Thread: Colored tummy covers

Anyone know a source where can get tummy covers in colors. I love the old clips of dancers like Suhair Zaki and love the look of covers in colors to match the skirts.


Thalia

I order my coloured covers with the costumes at an egyptian vendor in germany. Perhaps you can ask at dahlal or an other seller with egyptian costumes if they can order them for you?

Sugar Petals for sure. They have more colors available in their stretch net then their power net. But if anything you can order a white one and dye it yourself with rit dye. They gave me a material sample with my order so I could test first before I did it myself and also directions on how to do it. You can go to the Rit dye website and they have tons of recepies for all different colors. I agree that matching tummy covers is very elegant and sharp looking.

:) Heather

I was always under the impression that you could not dye synthetic fabric. It takes the dye??

Yup, they sure can be! According to Sugar petals you need to use Rit dye because "fiber reactive and Dylon dyes do not work on nylon". The instructions they send are very helpful. I believe (not positive) that they hand dye their colored tummy covers. I haven't dyed my first one yet but I'll keep you posted when I do decide exactly what color I need.

:) Heather

Dharma trading co. can tell you everything you could ever want to know about dyeing natural and synthetic fibers. They also sell dyes and fabric, they are friendly and extremely economical, they totally rock! Check them out! ..g.:

I used Rit dyes for a lot of years, but just because they are readily available don't mean they are your only alternative. It's hard to fix them so they don't keep fading.. ,f:: .w.: . Dharma also has all the fixatives for the different kinds of dyes.

I'm not a spokesperson for Dharma, just a true believer!!

I really like the ones that Designs by Janie makes. She also says hers can be dyed, although I've never tried it. She has multiple colors too. Here's a link:

Body Stockings

Originally Posted by thaliadances

Anyone know a source where can get tummy covers in colors. I love the old clips of dancers like Suhair Zaki and love the look of covers in colors to match the skirts.


Thalia

Adiras has blue and purple. What color were you looking for?

Originally Posted by thaliadances

I was always under the impression that you could not dye synthetic fabric. It takes the dye??

Nylon can be dyed with the same process used for protein fibers like silk and wool. Rayon, tencel and other reconstituted celulose fibers can be dyed with the same process used for cotton.

It's polyester that can't be dyed with anything you would ever want to work with in your home. (Dyes for polyester ar super-toxic)

I bought an ivory one from Sugar Petals and dyed it purple with Rit dye. It was easy and I was happy with the results. Sugar Petals provides good instructions on how to do it. It could be difficult to match a fabric exactly, I think, but the dye is cheap enough that you could experiment with mixing colors to get the color you are after.

Thank you everyone, this is very helpful!!

Thalia

With all the talk of dyeing on this thread, I feel compelled to offer some health and safety warnings.

Be careful about using dyeing costuming pieces that may come in contact with your skin. - such as tummy covers. The type of dye recommended on this thread contains chemicals that may cause liver cancer if skin is exposed to it frequently. The moisture of perspiration causes some of it to be absorbed into the skin. However, if wearing something else between the dyed piece and the skin, or if only wearing the dyed piece on rare occasions, there should be no problem. I recommend wearing the dyed item the minimum length of time you can get away with wearing it. In other words, don't put it on until just before you dance, and take it off immediately when you finish dancing. I'd also suggest washing the skin it came in contact with as soon as possible.

When dyeing an item, take appropriate safety precautions such as rubber gloves and a dust mask to protect the skin against the chemicals in the dye. Powdered dye is more risky to work with than liquid. Avoid having open beverages or food in the room when dyeing, to avoid particles of dye contaminating the food or drink.

Dyes for cotton are more risky than dyes for silk. But precautions should be taken when working with both.

The above comments were sent to me by a college student majoring in costume production (ie, for theater).