Dyeing cotton...a question

[Duckie]

I read the tutorial...instead of using a kit, could I use RIT dye instead? What would be the procedure for that? Any help would be appreciated...thanks:D

[losingmymind2]

I dyed 100% cotton with Rit, and it's very pretty. I boiled it in a big pot on the stove, lol oh, and set it with salt. Then hubby spent 2 hours getting all the knots out, and untangling the stuff. Now I know to secure the skein well before tossing in the pot.

[sheryljak]

I dyed 100% cotton with Rit, and it's very pretty. I boiled it in a big pot on the stove, lol oh, and set it with salt. Then hubby spent 2 hours getting all the knots out, and untangling the stuff. Now I know to secure the skein well before tossing in the pot.

 

What a wonderful hubby you have:manyheart . Mine would have just asked "Now what do you do?" as he leaves the room snickering:laughroll :laughroll .

[Duckie]

how colorfast is it?

[sarasara]

I've used Rit dye on garments before, not on skeins of yarn. It was very colorfast on 100% cotton. Didn't hold color much on synthetic/cotton blends - got uncertain results with that.

 

Even on 100% cotton, it may bleed just a bit for the first few washings, so you may want to wash it after dyeing to check for that. But, in my experience, the Rit color stayed put very nicely and I was happy with it.

[losingmymind2]

After that unwinding job he built me a niddy noddy (to wind long skeins for dying. I never got to use it before I came up to NJ, I'll have to get it when I go home in the van next time...it's not worth the postage to ship it. Or I can get him to tell my stepson how to make it and get the pvc pipes and let Mark make me one if I want to dye again

[happy stitcher]

I've got some natural cotton that I'd like to give a green color to, and was thinking of trying Rit....

 

Do you all recommend "setting" it with salt or vinegar? Or is that unnecessary with Rit? I guess it wouldn't hurt, right?

[Momcrochets]

If the box says set it with salt, I'd do so.

Also drylon brand works well. I found that one in hobby lobby by the fabric section. It comes in plastic-y pouches. That also needs salt to set it (so it says) but you don't have to boil it, and I think it stinks less than RIT. I've used it with good results, and it is colorfast (so far) And their colors seem true-er than the tyedye kits, when it comes to reds at least: we used the drylon stuff for a tyedye "party" this summer, and LOVEd how much better the red showed up...less magenta-y.

 

But in the past I have used RIT on a cotton tshirt, and it was quite colorfast. I don't recall now if I added salt or not..but it's been several years!

[happy stitcher]

If the box says set it with salt, I'd do so.

 

 

Thanks! My WalMart has Rit in the little plastic pouches, but they didn't have a dark green, so I haven't bought it yet...so I don't know what the package says. I'll check Hobby Lobby for the drylon when I go there, though. I suppose a salt set overnight wouldn't hurt, though, right?

 

I've had good results on cotton shirts with the tye dye kits, but I didn't want to go through all that for just a little bit of cotton yarn. When I've done those I've left them outside in plastic gallon bags for at least 24 hours before rinsing them and then putting them in the fixing solution. I don't mind boiling a little pot of dye, but I'd rather not go through the whole mixing, dyeing, and fixing of a tye dye kit.

 

Thank you for your help!