Tutorial On Dyeing

[pixletwin]

Yup. Just color removal + bleach treatment.

 

[Wor-Gar]

That's pretty amazing that you got an accurate yellow from "bleaching" (meaning no dying at all).

I'm glad to know the vest bleaching worked so well, as I've been advocating it since the beginning -- alot easier than trying to 'make' a vest, and its already built for Hobbits. Frodo's coat will be even easier since it doesn't require any bleaching, just a straight dye.

I wonder if the color would be more vibrant with a dip in the yellow dye anyway. Couldn't hurt -- as long as you got RIT yellow dye. Not sure about the names, but one is a canary yellow color (good) and one is a warmer yellow verging on orange.

Dying is good!

 

[pixletwin]

I will dye it yellow tonight.

 

[pixletwin]

I have dyed it and it was definitely a success! Pic tomorrow.

 

[Entropy]

sweet.

 

[icruise]

Looking forward to it!

 

[pixletwin]

Here is a pic of Merry's now finished vest:

Definitely glad I dyed it because the yellow is much more vibrant now.

 

[King Darkness]

YES! A total success!!!!!

Great job Marc! Looks perfect!

So the process is pretty simple, just bleach than dye

What exact RIT yellow did you use?

 

[pixletwin]

First, I would recommend getting the Rit Color remover. I am pretty sure it would have ended up more orange than yellow had I not used that. It stinks really bad though and the smell WILL hang around for a couple of days. Did that for 30 minutes then dryed it. It should be a pale pea green color when its done.

Second I soaked it for 15 minutes in a solution of 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water. Don't leave it in for too long or you may effect the fabric's integrity. Then dryed it. It should be a pale yellow when its done.

Third I dyed it in Rit Golden Yellow for about 5 minutes. The solution will be orange but don't worry.

After each step you should hand wash it in some laundry detergent before you dry.

 

[King Darkness]

So its:

1:RIT color remove then dry

2:bleach then dry

3:RIT dye then dry

Right?

 

[pixletwin]

So its:

1:RIT color remove then dry

2:bleach then dry

3:RIT dye then dry

Right?

You should wash the vest with detergent after each step before drying.

 

[King Darkness]

Thnx Marc! I will be doing that at soon as mine come in.



Great job Marc!

 

[Wor-Gar]

Good to see it came out so well. Thanks for risking your clothing, Marc!

 

[pixletwin]

Ok. I am done dyeing Merry and Bilbo's jackets.

Don't make the mistake I made tonight by drying your stuff in the dryer. There was some (albeit minor) shrinkage. Also the dye exposes the crappy job the factory in China did sewing this stuff together so some of the threads that were hanging around inside nice and hidden come out a bit like nose hairs on an old man.

All told I am happy with it. Pics tomorrow.

 

[DarkArtist81]

My Wife HATES it when I use that Color Remover...

But it really does work great. I love the stuff. It works great for any natural fiber. Just be sure that anything you are buying and hoping to dye is not synthetic...

I ran into this problem with my Joker vests. I could not find ANY vests online that were to scale and the correct pattern that weren't synthetic. So I had to either brush on thick paint or spray them to get them green. Which was a freakin pain to do.

So select fabrics carefully, if possible.

That Merry Vest looks awesome, great work Marc.

 

[pixletwin]

Sorry my camera takes sucky pics and I didn't have a lot of time last night to futz and pose:

I need to iron out his jacket.

 

[ProgMatinee]

Pretty good. Still a little bit of brown poking through in certain spots. Wonder if a second bath might help or just a tad darker green?

 

[pixletwin]

I may lighten it a bit and go for Kelly Green (which is a bit more like forest green).

 

[Entropy]

What green did you use? Did you use the RIT color remover & bleach first?

 

[pixletwin]

No. I just dyed it strait. It was Dark Green that I used. I only left it in for 5 minutes so maybe that was the mistake?

Here is Bilbo's jacket which was soaked in the dye for 20 minutes: