I have some bright blue colored knit fabric that is 94% cotton and 6% spandex. I really want it to be more navy colored, since I need navy fabric but cannot find it anywhere. I am tempted to dye this fabric to make it navy, but i’m not sure if it would work. The fabric only needs to be a bit darker to be navy, so would I be able to just add some black dye in the washer? Will the small amount of spandex mess up the dying of the fabric? What kind of dye would be best to use?
2 Comments
The small amount of spandex shouldn’t matter. But I don’t think I’d use black dye for several reasons, first it may not give you the shade you want, second you’ll be rinsing forever, black has a lot to rinse out, and a navy blue dye will keep you in the same shade family.
It’s difficult to control what you’re going to get with an overdye operation. You’ll need to at least scour the fabric anyhow before dyeing, and it’s something I’d sooner not do to a fabric with spandex.
What sort of knit is it? (interlock, jersey, lacoste…) Does it need to have spandex in it? I’m thinking about:
http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_itemdetail.aspx?ItmID=AAA163
http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_itemdetail.aspx?ItmID=AAA566
(rpl knits have a really nice drape, btw)
http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_itemdetail.aspx?ItmID=WW017
etc.
But back to your question… I’d probably use Procion MX dyes, as they are fairly easy to work with and really stay in the fabric, unlike, say, Rit or Tintex. See: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3796-AA.shtml?lnav=dyes.html
Write a Comment