Place damp, unfolded fabric into the washing machine drum. Always start with clean fabric (wash thoroughly, even if new, to remove stains or any finishes that cannot be seen). Add 1 cup (237 ml) of fabric salt for cotton, linen and rayon or a third of a cup (78 ml) of white vinegar for silk. Avoid pouring directly onto fabric. White – the opportunities are endless! Dye white fabric any color you want and it’ll come out the same color as the dye says it will, which is quite handy! The term ‘over dyeing’ can mean two things; the first one is simply applying multiple layers of colors to create a depth or infusion of colors. And the next one, or the one we are talking about here, is coloring an already-dyed fabric. Fill a stainless steel or enamel pot with just enough water for the fabric to move freely. Turn on to high heat.

If you are dyeing silk you will use 1/3 cup of vinegar instead of salt. Do not use the washing machine method for wool because it will felt. Remove fabric, add detergent and run empty cycle to remove any remaining traces of dye (at 40˚C or 60˚C). It is no more complicated to overdye fabrics than it is to dye white items. You still have the same choices of dye depending on the fiber content of your garment or fabric, and you still need the same supplies as you would with any other dye bath. The added layer of complexity comes only in the planning stage. If you’re starting with a garment or fabric that has a color already, and you’re trying to arrive at a particular color, you’ll need to do a bit of planning (and potentially testing!) to figure out what color you need to use for your overdye bath. Have you ever wondered what color onion skin dye would produce? Well, it turns out that it can vary depending on the type of onion used and the ratio of onion skins to water. I like to use both red onion skins and yellow onion skins and find it produces a nice peachy tone.

Is it easy to overdye fabric and clothes?

Pay attention to the type of pattern your fabric has before you decide whether it’s a good candidate for overdyeing. Printed fabrics – things like floral sheets or polka-dot dresses, are usually printed (or yarn-dyed) using a pigment dye that absorbs into the fabric. When you overdye this fabric, each existing, original color will mix with the overdye. For example, if your original fabric is pink with yellow flowers that have green leaves and you add it to a red dye bath – the fabric will become red (or reddish pink) with orange flowers and muddy brownish leaves. This may or may not be the result you’re going for, so think about how the dye will mix with each individual color before you commit to overdyeing. Now, you might think that dyeing a certain fabric may be extremely complex. Not really! You need to carry all the basic steps you follow while coloring a white garment. Besides that, you also need to understand the value and saturation of a certain colored fabric. Value implies how dark or bright a certain color is, whereas saturation implies the intensity of a color. Both these factors will affect the final result of your colored fabric. What Color Can Be Overdyed On Green Fabric? This happens because yellow and blue are complementary colors and, when mixed, balance out each other to create a color in between, that is, green.

Place the mesh strainer over another pot and strain out the skins. The dye solution is now ready. Set the dye bath to simmering. After 30 minutes of simmering, add the wet cloth to the liquid. Simmer for a total of 30 minutes.

Can you dye over patterned fabric?

When the machine has completed the wash cycle allow it to complete the balance of the wash/rinse/spin cycle. Set your machine for the hottest possible water temperature and longest possible wash cycle. If you are able to extend the wash cycle, do so. The longer you are able to allow the fabric to remain in the wash/dye cycle the darker the colour and the better the fixation. Overdye” is the word dyers use to describe layering dye baths on top of each other. This could mean that you use multiple dye baths one after another to build a depth of color, but it could also mean dying an existing non-white garment to a new color. Aside from adding depth, texture, and new tones, it’s also an incredibly useful way to breathe new life into old garments, disguise stains, and update garments to a color you’ll actually wear. Related: Fabric Dyeing Techniques – 12 Different Ways How to choose the right dye color when overdyeing:

So, before you over-dye or recolor an already-colored fabric, you need to be clear about how different colors will interact when they mix. For example, when you over-dye a yellow fabric with blue, it will most likely turn into a green fabric. You probably learned something about color mixing in school – red and blue make purple, yellow and blue make green, and the difference between primary and secondary colors. Dyes, like paints, are composed of pigments, and overdyeing is essentially just mixing pigments, the same way you’d mix paint.So, before you attempt to immerse the fabric in a dye bath, test your creative swatch just to be safe! Also, when over-dyeing a used cloth, don’t forget to take care of the stains. First, you need to carefully pre-wash them and apply some stain removal treatment. It is possible to dye over patterned fabric, but the print itself may turn into unexpected colors, or stay the same color, depending on how it was printed. Not only does this give the fabric a new look, but it also helps you update your wardrobe without having to spend hundreds on new clothes! Besides, you may also try over-dyeing faded clothes to make them good as new.