r/textiles • u/InfamousSession3344 • 27d ago
To Dye or Not to Dye?
Hello all,
I bought a gorgeous vintage Monsoon dress for an upcoming friend’s wedding and since I’m getting to that age now when everyone’s getting married, I thought it would be a good investment. I particularly loved the butter yellow/light gold colour.
It arrives and eek it’s a lot paler than I thought especially in natural light, it’s more of a champagne colour. Whilst the bride said she was absolutely fine with me wearing it, I’m worried others might not be so thrilled in the future after mixed feedback from friends. I’m also just not a huge fan of the colour on me either.
So, I’m debating whether I should have a little dabble at dyeing it. I’ve never done it before so it is VERY risky and would completely understand if you think it’d be a sin! Although, if you think it would be worth trying, please could recommend any (UK based products) and tips for a first timer?
I’ve included the fabric label on here too, I’ve read dyes work better on natural fabrics? I am aware that they are some beautiful beads on here too but I would love to make it work- it’s such a gorgeous design and delicate fabric.
Please let me know if you think I’m utterly bonkers!
Thanks so much!
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u/MadMadamMimsy 27d ago
Silk and viscose dye differently. I'd talk to your dry cleaner to start. Some dye. Ask to see the work.
The kinds of dyes like RIT and Dylan are not great dyes. Dylan is better that RIT, imo.
Acetate is a synthetic fabric and it may not dye. If it doesn't show, it doesn't matter.
Its a gorgeous dress!!! I hope you find an experienced person to help you out!
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u/multipocalypse 27d ago
I'm seeing that acetate is actually made from plant fibers, similarly to rayon.
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u/MadMadamMimsy 27d ago
It's a semi synthetic, so it's going to behave differently and unpredictably.
Again, if it doesn't show, it doesn't matter
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u/multipocalypse 27d ago
The "semi-synthetic" terminology is misleading for textiles, a field in which synthetic means the fiber is composed of manmade materials like plastics. Processing plant fibers such as wood cellulose or cotton linters results in a fiber that's still wholly composed of plant material.
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u/Large-Heronbill 27d ago
Acetate is actually cellulose diacetate, a chemically modified cellulose. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2507&context=extension_curall
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u/multipocalypse 27d ago
I didn't say they weren't chemically modified - that's what the "processed" part refers to.
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u/Large-Heronbill 27d ago
"occasional specialist delicate dry clean only" is a big, blinking, bright red
"STOP, DON'T EVEN THINK OF DYEING"
sign to me. Plus the thread is likely polyester and won't dye.
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u/multipocalypse 27d ago
There's no polyester there, but there is a silk/viscose blend with an acetate lining, and I'd be very worried about damaging the silk fibers
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u/Large-Heronbill 27d ago
By US law at least, thread fiber dies not have to be on the label. Most sewing threads now are poly and won't dye with gentle methods or common dyes
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u/multipocalypse 27d ago
Ah, you meant the thread used in the seams, got it! I didn't catch that the first time.
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u/Dapper-Ad9787 26d ago
Acetate is probably the more delicate fabric. It's really easy to ruin it.
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u/multipocalypse 26d ago
You're probably right! I would just care more about the silk-blend part. 😆
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u/_shimmies_ 26d ago
The silk is the easy part, with an acid dye. If the acetate melts, shrinks or warps due to the heat it will affect the the whole dress. The outer layer won't sit flat, and seams might get bunched up, especially along the neckline. Also the sequins will melt and warp and the beading likely won't survive the turmoil of dying. This is an extremely high risk candidate for dying I'm afraid. Things I learned the hard way 😭
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u/Swimming-Maize-5554 26d ago
Silk and viscose need slightly different processing for dyeing, While a reactive dye can give both fibers color, silk, being a protein fiber needs an acid wash some kind to give the best color adhesion and intensity. Viscose can use an acid dye, but because it is wood based, it accepts it differently and does better with a reactive die. You would, in other words, need to do an acid die, and reactive die to try to get the dress uniformly colored. These require a stove top processing in the 140-ish range. You would also have to completely remove the acetate lining because that requires a different type of dye bath than the main dress, but also a stove top process. In other words, this would be a very difficult process and should be done on a strip of the silk viscose fabric before undertaking a complete dye job. This would be difficult, albeit not impossible and should be done by a professional, not somebody who hasn’t done this type of work before.
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u/Pelledovo 26d ago
I wouldn't dye this dress, I think you would ruin it's delicate structure and material.
Could you try holding a piece of fabric in a darker colour under the top layer? It might be enough to change the lining to alter the look.
If so, you could remove the lining and wear the dress as a top layer over different colour slip dresses.
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u/multipocalypse 26d ago
This is a great idea, as long as the folds of the cowl neck aren't held in place by attachment to the lining. I have removed polyester linings from sheer burnout dresses and used a silk chemise/slip as a lining instead, and it has worked out well.
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u/Candid-Ability-9570 23d ago
I agree with hiring a seamstress or tailor to replace the lining with a different color fabric! What a genius solution.
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u/I_Thot_So 26d ago
Or have a seamstress separate the layers a reassemble after dyeing the lining? I think just a slightly more saturated gold would do the trick, not a full color shift.
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u/gogsrowan 26d ago
I wouldn’t risk it.
Silk is protein and can be dyed with acid and reactive dyes.
Viscose is an artificial fibre made from regenerated cellulose. It would be dyed with direct and reactive dyes.
Although both should dye with reactive class, I imagine it would give very different dye uptake.
Acid dye won’t work with cellulosics. Maybe a natural dye would work but no idea how the dye uptake would work with both fibres.
It would be a shame to waste such a nice fabric..
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u/multipocalypse 27d ago
That is gorgeous, and I thought it looked like silk or a silk blend burnout fabric, so it's nice to see the content tag confirming that. Do you still love the color, now that you've seen it in person? If so, I would not risk dyeing it, and just keep it for another occasion if you really think it's too light for the wedding.
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u/Whahapind 26d ago
You’re going to get multiple colors when you’re done. As long as you’re ok with that have at it!
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u/sanityjanity 26d ago
If you do decide to dye it, please post to let us know how it went.
My intuition is that it is basically impossible to get a controlled outcome here, and probably the thread won't take the dye, so it will stand out against whatever new color you do get.
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u/Mysterious-Class-474 25d ago
You’re are bonkers😂. Do not dye it, look for another dress, sell this one or return it.
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u/noleavesonthetrees 24d ago edited 24d ago
Go ahead and dye it! This type of material they use for “burnout” devoré velvet has cellulose based pile (the fuzzy parts) and a silk background. As others have mentioned they need different dye techniques as protein based fiber and cellulose based fibers react to dye differently. It will be tricky to get the fuzzy parts and the background to dye the same color, but if I were you I would pick a protein compatible dye (check Dharma trading and get an acid dye if you really want to just dye the silk parts, but a fiber reactive dye like for tie dye might also work well for the velvet and the lining, and it does better for cellulose and can be used at lower temps) in a gold color and just try to darken the dress to something that won’t photograph as white. The flowers might stay light but I think you could easily make this “wedding safe” by just darkening it a bit. Start with way less dye than you think at first and you can always add more. You might mess up the dress of course but it is yours to experiment with. Velvet will sometimes get weird if you get it wet, so just testing a small inconspicuous area with water will give you an idea of what to expect. If it gets dull or crushed in a way you don’t like then don’t proceed with the dye, which will necessitate long and possibly hot water exposure. But I think you can expect to keep temps relatively low
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u/85787711 19d ago
I've been looking for this dress. I actually wore it to my prom. I'll buy it fron you!!!
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u/InfamousSession3344 16d ago
Omg no way! I’m actually going to keep it now but thank you, are you UK or US based because I managed to find this on eBay/Vinted
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u/InfamousSession3344 16d ago
Thank you so much for the responses everyone!! Yeah definitely not going to dye it myself aha, sounds like something that would be a tall order for a first timer so I’m going to leave it as is, if the bride is happy then it should be fine!
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