Full Dyeing and Review on Dylon Fabric Dye (Burlesque Red)

Here's my two cents and my first ever attempt to dyeing any form of fabric. Really sorry for the lack of pictures especially of the dyeing packet itself. Was really too excited and slightly lost when I was dyeing for the first time! On the plus side, here's a picture of the before and after! (:

UPDATE 29/09/2012: I most probably will not be repurchasing this dye as it runs A LOT and has stained my other clothes which sucks ): Even washing separately doesn't work because when its drying, somehow strong wind will make my dyed clothes, which may I add has been washed a few times already so I thought this problem would go away with more washes, stain my other clothes.

It's an exposed shoulders top from The Closet Lover. Was eyeing this shirt for a long time because it looked so comfy to bum around in and my only gripe about the top was mainly the color because I already have so many heather grey shirts! Finally decided to get it when it went on sale and dyed it a very muted maroon! 

I also did an Ombre shirt which I will touch on in another post so you guys can look forward to that (:

Really thankful that my best friend managed to pick out Burlesque Red among the huge selection of colors available when I brought her along to help me choose some colors for dyeing projects. Initially I wanted to pick out some colors to dip dye denim shorts but this beautiful color made me decide to go into dyeing shirts instead.

So here's my review and the steps I took on my virgin attempt at fabric dyeing clothing! :D

Ever had a shirt with the perfect cutting and design but not so perfect color?

How bout an old shirt which you feel needs a new lease on life for?

If your answer is YES! Fully dyeing the shirt is one of the easiest and probably the most fun thing you can do to spruce things up a little.

In preparation for the dyeing process, I decided to dress in my oldest pair of FBTs an old black shirt I didn't mind staining which really wasn't a problem because even if it did stain, the dye stain wouldn't show on a black base. The key is to be comfortable because you're probably going to be sitting and waiting for hours (especially if you're doing an ombre effect)

As for the equipment and other ingredients such as salt, it really wasn't a trouble finding what I needed because all I needed to do was head down to the nearest supermarket or Daiso.

What I Used/Prepared beforehand

• A packet of Dylon Fabric Dye in Burlesque Red, about $6.90 from Spotlight
• Salt - The one I used was from NTUC Fair Price's house brand, I got it at 250g for $0.20
• Water (Duh) - You'll need lots and lots of this!
• Rubber gloves - So I don't get stains on my hands, got the cheap ones from NTUC as well at under $2.00. You can use normal plastic gloves as well, I used rubber because I felt it would give me more control due to the friction.
• A wooden spoon, about $0.82 from NTUC Fairprice as well.
• A small bowl - Used an old tupperware from Laoban (my favorite dessert!)
• A disposable plastic spoon
• An old pail I was prepared to 'sacrifice'

Directions 

(as stated on the packet)

Do note that you must follow these instructions clearly in order for your dye mixture to work at an optimal level.

1. Weigh dry fabric. Wash thoroughly. Leave damp 

2. Using rubber gloves, dissolve dye in 500ml warm water

3. Fill bowl/stainless steel sink with approx 6 litres warm water (40°C)

4. Stir in 250g (5tbsp) salt. Add dye & stir well

5. Submerge fabric in water

6. Stir for 15mins, then stir regularly for 45mins 

7. Rinse fabric in cold water. Wash in warm water and dry away from direct heat & sunlight

Tadah! The final dye mixture.

During the process of dyeing! (:

Some evaluative points to note below (:

Pros

• Very wide selection of colors which are beautiful (at least on the packaging)

• Don't have to take the trouble to boil water unlike the Rit brand dye, which is very popular in the US.

• Instructions are relatively simple to follow

• Very rich color, it was a deep maroon with a slight purplish undertone

• Fairly even color, if you stir the fabric and soak it in the mixture long enough.

Cons

• Although the packet said that one packet of dye was able to color 250g of clothing. I found myself having to pour away more than 5 litres worth of dye at the end of the day which I felt was rather wasteful even after I scrambled to dye other stuff like old shoes and socks which were really a disaster. So using half the packet of dye instead should be more than enough to fully dye one or two shirts.

• I had to stir really long for all the dye powder to dissolve, it would help if your water was in between hot and warm.

• The color did not turn out as dark as I hoped after I air dried it and washed it according to the instructions to prevent color runs. I think it was due to the initial base being a heather grey so it ended up as a really muted maroon color which reminds me of red velvet cakes! Probably should have left it to soak in a little longer!

• Be careful that the color runs quite a bit and may stain your other clothes, so far it stained my favorite pair of denim shorts as well ):

Some parting tips

• For goodness sake don't use the whole packet, probably just use only half of it or measure enough to cover the soaked fabric when you're dyeing. It was really a waste pouring away so much of the leftover dye.

• Alternatively you can always carry out this project with friends if you guys don't mind sharing the same colors for your end products (: The more the merrier when it comes to DIY! So I highly recommend this. Such a pity none of my friends had any old shirts to dye at the moment nor the time to come down and accomplish this new feat with me :P
• Do not use boiling water but use relatively hot water, this ensures that the powdered dye dissolves completely without you getting scalded or burnt.

• LEAVE THE SHIRT TO DRY FAR FAR AWAY FROM YOUR NORMAL LAUNDRY. I was flabbergasted when I found that the dyed shirt managed to stain one of my mother's white shirts despite being very clearly placed apart from each other.

• Hand wash the dyed product alone for the first few washes to prevent any color runs on any of your other precious clothes!