To dye ever darker...

[Vegan Scot]

I'm in the process of dying a pair of formerly cream hose a dark red. The hose are very bold in color now but my problem is that I don't seem to be able to get them as dark as I'd like. I've used scarlet Rit dye twice now, about half an hour to 45 minutes each time, in hopes of achieving a darker hue of red but to no avail. Do I need to add a drop of two of a second color to darken things up a bit?

[piperdbh]

Maybe a hew drops of brown? You might also leave the hose in the dye over night. A third choice is to get some of the Rit additive stuff for dark colors. It's a separate bottle of something that you either mix with the dye or wash the fabric in before you dye it. (I can't remember what the bottle says.) If that doesn't work, sell the hose here and buy a pair in the right shade. Or get me to make you some.

[lethearen]

Not sure what exactly you mean by "darker"... but if you gotten it as deep and rich as you can following the normal instructions on the package, I would suggest one of two things.

1. Try using less water in your dye bath. That might increase the concentration of the dye and force more into the fabric.

2. Try adding another colour to the mix. Maybe Wine?

I have no idea how either of those would actually work. They probably would just work in my head So if you try my recs and they fail, don't blame me

Oh, and be sure to look at the material the socks are made of. Some synthetic materials don't take to aftermarket dyes very well. So if you've got a blend, you may only actually be dying certain parts of the thread and not others, which would make the finished product a wee bit lighter than if it were, say, 100% cotton or wool.

Maybe try adding salt if you haven't already? Salt helps the fabric take on the dye better. So if you haven't been using salt, you might not be getting the full effect.

[Vegan Scot]

The hose are 100% cotton and the water was at or just above 140 degrees so that shouldn't be a problem. I used salt but not the full cup the was suggested on the packaging. I think I've reached the full color potential of the dye. You may be right, I may need to add some wine coloring. Actually, I'm wondering what a little bit of brown would do. Maybe I'll practice on a test swatch.

[Tobus]

Use blood.

Are you using hot water when you've done your dye baths?

[azwildcat96]

Use blood.

Blood will turn them brown (when it dries) not red!

[Farlander]

Rit dye is a general purpose dye designed to dye all fibers. It is fine, but will not give you the results that a more specific dye type can. If you are looking for a deep dark red, then Rit will probably come up short.

Acid dyes are more likely to do what you have in mind. One source that I can recommend for dye information and products is Dharma Trading Co.
For wool dyes, check out:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/en...lnav=dyes.html
or more general information:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/info/