Thread: Another dye question*Updated*

I have some heavy cotton gauze fabric in a bright orange. Would there be a good way to over-dye it to soften the color a bit to make it more earthy or even into a soft red? I've never dyed cotton gauze.

I love bright orange but for this dance I want something a little more muted.

To tone a color down using dye (which is of course transparent), you look at the opposite side of the color wheel. If you have a very bright orange, and you want to make it less so, you dye it in a weak solution of blue. This will move it towards brown (whenever you mix dyes opposite on the color wheel you are creating brown).

It would be very hard to make a bright orange into a red. Even if you soaked it in red you would get an orangey red.

Thanks for the tips, tigerb.

What if I used some of the Rit Color Remover? That would give me a lighter orange, at least, wouldn't it?

Originally Posted by dunyah

Thanks for the tips, tigerb.

What if I used some of the Rit Color Remover? That would give me a lighter orange, at least, wouldn't it?

RIT color remover is a little unpredictable. I don't know how much yardage you have, but if it will fit, try the color remover in a pot on the stove top rather than your washer. You want to be able to watch it and pull out your fabric when you get a shade you like. But be aware that not all fabrics will discharge nicely -- you might have an odd result.

I used the RIT color remover and it appears to have been successful, the fabric is now a lighter orange that is closer to what I had in mind. Thanks for the tips, tigerb!

Originally Posted by dunyah

I used the RIT color remover and it appears to have been successful, the fabric is now a lighter orange that is closer to what I had in mind. Thanks for the tips, tigerb!

Great news! So glad that worked out for you.