Dylon Textile Dye for hand dyeing gives a beautiful, colorfast result. Dyeing textiles is an easy way to refresh yourself or your interior. Faded garments become like new by revitalizing existing colors, or by giving old clothes entirely new colors. With shibori and other tie-dye techniques, stains and fading can be disguised. Textile dye opens up a whole new world of possibilities for giving new life to old textiles.
APPLICATION:
Dylon works best on natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, and viscose.
It does NOT work on synthetic fabrics; these materials will not absorb the dye. Check the care label on the item you intend to dye before purchasing the dye!
The color will be lighter if the fabric is blended with synthetic materials such as polyester, acrylic, and nylon, or you will achieve a mottled result.
Textile dye for hand washing is especially suitable for small volumes and for garments that cannot withstand a cotton program in the washing machine.
NOTE! Cannot be used on textiles with finishes/waterproofing or textiles that can only be dry-cleaned, as finishes/waterproofing will prevent the dye from absorbing evenly into the fabric.
Wool and silk will not dye as well as cotton and linen, as the proteins in animal fibers react differently to dyes. There are specific dyes that are especially suitable for wool and silk, but they will still take some color from Dylon dyes.
Colors can also be mixed to create new shades. Remember that dark colors always dominate, so for orange, for example, mix only a little red into the yellow. If you are dyeing fabrics, you can test-dye swatches in different mixing ratios until you get a color you like, and then scale up the volume of dye, but with the same mixing ratio.
Quantity
Use 1 packet of 50g powder for a maximum of 250g of dry, white cotton fabric to achieve the color shown on the package.
If the fabric weighs more, the result will be lighter, and the more it weighs, the greater the likelihood of uneven dyeing if some parts of the fabric absorb the dye faster than others. If you only want to refresh an existing color, you will get the same color as on the package if you use one packet for up to 500g of textiles (e.g., by re-dyeing faded textiles black).
(soon you will also be able to buy color remover to dye textiles with darker colors as well)
Instructions:
1. Weigh the textiles dry to calculate how much dye you will need. Wash them thoroughly even if they are new, to remove stains or any finishes that may not be visible. Leave the textiles damp.
2. Dissolve the textile dye in 500ml of hot water.
3. Dissolve 250g of salt (per packet of dye) in 6 liters of water at 40 degrees. The instructions ask for Dylon textile salt, but regular, inexpensive kitchen salt works perfectly fine!
4. Mix the dye into the saltwater.
5. Add the damp, clean textiles and stir gently for 15 minutes (you can use sticks, tongs, or hands with rubber gloves). Continue to stir occasionally for another approximately 45 minutes.
6. Rinse in cold water.
7. It is advisable to wash the garment afterwards using an appropriate program to remove excess dye.
8. If you use a washing machine, it is a good idea to run an empty wash with detergent afterwards.
I have also had good results with machine washing these. Wash the garment first, pour the dye into the drum, pour salt on top, add the wet clothes, wash on a program suitable for the textile, then run an empty machine wash afterwards. For the most precise result, it is always best to follow the instructions, but feel free to experiment if it's not crucial for it to be "perfect" right away and weighing and measuring make the threshold too high to get started. Feel free to test with many different bowls of water and colors and fabric scraps to get started and see different results.
Opened sachets can be taped shut and used at a later time. It is advisable to use tape because the dye spreads easily and can stain things that get a little powder on them and later become wet!
Good luck!
TIPS:
You can dye at a lower temperature, but the color may become somewhat lighter.
NOTE!
When dyeing textiles that are already colored, remember that the result will be different when the colors mix: yellow fabric dyed blue will become green, and so on.
If you dye patterned fabric, the pattern will not disappear, but the colors may change. The textile dye may not cover stains, faded areas, and bleach marks, but it might work if you dye to a very dark color. Grease stains often remain visible but can be camouflaged with shibori/tie-dye inspired techniques.
Some garments may have polyester seams that will not take dye. Zippers, cords, and other materials will dye differently, or not at all, depending on the material.
If you want to dye a larger batch of textiles, you can use several packets, but do not dye more than half of the machine's maximum load, as the textiles will need plenty of space in the drum for the dye to distribute evenly.
Do not use more than 5 packets of dye.
You should not use a washing machine with an agitator or a commercial laundry machine for dyeing. Use a drum washing machine.