2 Blues: Dyeing Polyester with Rit DyeMore

 2 Blues: Dyeing Polyester with RitMore Dye

 

For whatever reason, my mom (may she rest in peace) purchased this 4-yard bundle of polyester fabric.  (Only $4 at Walmart--That's what happens when the only quilt shop in town closes.)  I'm not sure what she had planned for it as it's definitely not good for quilting.   Maybe she was going to make some pandemic masks?   I'm not sure ...    It feels like t-shirt material--soft and comfortable, so I thought I could dye it and cut it into strips for making rugs.   Hence this post.

I usually dye natural fibers like cotton or wool which use a different set of dyes (Procion or food coloring).  But those won't work on synthetic fabrics.    So I purchased 2 blues in Rit DyeMore, specifically made for synthetic fibers.  They offer instructions on their website. 

First scour the fabric in hot water and soap to wash out any finishes or oils from the manufacturing process.  This will allow it to accept the dye easier.

When it dried, I cut it into 2   2-yard pieces with the idea of dying a mottled piece.  Some of the websites I consulted said you couldn't tie dye polyester, but I was hoping to get some texture at least.

You have to use the stove top method with Rit DyeMore to keep an even dose of heat during the process.

Heat up a pot of water to near boiling.  Add a teaspoon of dish detergent, as this helps the fabric take up the dye.  Add the dye.  FOr dark colors, use twice as much.  I used the entire bottle for each pot.  Then add the fabric.  Let them simmer for up to an hour, then rinse.  

Because I didn't care about an even distribution of color, I did not bother to stir the pot as recommended.  I was hoping for some texture and interest as that would carry through to the resulting rug.

  
This is what they looked like when it was time to rinse.  Still hot.  The sky blue is lovely.  The saphire blue is very dark -- which surprised me -- One wesite said it was not possible to dye polyester a deep color.  It will always come out as a pastel ...

 2 Blues Dyed on Polyester

The sky blue in the picture is washed out, but in real life, it is a nice sky blue.

Well-- They did fade quite a bit, but you can see I did get some texture by not adequately stirring the pot.  Not tie dye, but some variation.

Now to sew them back together and cut them into strips for making a rug that will be soft on the toes. Maybe for the shower / bathtub.

Here's what I have in mind for weaving with a light and dark side:

 For this style, I think I need to have each color wound on it's own ski shuttle, then have them meet in the middle.

This may be more likely what I'll get -- Picture it in pastel.

The first step is to run a suitable warp!