Dying a white UtiliKilt?

[sydnie7]

Of course I meant "dyeing" but can't edit the thread title, woe is me.

I traded a guitar for a never-worn white UK like the one in this thread:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/g...ghlight=dyeing

I have PMed the member who talks about dyeing this kilt, but it's an old thread so thought I would ask the general rabble: Has anybody tried dyeing a light-colored UtiliKilt to a darker color?

I'm thinking of going to a medium tan, think coffee with cream or caramel candy level. Lighter than the thread used for logo on back. My big concern is that Rit Dye says use "hot" water while UK says to wash in "cold cycle." Hmmm. Don't want it to fit my niece again afterward. . . are there other dyes around that don't call for such hot water? Recommendations, cautions, random thoughts?

Thanks!

P.S. Rcvd a rapid and detailed response from redbaronx71 which I will quote here for posterity:
I used Dylon brand fabric dye... it is more vibrant than Rit and not more expensive. [sold at WalMart and JoAnn's, FYI] I dyed mine something of a moss green (I was going for vintage army green)... you will need eight packets of dye... not sure what browns they have, but I would go
for maybe half dk brown and half orange to go for the color you are describing.

the water will be crazy dark (while my kilt was dyeing it looked like it was almost going to be black) but rinsing and drying it will come out different. soak the kilt wet before dropping it in dye bath... and use a large tub (or bath tub). My bath tub is one of those cast iron tubs painted with ceramic... I had to bleach it but it came out fine.

soak the kilt in HOT dye water for about an hour and then soak it in salt water and then rinse. Wash it by itself for a few washes before mixing it with other things. let me know if you have any more questions... yeah that post is old, so I don't know how thorough it was...

[EBlackall]

Heard lotsa good things about dying a UK. Heard all types to include tye died.

Also remembering something about vinegar as a mordant to set the dye (if I remember right, it's been a while and I'm not as young as I used to be).

[sydnie7]

Learn a new word every day Wikipedia says mordants include salt, which is what Dylon instructions include. Salt, vinegar. . . chips, anyone? LOL

But thanks for the encouraging report. It will be a while before I have time and place to attempt this, I'll try to photo and report as I go/final results.

Hunter Liggett. . . used to short-cut thru there in a TR-4 on the way between SoCal and San Jose, a hundred years ago. Well, on looking at map, not short-cut but a beautiful byway!

[TheBlueCow]

I've also thought of dying one of my UK's, and would also like to see thoughts/opinions on it. I've never dyed anything before, but I have a black survival that has faded rather much and I was thinking of dying it to make a navy blue/dark blue. I was wondering, should I bleach it first? Is bleach not a good idea for any reason?
I've been thinking about getting a few new UK's just to dye navy blue, since they don't offer any (they have a royal blue mocker, which I wouldn't mind too much, but they never seem to have it in stock). I would also like to dye some brown. Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated... thanks!

[sydnie7]

I don't have the white UK on hand just now (middle of moving households and everything I want HERE seems to still be THERE) but it struck me as a 100% cotton job when I last handled it. Looking at current UK site their "original" is now a cotton/poly blend. Poly is prob not going to take the dark dye as easily, but that's mostly speculation and inference on my part from reading instructions at various dye company websites.

Haven't dyed anything myself since those groovy cloud-pattern wax-resist T-shirts for me and my then-boyfriend circa 1973. . . LOL

[TheBlueCow]

I don't have the white UK on hand just now (middle of moving households and everything I want HERE seems to still be THERE) but it struck me as a 100% cotton job when I last handled it. Looking at current UK site their "original" is now a cotton/poly blend. Poly is prob not going to take the dark dye as easily, but that's mostly speculation and inference on my part from reading instructions at various dye company websites.

The Workmans is a cotton duck. I just looked it up and found this review of the material. It says that it takes dye well, and it sounds like a terrific material in general as it is tough but softens over time. I've been thinking of a brown Workmans and now I want one even more (but I like to have front pockets...).

I agree, the poly/cotton blend of the Original and Mocker models (I own two Mockers) seem like they wouldn't take dye very well. Fortunately my favorite UK model is the Survival, which is 100% cotton, so I might just get a couple of those and dye them my colors of choice.

[Mark Keeney]

Dyeing the white kilt will probably work well. The thread may be a poly blend and it may not take the color as well.

The black survivals were cotton at one time. If you need to take the color out, I wouldn't use bleach I would use a color remover. It should be better on the fabric. It may not take all of the color out and you may end up with some weird color. If I understand it correctly you can't dye something lighter you can dye something darker. Your black may turn out to be a blue black instead of a navy. Try taking a belt loop off of the removable pocket and dye that to see what you will get.

[TheBlueCow]

Thanks Mark. I just looked up color removers and that sounds like a better solution for me, and then I can dye it my color of choice.

Just for fun I might try to find an inexpensive poly/cotton fabric item and try a color remover and dye on it to see how it turns out. I'm expecting less than satisfactory returns. The Dylon website says that a poly/cotton blend item won't take dye as well, and so if you use a dye, it will take, but will not be as effective and will turn out a less vibrant, lighter color. I'm thinking I could do it a couple times maybe to get the desired color, but I'm remaining doubtful. I believe the Utilikilt is a 40/60 blend poly/cotton, so I'll try to find something similar to that to test on.

[Abax]

From what I've read, there are a lot better dyes out there than Rit (which I've used a lot). I can recommend Dharma Trading Co. as a good source of dyes and supplies. They offer small quantities and quick service. I've used their Procion fiber reactive dyes as well as their Synthrapol detergent to strip the fabric before dyeing.

They have lots of FAQ's about dyeing that can help you choose the right dye products. My experience with their products was on wool/synthetic blend garters and hose.

Abax

[sydnie7]

Thanks for the Dharma link. Lots to think about -- including running some tests on plain cotton duck before I plunk the UK into the bath! Now I know it will be some time before I tackle this, if ever. . . maybe I'll just get used to the whiteness of it LOL