material in order to have an idea what color you'll get in the end. And no, you can't dye a blue to a pink color... overdyeing works pretty much like mixing paints in grade school. If you have blue, you can add another color to alter that blue so if you dye your blue garment in some red you might be able to get something in the purple range or if you add some yellow and/or green, you could get something in the green-blue color range.

I used food color to overdye a handknit shawl that I made. I liked food color because it was safe to use in my kitchen (used my big stock pot for the dyeing process). You can also use kool-aid. But you definitely want to dye some test swatches (can't emphasize enough that it needs to be EXACTLY the same material). You'll find that different amounts of dye will give very different end colors.

Here are two articles on dyeing yarn that I found helpful: http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/FEATfoodcolordye.html and http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/FEATdyeyourown.html. I hope this helps!

 

[mafibisha]

I'd skip the Rit altogether. The color is mushy at best and doesn't last. Go with a higher quality dye. You can get single colors of Procion at AC Moore/similar. I think they run about $4 a bottle. (That will dye ALOT.) Use a 40% off coupon from the paper.

Medium blue to bright pink won't work. As pp said, you're going to come out with purple. You need to start with white, or at least a light color.

Thank you ALLL for your replies!!!


So to do blue to pink, could I bleach it white first?

Also, not sure what AC Moore is? Like a Lowes or Home Depot?

 

[Priscilla]

A C Moore is a craft store- something like Hobby Lobby---- I think your best bet for pink on the blue is to bleach it first- make sure you wash it multiple time before you try to dye it.

 

[msmayor]

Thank you ALLL for your replies!!!


So to do blue to pink, could I bleach it white first?

Also, not sure what AC Moore is? Like a Lowes or Home Depot?

I'll be honest here...I've never tried to dye clothing because in my mind, its not really saving any money. You're going to spend significant time and effort here if you want to get something blue to pink.

Time because you need to first see if you can release all the blue and get the garment to perfect white. Effort because you'll need to make sure that you watch the bleaching carefully to ensure that it doesn't spend too MUCH time in the bleach, which can significantly damage the fibers and weaken the garment.

Then there's the waiting for the garment to be free of bleach and ready for the pink dye.

Then the waiting game to see if the pink will take, or if your efforts are completely for naught and you need to spend money on the pink garment anyway.

For me personally, I can't imagine the savings of real dollars is enough to offset the time and effort required.

 

[EthansMom]

Thank you ALLL for your replies!!!


So to do blue to pink, could I bleach it white first?

Also, not sure what AC Moore is? Like a Lowes or Home Depot?

As another poster mentioned... you really don't want to bleach your garment. It's unlikely to bleach evenly and completely.

And, if you could get it completely bleached (which you really can't), you would probably damage the fibers in the process (bleach is very caustic).

Also, the fumes from the amount of bleach needed would be bad for you to breathe.

Don't forget that your time has value!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Time because you need to first see if you can release all the blue and get the garment to perfect white. Effort because you'll need to make sure that you watch the bleaching carefully to ensure that it doesn't spend too MUCH time in the bleach, which can significantly damage the fibers and weaken the garment.

For the blue to pink, I'd definately agree. You also need to consider that the bleach might fade the fabric ok (likely to a mushy greyish blue vs white) but the thread/any trims might NOT bleach.

For something light colored I have around the house, I say dye's worth a shot. (As in, I never wear this white T shirt, but I could use a blue one...) Dye's a couple bucks (and if you get something like procion, you're just using a teaspoon of it, not a whole box. Leftovers great for the next kids' party- do tye dye! Nothing to really lose if it's something you're not using as-is.

 

[AntePrincess]

In my experience, RIT's best use is "refreshing" your faded blacks and, to a lesser extent, making all your blacks match. In a pinch, it can be used to give new life to garments of other colors by making them black. There's a theme here. Unfortunately, it bleeds and even its black is unattractive.

There is something to be said, from a frugal perspective, about getting a good quality dye and creating a black wardrobe. Everything will match, it will be slimming, and you'll fit in in Europe. You can take anything that fits well from the $1/bag sale, paying attention to the fiber content and care instructions, dye it all one color, and voila: a designer wardrobe for $1.

If you want to get fancy, you can buy or cut your own stencil, or possibly freehand it if you're artistic like that, and use a "bleach pen" to make designs on your new black clothes. My mother has had success doing this, then using Sharpies to add back in the color of her choice. You have to pay attention to what the underlying color is to your black (or other color) dye job, though. If the black has a green cast you might not like the results.

Anyway, for all the information you can stomach on dyeing, check out Dharma Trading, specifically this page on vat dyeing: Pretty Link

 

[Ava]

Also remember that the clothing item must be completely free of any stains, especially grease, no matter how light it may appear to the eye. Dye will only magnify the stains; won't mask them.

Is it possible to dye an off-white cotton garment that has some blue ink stains on it? I'd like to dye it blue to cover the stains so it's still useable. Any tips/ideas?

 

[EthansMom]

Is it possible to dye an off-white cotton garment that has some blue ink stains on it? I'd like to dye it blue to cover the stains so it's still useable. Any tips/ideas?

Sorry, but it's not going to work. The spots with blue stains will also take up the dye and will be darker than the rest of the finished garment. And it's really not worth your time and effort to try to dye around the spots, matching their color.

 

[msmayor]

Is it possible to dye an off-white cotton garment that has some blue ink stains on it? I'd like to dye it blue to cover the stains so it's still useable. Any tips/ideas?

I've never seen any garment with any type of stain take dye evenly. As another poster said, you can't prevent the stained area from also accepting the dye, thereby altering the color of the stain. Because you are in effect 'combining' two colors in the stained area, it won't match the rest of the garment...hence the stain is still noticeable.

 

[bhoffman]

Don't waste time and $ with Rit. I used it last week for the first time. Trying to dye a custom bed skirt from lime green to dark brown. Did save $ (new custom bedskirt would have been much more than the $10 i spent on dye). It is brown but definetely a green brown, nothing like the package. I am going to try to find a better dye to make it dark brown next week. Even if I spend $20 on dye it is still 1/3 the price of a new one, plus this one won't end up in a landfill...

 

[Matt'sMom]

If you are seriously wanting to produce a good (prof looking) dye job... then Cushings acid dye is an excellent choice. That is what I (and a lot of others) use when dying wool for rug hooking, etc.. I've also overdyed clothing with this same dye, and it works very nicely on appropriate fabrics. Google primitive rug hooking, and many of the sites that come up should sell Cushings, or at least have links to places that do.

There are also a nice range of natural products that can be collected outdoors and used for dying... if you are feeling especially adventurous. Again, Google is you friend when it comes to finding info online regarding hand dying with natural materials.

I will second much of what you've already been told. If you overdye a fabric, the result will not be the basic dye color... but rather a combination of the various colors involved. And dying is not typically an effective way to correct or hide stains on 'used' garments. In the majority of cases, you will be better off starting out with plain white, natural or pale colored fabrics/clothing--the exception being when you choose to overdye a patterned fabric in order to achieve a specific look, or are simply 'refreshing' the color on a garment that has faded. In any case, you always dye from a lighter color/pattern to a darker one (because you are adding color to the fabric, not removing it). Make certain you prep the fabric as directed (this typically involves a thorough soaking in soapy water) so that it will take up the dye evenly and thoroughly. Also pay close attention to the directions for whichever dye you do decide to use... regarding water temperatures, soak times, handling, and how to properly 'set' the dye.

Dying fabrics appropriately can be somewhat time and labor intensive... and it is not always a money saving process. Be clear on exactly what it is that you are trying to achieve, and then research whether or not it may indeed be less expensive to custom dye (as opposed to simply going out and buying a garment in the color you want).

 

[bratmomma]

RIT dye worked fine on my 100% cotton shirt. Then, I made the mistake of trying to dye terry cloth. I will NEVER do that again.

I got my RIT dye at AC Moore (similar to Michael's also) but I also saw it today in Walmart in the cleaning goods section. I think it was in the aisle with the bleach.