Dyeing clothes

[Beautiful Stranger]

Dye leather?

Can you dye a navy leather jacket black? if so, how?

 

[gius]

Merged with existing dye thread

 

[cheepmunk]

I have a stupid question, but it's not like I ever let that stop me before, so here goes. If I want to go to a darker shade of the same color, I don't need to bleach first, right? How about if I'm going to a "darker" color -- blue to brown, for example? It seems like bleaching is one of those things that should be avoided if possible.

 

[gius]

mmm if your brown is darker than your blue, then it should be okay, but the colours will mix... so it will look like blue-brown i suppose i wonder what that looks like

the thing with bleach is that it wrecks the fibres
i have things i bleached and it's easy to make holes in it with just your finger --the fabric becomes weak
there is a solution though, you make a chemical which is supposed to neutralize the bleach and stop it from continuing to 'bleach'

also, bleach will affect colours different ways
i bleached black pants the other day and it turned into a sort of burnt sienna --instead of white, which one might expect

anyway go for it !

 

[cheepmunk]

I think I'm going to hold off on the blue -> brown for now. I do have some red placemats I could live without that I want to dye (saffron yellow or maybe a shade of green), so I can play with some neutralizing solutions. The thing I wanted to bleach originally is very thin cotton, so I'm a little nervous about poking holes in it. My costume-maker friend told me that once I re-dye the garment, the color will restrengthen the fabric. I'm not sure how that would work, exactly, unless she meant that the dye has a bleach-neutralizing agent. Hmmm.

 

[gius]

that's interesting..
i'd love to know too
about the restrengthening

 

[educo]

Can you dye a navy leather jacket black? if so, how?

Yes, you can, but it is a process and it's messy. I have dyed my flesh tone Mcqueen boots to black, and it took about 2 -3 days.

You have to strip the leather of the finish and as much dye as you can, you dye the fabric evenly (This is not a dipped dyed procedure unless you want that to happen) by brushing the dye on in layers (2-3 is all you need). Wait till it dries, then finish and seal it with a clear coating or else the dye will rub off. That has to be applied evenly and very thin and 2 coats later, after it dries, give it a good polish and buff and voila, a newly dyed jacket.

Here is a pic of my boots in question:

 

[educo]

I have a stupid question, but it's not like I ever let that stop me before, so here goes. If I want to go to a darker shade of the same color, I don't need to bleach first, right? How about if I'm going to a "darker" color -- blue to brown, for example? It seems like bleaching is one of those things that should be avoided if possible.

There are ways to strip the fabric without bleaching. It's called Color Remover. That's what you should do before dyeing ANYTHING to a different color.

 

[gius]

Yes, you can, but it is a process and it's messy. I have dyed my flesh tone Mcqueen boots to black, and it took about 2 -3 days.

You have to strip the leather of the finish and as much dye as you can, you dye the fabric evenly (This is not a dipped dyed procedure unless you want that to happen) by brushing the dye on in layers (2-3 is all you need). Wait till it dries, then finish and seal it with a clear coating or else the dye will rub off. That has to be applied evenly and very thin and 2 coats later, after it dries, give it a good polish and buff and voila, a newly dyed jacket.

Here is a pic of my boots in question:

flesh-tone boots are so strange I'm glad you dyed it black, educo. lol

What is the clear coating you're talking about?

 

[educo]

flesh-tone boots are so strange I'm glad you dyed it black, educo. lol

What is the clear coating you're talking about?

It's a clear acrylic finish called, "Belt Master". I got it from Springfield Leather . www.springfieldleather.com. It's a non flammable, water-based finish. I think it cost like $12 US from what I remembered.

 

[gius]

Hmm I can only find 'maul master' which seems to be a kind of hammer
Sounds interesting...
although hopefully, the stuff's not just for leather
I'm guessing it's still flexible even when you put it on

 

[educo]

Hmm I can only find 'maul master' which seems to be a kind of hammer
Sounds interesting...
although hopefully, the stuff's not just for leather
I'm guessing it's still flexible even when you put it on

It is flexible because the boots stretch (they are thigh high boots).

It has a water consistency and you rub it into the leather in layers.

Check the website and call them, they are very helpful.

 

[cheepmunk]

There are ways to strip the fabric without bleaching. It's called Color Remover. That's what you should do before dyeing ANYTHING to a different color.

Cool, thanks for the tip. My one experience with dyeing was going from melon-y to deep red, so I got lucky in that it worked well regardless.

 

[gius]

2 weeks after
My turn to ask a question

I notice a lot of you guys buy dyes from the supermarket or other stores
like Rit Dye
(or maybe the brand is Tintex?)

Can you tell me about your experience with these store-bought dyes... ?
Are they good quality
Do they last
Do they wash out
light-fast?

...
What I have heard is that for Tintex, it's a waste of money because most of what's in the box is SALT
and it's like $3+ for a small box, maybe more
so you might only use that dye powder for -one- project...

 

[titania]

^ i'd also like to know the answers to those questions! i've been planning on dying my black jeans, well, black (since they've faded to a dark grey from washing).

on another note, i had no idea you could dye leather! i've got rolls and rolls of leather i could make things out of except they are in colours i wouldn't wear... so thanks a bunch for that tip, educo!

 

[Alejandro]

source:amazon

rit dye is better than tintex. just cause they sell the liquid bottle that's concentrated, and with one bottle, you can easily turn a pair of white jeans into a dark dark navyish plum. i've done it many times and it turned out very well. the salt is to make sure the color comes out evenly.

to dye black pieces black, you can use a whole bottle of rit dye for i dont know how many pounds of fabric, but ive done a pair of jeans, three tees and a cardigan each bottle to revive the black.

once you do the dye bath, i suggest that you do the final rinse in cold water, so it keeps the color in, then on, everytime you wash the dyed clothes should be done in cold water, and like colors.

hope this helps

 

[titania]

thanks a lot for the tip, ale. still yet to try it out but hopefully, will do soon. one more question; is that rit dye good for silk (silk satin to be exact)? i'm thinking of dying over a pair of silk covered shoes...

 

[Couture.Retouch]

Yes, you can, but it is a process and it's messy. I have dyed my flesh tone Mcqueen boots to black, and it took about 2 -3 days.

You have to strip the leather of the finish and as much dye as you can, you dye the fabric evenly (This is not a dipped dyed procedure unless you want that to happen) by brushing the dye on in layers (2-3 is all you need). Wait till it dries, then finish and seal it with a clear coating or else the dye will rub off. That has to be applied evenly and very thin and 2 coats later, after it dries, give it a good polish and buff and voila, a newly dyed jacket.

Here is a pic of my boots in question:

Man those boots are creepy.

 

[ici-paris]

I want to dye my baby-pink cashmere sweater in black...

Would you recommend I take it to the dry cleaners or dye it myself with Rit?

& Will the sweater lose its softness once I use harsh chemicals on it?

Thanks!

 

[Spike413]

I've had mixed experiences with how soft the fabrics are after dying. I've dyed silks that turn out softer than they started, I've also dyed silks that become stiff and more crisp.

I've never dyed cashmere, and tbh I don't have any experience with dying wools, but I would imagine that the cashmere would at least retain it's softness. The color would also take well since wools are porous, but if it's cashmere blended with something other than cotton or silk then the color probably won't turn out perfectly. My only concern would be that soaking it in the water and the chemicals could weaken the yarns which could destroy the sweater. Also, if the sweater is dry clean only then definitely don't dye it yourself.