Advice please - fabric dyeing

Pineapple88

Hello, 

I've got a white top which I never wear (white washes me out) so I want to dye it to a colour that's more "me". I've never dyed fabric before so would be grateful for advice on how to go about it.
 
It seems quite simple to do, but what I'm not sure about is the composition of the top. The label says its 100% cotton but it has some lace detail, which is suspect may be polyester. I've been told that I'll need to use two different dyes and basically dye it twice, once to dye the cotton, and once to dye the polyester. Is this correct? 

Is there anything else I should know about dyeing fabric, or dyeing mixed materials? 

Any advice gratefully received   

theoretica

I wouldn't set your heart on getting the cotton, the trim and the sewing thread all to be exactly the same colour.  Eg you might end up with the top mid blue and the lace pale blue - but in my experience the colours look good together.

Wash your top very thoroughly just before dying it, invisible marks can affect the dye. Also I find black the most temperamental colour, and looks worst if it is slightly washed out.

alicef

Hi

I would expect that a garment with a label stating 100% cotton should be exactly that.  However if you can find an overlap bit of lace that you could cut off without ruining the trim effect, then you could try a burn test.

If 100% cotton then, dyeing is a breeze - if a mix of fabric types, (but you really love the top), then perhaps look at replacing the trim with cotton lace.

There are masses of resources on dyeing - natural or otherwise.  If I use old cotton sheets or blankets for repurposing into garments  I'm qute happy to throw a dylon pod into the washing machine.

,

Pineapple88

theoretica said:

I wouldn't set your heart on getting the cotton, the trim and the sewing thread all to be exactly the same colour.  Eg you might end up with the top mid blue and the lace pale blue - but in my experience the colours look good together.

Wash your top very thoroughly just before dying it, invisible marks can affect the dye. Also I find black the most temperamental colour, and looks worst if it is slightly washed out.

Thank you. I've read that synthetic fabrics don't pick up the dye as well so I'm expecting some variation in colour. I'm going to go for a pale blue or pale pink, my thinking being that variations in darker colours will show up more. I'm just hoping that the lace won't stay completely white!

Emmia

theoretica said:

I wouldn't set your heart on getting the cotton, the trim and the sewing thread all to be exactly the same colour.  Eg you might end up with the top mid blue and the lace pale blue - but in my experience the colours look good together.

Wash your top very thoroughly just before dying it, invisible marks can affect the dye. Also I find black the most temperamental colour, and looks worst if it is slightly washed out.

But re-dyeing (faded) black clothes black to refresh the colour works incredibly well. 

I'd be careful how far to take the colour change, I once dyed a 100% cotton pink skirt black. The skirt fabric was great, but the thread sewing the skirt together was clearly a polyester thread and it remained pink!

Pineapple88

Emmia said:

theoretica said:

I wouldn't set your heart on getting the cotton, the trim and the sewing thread all to be exactly the same colour.  Eg you might end up with the top mid blue and the lace pale blue - but in my experience the colours look good together.

Wash your top very thoroughly just before dying it, invisible marks can affect the dye. Also I find black the most temperamental colour, and looks worst if it is slightly washed out.

I'd be careful how far to take the colour change, I once dyed a 100% cotton pink skirt black. The skirt fabric was great, but the thread sewing the skirt together was clearly a polyester thread and it remained pink!

That's what worries me! I suspect the tread is polyester so I'm going to go with a light colour and then hopefully the contrast won't be too noticeable. 

oystercatcher

I dyed a few things denim blue and found all stitching and lace only went pale blue. I was happy with the result though.