This post is written by one of my fabulous 7 Steps to Style members Bernadette Lis who has lots of experience dying her clothes.
ALL warm ladies should keep a bottle of Rit Golden Yellow liquid dye and all cool ladies should keep a bottle of Rit Pearl Grey liquid dye within the house to help “tweak” some of their colours or prints. Keep it somewhere in the kitchen, master bath, or laundry room near a sink with some q-tips (cotton buds). When you are considering dyeing or overdyeing a print or solid, test the fabric by dabbing a miniscule amount of dye onto a seam allowance inside the garment (a very tiny amount so that it doesn’t seep into the main body of the garment). Then rinse it out after a few minutes. If it “takes” (Rit will dye both natural and some man-made fabrics, but not all polyesters or acetates), you know you can proceed confidently.
Cotton, rayon, modal, viscose, linen, and bamboo will all dye as natural fibers so you can use Rit or Procion, with my preferring Procion even though it is more complicated. Use Rit if you are uncertain what an item is made from (you did test the seam, right?), so you know it will take dye. Wool usually requires heat, so not for a novice at this! Silk is funny and can “shift” colours, so testing with the individual colour is required (you cannot test silk with any other colour than the one you intend to use, again, not for a novice).
I use Procion Blue Grey to mute and cool colours and Rit Golden Yellow or Rit Tan to warm colours. If I wanted to tone down and warm a colour, I would use both a blue grey and a golden yellow (in the same brand) but would have to mix them myself to “tweak” it correctly (I test on white fabric scraps until I get what I want).
The thread colour dyeing properly is not usually an issue with overdyeing since you are just changing the fabric colour slightly to suit you; no one is going to notice that your pink thread is a slightly different pink!
In solid colours, you’ll find it pretty easy to soften colours with blue grey or warm them up with a yellow or tan dye. I personally use a lot of blue grey since it seems to tip most of my favourite colours to suit me. If a colour is not bright enough or saturated enough for you, it is possible to overdye it with its own colour.
Prints can be a bit of a potluck, but can also be a lot of fun to overdye. Medium value contrast ladies can change a black and white high value contrast print to medium value contrast by overdyeing the white to a colour. A small black and white print can appear as a muted textural colour. Too bright colours in a print can be cooled, muted, warmed up, or made tone on tone.
I have used only a few colours for my examples and tried to use each colour on the available samples (I ran short in some prints). In real life, I have many dye colours and would sit down and look at each print and give it a “think” as to which colour would do what to each colour in the print and whether or not I would like it. The samples are just to give you some ideas and a “feel” for what could happen. Start small and have fun!
Now RIT provides formulas so you can mix your own Pantone colours.
Bernadette and Imogen, what a magical post! I have honey colored skin and I find that even ‘taupe’ in the shops just too cool for me. At one stage I was thinking about tea dying t-shirts (especially marl grey) to get them over the honey line. I wasn’t wanting a strong dye just soft move in the right direction. So I now have inspiration and will give it a go on some old t-shirts. Thank you.
I am so glad that you enjoyed the post! I started doing this because of the opposite problem, colours were too warm and bright for me! I am more experienced in cool colours, but loved the results from Rit Golden Yellow and Rit Tan on florals. To achieve “honey”, I think I would try Rit Tan first.
Thanks Bernadette for you helpful reply. I have been trying to locate the liquid dye in Melbourne. I have been to my local supermarket and to Spotlight (have powder) but can’t find the liquid dye. I have also sent an email or two to the wholesalers and no concrete information. Unfortunately my enthusiasm is waning a little bit. I don’t normally buy goods off the web. Do you know a retail supplier in Australia (Melbourne) that stocks on their shelves the liquid dyes?
Hi Carol – http://www.lincraft.com.au/rit-liquid-fabric-dye-denim-blue-114
I have a satin wedding dress that is too pink. I was wanting a light blush pink color. What could I do for that?
I prefer the liquid, but go ahead and use the powder dyes, just be extra cautious about stirring the water and making sure it is all completely dissolved before adding your clothing. I would add dye by dissolving it in a separate cup first and adding gradually to the dyebath.
I am unfamiliar with using other brands of dye, so if I were in your place, I would pick one which is for tub dyeing and allows you to vary the amount of dye which you use. ( There are a few dye “packs” which are marketed to throw in the wash with a large amount of water and do not allow for any judgment on your part. These are ones you do NOT want). Just read the directions carefully for what needs to be done and which fabrics are compatible.
Hello. I have a 100 percent linen dress in Olive green.
If I take the colour out what are my options for a different colour. Olive does not suit my cool tones.
Hope you can help.
Thanks Caroline
CAROLINE SPADEMAN,
your linen dress is now olive green. You could overdye with a blue dye and not have to remove dye at all. Rit dye remover works best at a simmer temperature if you want to remove dye but it doesn’t always get it all. Overdyeing with a blue or teal dye would give you a colour which works with your cool complexion and it would a lot less stress on your dress fabric.
Brilliant!! As I write this I have some fabric boiling in some yellow dye to try & eliminate a lot of the white bits! Hopefully it will make it TOTALLY WARM!
Let us know how it turned out!
It turned out perfectly!!!….. my printed polyester chiffon went from a “wishy, washy” background to a clear yellow!…..Perfect for a “spring ” like me!…… the other colours are also more vibrant, &, overall it is now a great eye enhancer for me…..Thanks so much for the idea!
You are quite welcome and I’m happy you had great results!
What a great article! I have a pair of jeans that are a bright coral color. I love the color but find it a bit too bright for me. Months ago , I purchased Rits pearl grey dye, thinking it would tone down the jeans a little. I still haven’t had the nerve to do it. Your article has encouraged me to finally give it a try.
I think you would be better served toning down the orange with a little Rit Tan so as to keep the warmth of the colour.
Use Procion fiber-reactive dyes for cellulosic fibers (linen, cotton, rayon) and acid dyes for protein fibers (wool, silk) as well as nylon. I do so much dyeing, some of my friends actually believe that I had to pass a tie-dye test to get my BS in Chemistry from Berkeley. (Berkeley does have a swim test, but no tie-dye test, for graduation.)
http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/search/label/Dyeing
Thanks for the peek into your artwork, what a pleasure!
This is exactly what I plan to do with two lightweight 100% cotton jackets that I was contemplating getting rid of (due to all of your enlightening information about color). I am a light summer coloring with medium blond hair and blue-grey eyes, so olive and black are not great colors for me. I am hoping the RIT color remover and then color dying will work out nicely. Do you have any suggestions for colors? I have a relaxed style and live in blue jeans (think Jennifer Aniston). You have some of the best fashion advice I’ve ever read. I’m amending my wardrobe accordingly. and trying to prevent future mistakes! So glad I stumbled upon your blog – thank you!!
Anna, please only remove dye with great ventilation; it’s very harsh! You will probably need a few boxes of dye remover. I would go for lighter as opposed to getting all the dye out. The olive will probably easily be dyed to teal. Different black dyes have different “discharge” colours, so I think a light navy would be good and not a far stretch if your thread doesn’t dye well.
The only problem is that I live in California with severe drought. Dying seems to use a lot of water. Is the dye safe for the environment? Do you have any suggestions for getting good results without excessive water use? Thanks.
I will not pretend to know what the water situation is like where you live or what you would consider excessive water use. I use mostly Procion dye from the Dharma Trading Company in California and I have always trusted in their environmentally responsible outlook. If you go to their website and type in “environmental safety” they have safety specifications for each item they sell and you can research any item which concerns you. I am a homecrafter, not an expert, sharing what I have found works for me.
Being cool and deep, I wouldn’t use gray nor yellow nor tan. I guess I could die stuff to have stronger colours or else black? My mom used to dye stuff when she was young, so I’d be curious to try. I did experiment once maybe 7 years ago and it came out splotchy despite a lot of stirring; maybe just a bad one, will try again.
It is hard to say what went wrong for you, but prewashing is a must and sometimes our old clothes have stains that are not apparent until dyed over. I am careful to manipulate folds and creases carefully which is why I do tub dyeing. I am guessing that your biggest reason for dyeing would be to intensify faded colours to the saturation you like, as in blacks and some other jeweltone colours. Just having fun is a good reason! I do have friends that only use black dye to refresh their black clothes when they’ve faded!
Great information!!!!
Thank you, Alfia!
Well this is great, I have dyed items a few times with varying success, they dont always come out the depth of colour expected. can these dyes be used in a washing machine (front loader) or is the stove top method prefered (stove top is not my preferred). I was unaware about testing on the seams, will remember that for future experiments. I am a warm colouring so if I overdye a garment using golden yellow or tan I willl get a warmer tone to the garment. Is that correct?
I dislike using the washer or the stove! My personal preference is for Procion fiber reactive dye.
I use the tub dyeing method and get my supplies from the Dharma Trading Company. They have instructions on their website and they are washfast. The Rit I used is faster and simpler when you are just getting started and want to experiment and will also dye some synthetics, but there are other types of dye to explore when you feel ready. Golden yellor or tan will warm your colours and the choice is entirely what you think would be better for the individual item.
I loved his article! Thank you so much for writing it, Bernadette, and for posting it, Imogen! I have been inspired to try doing more dying, particularly since white is one of my best colors; I figure I can wear a white cotton item one summer and then dye it a different color and keep on wearing it.
Since finally getting my brain around the color contrast concept, I am looking for some ways to lighten garments as well. I have in past reverse dyed black cotton with bleach. Recently, I tried the color remover on an army green jacket which was too warm for me; it came out a lovely gray, but it was clearly hard on the fabric. Thankfully, I get lots of thrifted things to practice on.
I am super excited to try some more of these ideas! 🙂
I very rarely remove colour because it is smelly and rough on the clothing. I usually just fade with some bleach and overdye from there. When I do remove dye completely, all the windows are open and it is a “last chance” for that item!
Thank you for the information Bernadette! 🙂
You’re quite welcome, Anna!
Hello Bernadette,
Thank you for this very informative article. It is so useful to have this advice as we often find clothes which are almost fine, but not completely!
I have a question about the procion blue grey dye which you advise to cole and tone down. I do not find blue grey in the Procion is it the Medium blue 072 which you are refering to?
With many thanks
Marguerite
I will have to try this some time. I’ve only used tea for dying silk in the past:
I had two very bright white silk t-shirts that I thought were way to stark and cool on me. I brewed some very strong chamomile tea on the stove and soaked one and then the other to turn them into a nice warm yellow wheat/cream color which is much more flattering on me. I think chamomile tea is acidic, so I guess that’s why it worked so well on silk, and it was so easy to do.
I’m glad you are inspired to play! Just remember that silk requires special dye so as not to “shift” to another colour. Do a little reading about it first. I love the idea of tea dyeing and am glad to know it works so well on silk, thanks for the info!
Loved this post so much that I am hoping for more! It would be fun to see pix of full garments. Or just more examples. Am also wondering whether the RIT jade is warm or cool in value.
Sorry, I meant the cayman green.
Cayman Isle Green is a Procion dye that is an aqua green pastel as opposed to aqua blue. It warmed up many of the colours in the floral print but by itself on a solid is borderline warm/cool.
Are the Rit Teal, Procion Baby Periwinkle and Procion Baby Pink warm or cool? Or are they used for a different reason?
The Rit Teal is neutral and suitable for all. The Procion Periwinkle is a cool pastel and the Procion Baby Pink is a cool pastel which is not muted. When I use Baby Pink for myself, I add a little Blue Grey to make it suitable for my colouring.
Thanks! I suspected that most were cool-ish but am just getting my feet wet in terms of understanding coloring.
I am a pear shape, and flattered by darker bottoms, I have overdyed faded jeans with navy machine dye (Dylon as I am in UK) very successfully. I am also slightly on the warm side so have overdyed things which were too cool a pink with yellow dye, or yellow/tan to coral with bright pin dye – worked quite well.
I’m glad that overdyeing is a clothes rescuer for you too!
Bernadette, you are the DIY expert. Anxious to try to warm up several items to fit my Intriguing palette better.
Great post Bernadette ! I really like this post. I prefer liquid dyes because liquid dye is more powerful then others.In this post you offer a great example of dyes so this article is so innovative and helpful for me.
HI Bernadette,
I read your complete post it really great post and your example are really amazing & helpful.
Regards
Linda
I have a silk dress, ivory/white background with floral print in blues and yellows. I haven’t worn it since last summer. Discovered areas that are yellowed, perhaps from suntan lotion. I soaked in laundress stain solution and it lightened a bit. I’m wondering if I can use a dye for silk to change the ivory background to a light-medium pastel? perhaps pink or lavender. What dye at a water temperature so as not to shrink the silk?
So sorry, Jackie, I usually get a notification by email and did not see your question! Before you go further, make a powder and water paste with some Oxyclean and make it “bubble up” over the stains with some steam from your iron (don’t press, just the steam and see if that removes the stains.)
Procion dye on silk can shift to another colour (buy a small piece of silk to test on first) You can heatset the dye afterwards by ironing, so do check the silk dyeing instructions on Dharma Trading site.
How did I miss this post until now?! I’ve been carrying this idea around in my head for ages, I just never saw the ‘blue grey’ option anywhere. Exploring dyes is definitely going to be one of my winter projects!
I’m just bought a pale green dress (a dull green, not a pretty green…I’d attach a picture if I knew how) and I want to dye it a bright turquoise-blue, but a little more blue than the RIT teal is. The dress is polyester/spandex with polyester lace so I’m assuming I’d use RIT dyemore…Any suggestions on how to get that blue color??
What fantastic possibilities this opens up! I’ve not seen RIT in the Netherlands. Does anyone know what I could use instead of the Rit Pearl Grey liquid dye?
Hi Alice, a quick google search of RIT DYE NETHERLANDS brought this up for me https://www.berelijn.eu/producten/rit-dye?___store=en&___from_store=nl you may find more if you do a search.
Hi! I love this article on overdying! You have sparked my interest in doing some dying. I have a really cute teal green dress, but it is really bright for me and I want to tone it down. I would like to make it a more muted, almost faded shade. It is 94% Rayon & 6% Spandex. What brand and color do you recommend I use to tone the teal down? Thank you so much!
Hi there, I just found your article and it’s super-helpful. I have generally warm coloring, can’t wear aqua, true pink, violet, or anything like that. I purchased a lovely cotton top, but it’s a super-intense royal blue. Although the color isn’t bad on me, it’s just too bright, so I’ve never even worn it. Is there a particular over dye color that I could use to tone it down? I would love a navy top, but I’m not sure if I should go with navy or with tan. Thank you so much!
Just try with the grey!
Hi, This is all so handy! I’m not sure if you’ve addressed this before but I have a nylon tule skirt…its hot pink..any suggestions for how to dye it? I dont really have a preference of the color.
Thank you so much.
I’m pretty sure tulle is a synthetic fabric so you’d just need to choose a synthetic dye.
Hello there. I stumbled on your site by searching on overdyeing garments. I am itching to try this method on a dress and I am attaching a picture with the question.
The fabric is 60% Cotton and 40% Polyester. Thanks in advance.
Thank you for your information very helpful , I dyed a peach wrap cotton sweater I bought on sale I used a flamigo pink color dye and got the most gorgeous soft coral pink color . I think the key for me was to keep stirring it and the color was evenly distributed Now I read some people leave the garment in dye bath overnight for deeper color what your thoughts on that?
I tried this our on an old bright pink t-shirt, and now I have a very muted pink t-shirt. Thanks so much for this information. This will be especially helpful if I have trouble finding medium-deep muted colors for summer clothes. Stores around here favor brights and pastels.
Excellent – once you start dying you don’t stop as you realise just how easy it can be to make the colours great for you!
Hello!
I know this post is for clothes, but I was hoping for some tips in reference to sheets, lol.
I was given a sheet set 100% polyester, it’s fuzzy!, but the color is tan and I would greatly prefer something on the cool side like gray or teal. But if I would need to go through the process of color removal for that, could I just dye over with black or would that just make it a dark brown?
I’m a complete newbie if it wasn’t already obvious, lol, so thanks for any advice!
Will definitely be keeping these tricks in mind for clothing though now too, thanks for posting!
Rit Dyemore is the dye you need or another specialty dye made for polyester, but it does require simmering on the stove. You could dye a warm coral or orange most easily but I would be cautious trying a cool colour since the tan would muddy it. I generally avoid large pieces which need to be on the stove since I have never found a pot big enough to be able to take the item!
I have a burnt orange silk bag which I would like to overdye to a plum/maroon/purple colour. Even black would be better than orange as I usually wear pinks, blues, purple etc. I spin so have Landscape dyes which dye wool and silk – I find the silk is usually a softer colour than the wool. Can I use this dye? More importantly, what colour/s should I use?
Hi, I enjoyed reading your blog so much. Very informative! Could I please ask you a question?
I want to dye a 100% linen shirt that is jade/ emerald green colour to a more natural colour of bright grass green? ( reduce the blue tone I think??) What colour would you suggest I use to over dye it? I appreciate your time, you are very talented and generous with your knowledge. Thank you.
Jade/emerald green is usually a green with a touch more blue in it. You can add a bit of yellow dye and have it tip more to your desired grass green. Start with a little bit and add more gradually as you see the colour emerging so that you can achieve the colour you want.
Hi, I have an orange top I love that was given to me, but orange is not my color, is it possible to dye it to a shade of pink? How does orange turn out when dyed with a different color?
Margo, just seeing this! You could simmer the top in dye remover but that is very tough on fabric. If enough colour is removed, any colour is possible but as I said, tough on the top fabric. A very strong dose of primary Procion fuchsia with a dash of grey would give you a red colour if the top absorbs enough dye even over the orange.
Hi. I love your tips. I have a fuschia colour top which doesn’t suit my colouring. Am I able to dye it another softer colour like a light/medium denim colour. If so, could you please advise what colours I should use. Thank you so much.
Lorraine
I love this idea! I just got a shirt online that turned out to be a light bright bubblegum pink when I was expecting a more muted, cooler color. Would the Rit pearl gray work in this case?
Hi
I wonder if you might be able to give me some advice. I have some 100% polyester fabric in a pale cool olive green and I wanted to change it to a warm eggplant or purple shade. Is that possible and what colours would you use to achieve that if so? If this sounds impossible what colours could I change it too successfully
Cheers
Natasha
I bought a sundress that is bright teal background with bright floral print… orange, pink and yellow flowers. Way brighter than the picture when I ordered it. I tried washing it several times with bleach-nothing. Sprayed with lemon juice and hung in the sun for days-nothing. I found your post and ordered the blue grey dye from Dharma Trading. I figured I have nothing to lose at this point!
If I have a red violet dress and want to achieve a dark burgundy, will it work to add yellow green (neutralizing), scarlet red and brown? What proportions would I use?
Have you tried dying/bleaching a cotton knit sweater? Mine is just too bright coral, would love to take it down a notch. Ideas?
Leslie
A cotton knit sweater will take Procion or Rit dye easily. A small amount of a taupe (brownish grey) would knock the brightness down. Always start with a tiny amount of dye, adding more very gradually until the colour is where you want it.
Thanks for sharing your expertise Bernadette!
My son purchased a polyester light brown trench coat with the hopes of making it more grey. For a 16 year old kid he’s really into history and WWII.
I looked up and saw that there is specific fabric dye’s for synthetics. But I’m not seeing much guidance on turning light brown into grey. My only thought was to experiment with black dye.
Do you have any advice for him?
Thanks,
Jason
Jason, sorry that the news is not good. Since it is a trenchcoat and a synthetic, the chances are that there is a water resistant finish on the fabric itself and then there is also the simmering process being problematic since you need a pot big enough to freely stir a coat. There are some dyeing service companies where he could send out and black is used as one of their bulk dyeing colours, but truthfully, I don’t think this coat is suitable.
Hi there, I found your article and you seem so knowledgeable on overdying garments I am hoping to get some advise from you!
I have an Adrienne Papell formal dress, beaded and sequins (silver) The dress is Taupe Pink (which is basically blush pink but more muted) I wanted to wear it to a wedding and the bride thinks it’s too light of color and I’ll be too close to her in a white dress.
I want to overdye the dress to make it a teal (blue/green) or aquamarine color.
You s this possible without removing the color?
I would have to formulate the exact amount of blue and green to mix so that it is able to cancel the little bit of pink?
Or is there a possibility I can use a regular teal dye with blue-gray dye mixed in all together?
Do you use the blue-gray first to cool the garment in one process and then a second process to color it with teal after?
Should the garment be dryer and wash thoroughly if so before next color, is there any waiting period?
Hopefully I can reach you.
Ps. I believe you are an artist ❤️
I’m sorry, Perla but I would never recommend using dye over beads and sequins as a rule. The soda ash needed with Procion dye would tarnish and ruin the metallics in the beads and sequins. You. MIGHT be able to tint the pink deeper with Rit regular dye, but there is a strong possibility that the fabric is a synthetic and requires simmering with Rit Dyemore and the heat would, again, ruin your sequins.
Please help! So I ordered a brides maid dress which is absolutely gorgeous but the color is bright peach instead of the blush I needed. It’s the same as the pants in the beginning of this blog. There’s different fabrics and not sure what it’s made of.
I’m completely new to dying and even though I have a backup dress, this is the one my best friend wanted for her wedding. I have no idea how to mix, I see blue gray but not sure if it’s already made that way or if I have to mix it that way, what equipment I need to dye, if it’s safe to do in my tub (in a rental), et.
Arlene, since you don’t know what the dress is made from (probably polyester), I think you should take a safe route and send it back for a refund. I would only take a gamble on the dress if I had it for awhile and was willing to live with a possible loss! Polyester is iffy and some polyesters won’t take dye at all. I am so sorry that I can’t give you better news!
I am so thankful for this post! I bought a cotton 97%/spandex 3% dress with multi-colored stripes. It looks like the pattern is printed on it since the underside is white. It is far too warm for me and I had considered dyeing it grey. I happened to find this post while researching over dyeing. I don’t have much experience but have done ice dyeing once with procion dye.
Do you think doing a periwinkle or other cool grey would work to achieve my goal? I’m worried that since the pattern is printed, it might not affect the coloring. Appreciate any insight!
Here is a photo of the pattern: https://supercutedresses.com/cdn/shop/files/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_0a9052f1-647c-496f-9e55-cb8828f47a90.jpg?v=1710885829
Amanda, I think using a periwinkle blue overdye would work best rather than the grey (the small amount of yellow in the pale peach would mute the periwinkle a bit but the pink in the colour would be a good matchup with the pink and blue within a periwinkle colour). I think your best bet would be a Rit dye since Rit dyes can stain some plastics too.