100% Silk Yellow
Dyeing a 100% light yellow silk mini dress?
I have a $1500 light yellow silk mini dress, and I love it except for one thing...it's freakin' YELLOW. I want to dye it red, do you think that's possible? it's like a really light yellow. Otherwise i don't wear it at all and it's a waste, so I don't want to ruin it but if i don't dye it I'll never wear it anyways.
Thanks.
I share studio space with several textile artists...we work together in an old converted 1909 factory...and one guy is a professional dyer and I've picked up a lot of good information from him. Natural fabrics can be all be dyed, synthetics can't be dyed. Plant fibers such as cotton, linen, rayon, etc are the easiest, and animal based fibers such as silk and wool need one extra ingredient to successfully dye at home. I've personally dyed, painted, batiked and tie-dyed silks many times and I have been pleased with the results. Dyeing silk is do-able by first time home dyers.
Silk can be dyed at home, but there are a few problems to be aware of. First, you need to add an acid to the dye-bath. Acetic acid works best, and it needs to be a clear distilled acid. Fortunately, common white vinegar is a pure distilled acetic acid in the perfect concentration for dyeing. Add a cup or so to the dye bath. The silk may retain some of the yellow, so if you use too light or too warm a red you will end up with an orange dress. Choose a rich deep red and it should cover the yellow. Some silks will loose their shape when dyed, instead of being firm and structured they will become loose and limp. This can be fixed with a spray of old fashioned spray starch and a quick press with a warm iron. If the dress dries and it wrinkled then a quick spray of water and a pressing with a warm -not hot -iron on the inside of the dress should take away the wrinkles. Also, predicting color results can be tricky. You can end up with something darker, lighter or slightly off. It's impossible to predict how ever fabric will react to dye.
Fiber reactive dyes are best for silk, but you can use home dyes. Always be sure to add vinegar to the dye water.
For more information on dyeing silk at home here are two excellent resources. First is Paula Burch's excellent hand dye site: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/silk.shtml
Here's the store Dharma Trading's silk dyes. these dyes are acid based, so you don't need to add extra acid: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3257-AA.shtml The whole site is an excellent source of information for anyone interested in dyeing.
Here's a simple E-how page on dyeing silk: http://www.ehow.com/how_5065595_dye-silk-dress.html
And here's the RIT home dye page on using supermarket RIT dye on silk and other fabrics:http://www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniques/using-colorit-color-formula-guide
http://www.ritdye.com/blogs/posts/how-can-fiber-content-affect-my-dye-project
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