Thread: color fix tips please?

Hey Everybody!

Like I posted in the student section: I have a practical question.
We started on a new choreo in class with gypsy-skirts. Yay! ^^ Only my skirt makes my hands look blue/green and very hulk-like by the end of class...

I already had it soaking in water with 1/2 liter vinegar overnight. Let it dry and mashine-washed it with special colorsaving soap.

But I still get hulk-like hands. Does anyone have some tips for me about what to do to get the surplus dye out?

Thanks!

Not sure whether that's available in Europe, but Syntrapol is supposed to do what you're looking for [ETA - get rid of the blue hands, not set the color, I didn't write that properly. Sorry. It has worked nicely for me with shirts that bled color.]. Vinegar is not gonna do much, if anything, for getting rid of excess dye that's still in the garment from not being rinsed well.

See here: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2127-AA.shtml

I always used vinegar AND salt on items that wanted to bleed their color. You might try that.

most likely this is a cotton skirt and vinegar will only work (marginally) on protien based fibers. I agree with Steffie's reccomendation but please do be careful with synthrapol as it is a strong chemical.

Originally Posted by _Tanya_

most likely this is a cotton skirt and vinegar will only work (marginally) on protien based fibers. I agree with Steffie's reccomendation but please do be careful with synthrapol as it is a strong chemical.

I agree, cotton with salt, silk or wool with vinegar. Acids attack the cellulose of the cotton.
Hm, now that I think of it, I also have a green skirt, would be better to fix the colour as well

Salt will not do too much in this situation, either. For a more in-depth discussion and recommendations for products that can be used to set dye, see here: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/settingdye.shtml

But, as Tanya pointed out, those products are to be handled with some care.

Vinegar does not set dye unless it is an acid dye under heat. That's an old wives' tale, to soak in vinegar to set dye.

Salt does not set dye; it is a chemical used to force dye out of solution in water to better bond with fabric.

Synthropol helps wash excess dye out of fabric. But it is just a detergent.

What you want is Retayne: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1981-AA.shtml

It doesn't always work perfectly, but it often helps quite a bit.

and it's so weird that of the ten skirts we bought from the same vendor, it's only ONE that has the issue!

i've just send an email to the vendor