Awesome video, you are very good on camera. What is the recommended temperature for the water and dye mixture? I believe the deterioration effect will depend greatly on the materials in the elastic, natural rubber has approx 180F service temperature, Spandex (elastane is elastomeric polyurethane) on the other hand is easily damaged by heat, 105F is the max recommended washing temperature. (industrial dyeing is done at higher temperatures but not sure the process to prevent damage.) Various elastics use: rubber or spandex cores that are wrapped in polyester, nylon or cotton fiber. Polyester is difficult to dye and requires high temperature, cotton is the easiest to dye, if the elastic is a cotton blend there are a number of cold water options., The spandex is most likely a lower percentage of the fabric content and won't absorb Rit dye very well if at all at any temperature. Cotton and nylon are the two materials that will dye with Rit. Cotton will dye at low temperature, nylon needs a higher temp. Best elastic choice would be cotton, nylon, spandex blend for dyeing and use a low temperature, try 100F for a much longer time period and see if the results are desirable. There is a class of cold temperature reactive dyes called Procion MX dye that actually forms a chemical bond with plant based fibers like cotton. Just my 2 cents, I haven't tried to dye any elastic but I know I can stain cotton with just about everything at room temperature. Generally it is difficult to find the specific material of the elastic unless you purchase from industrial suppliers, I have several brands of retail elastic, none list the fabric content, many say not to exceed 200F, yikes. Shoe dye could be another option, it paints directly on the fabric from the bottle and comes in a wide variety of colors that can be mixed. Angelus shoe dye is one I have used ( just tried a dip test on a short piece of white elastic, did really, well, it is black now though not jet black, it helped to stretch it in a paper towel so the dye could saturate all the fiber, I have no idea why I wrote all this. Thank you for your video, it inspired me to research methods of dyeing various fabrics and to try and prevent the damaged caused by the heat, BTW the RIT bottle says to use 140F ideally for bucket method (200F for stove top) plus they offer tips on their website for dyeing cotton and nylon. They also suggest using RIT ColorStay Dye Fixative for a more vibrant color and to make the dye last longer thru washes.
Sorry I missed your comment, Mark. :( I've never tried shoe dye on elastic. It's been nine months since you posted this comment, how long did the show dye last? Did it fade after a while? Honestly, I never measured the temperature of the dye bath water. It was hot enough I could only put my finger in for a second or two. Too hot damages the elastic. Not hot enough and the color doesn't take well. ... However, since I filmed this RIT dye has come out with a new synthetic fabric dye. The colors are limited, but test runs on crinoline and nylon lace look good.
@@sewlikeapro1 lol, thanks, like I said not sure why I wrote all that before, I was just curious about dying techniques back then, I just tried washing the sample in the sink with scolding hot water, dawn and bleach, can't see any color removal or fade after 5 minute soak. I'm pretty amazed it did that well. The shoe dye works awesome on leather and other fabrics, (I use it on my black jeans to cover up bleach spots, it works better than a sharpie from a permanence standpoint, does seem like I have to reapply after 4 or 5 washes to get the jet black back). On shoes it is protected with a wax job so it is mostly permanent withstanding normal shoe uses, lacquer thinner will take some of it off but it is mostly removing the wax for a color change.
This comment is gold thank you for sharing your research, you’ve saved me hours ❤ thankfully my elastic tells me the fabric type, 65% polyester and 35% rubber, I’ll have to experiment with some samples of it I think
The principles for dying most things is the same as I mention here. Delicate fabrics require a strong dye bath so the fabric doesn't have to stay in the water as long. However, tulle may or may not take the color. I suggest using one of the dyes for synthetic fabrics. RIT dye and several other companies make them now. They do a decent job of coloring crinoline, though it is not as dark or rich as dying a cotton or even elastic. However, there is hope tulle may take color also. ...Good luck! Keep me posted on what happens
I have bra straps that are too light and black lace fabric covering the straps. You had suggested using foundation to darken the straps when they are sewn on the dress. When the dancer sweats, will the foundation bleed through the fabric.
Mary, are you saying the black lace straps are too light for your skin tone? Or the actual straps are too light and you want to cover them in black lace? As far as putting foundation on the straps to darken them, as long as you use a water-base makeup I've never heard of it bleeding through and staining the fabric. (Though it may have and none of my clients mentioned it.) Especially if you have a dark dress, you should be good to go. The makup will wash off when you wash the dress, but the color is diluted in the wash water so that too has produced okay results.... However, I cannot guarantee anything. Think of that as the legal-eze "I am not a doctor, but here's my opinion." :)
Lisa, I have never had the color of the elastic bleed (that I'm aware of.) But then again, it's flesh color and it would blend in with skin :) ... Seriously though, no client with a white dress have ever mentioned that problem. Now if you were dying it red, I'd be careful since red and black are prone to fading and bleeding.
Awesome video, you are very good on camera. What is the recommended temperature for the water and dye mixture? I believe the deterioration effect will depend greatly on the materials in the elastic, natural rubber has approx 180F service temperature, Spandex (elastane is elastomeric polyurethane) on the other hand is easily damaged by heat, 105F is the max recommended washing temperature. (industrial dyeing is done at higher temperatures but not sure the process to prevent damage.) Various elastics use: rubber or spandex cores that are wrapped in polyester, nylon or cotton fiber. Polyester is difficult to dye and requires high temperature, cotton is the easiest to dye, if the elastic is a cotton blend there are a number of cold water options., The spandex is most likely a lower percentage of the fabric content and won't absorb Rit dye very well if at all at any temperature. Cotton and nylon are the two materials that will dye with Rit. Cotton will dye at low temperature, nylon needs a higher temp. Best elastic choice would be cotton, nylon, spandex blend for dyeing and use a low temperature, try 100F for a much longer time period and see if the results are desirable. There is a class of cold temperature reactive dyes called Procion MX dye that actually forms a chemical bond with plant based fibers like cotton. Just my 2 cents, I haven't tried to dye any elastic but I know I can stain cotton with just about everything at room temperature. Generally it is difficult to find the specific material of the elastic unless you purchase from industrial suppliers, I have several brands of retail elastic, none list the fabric content, many say not to exceed 200F, yikes. Shoe dye could be another option, it paints directly on the fabric from the bottle and comes in a wide variety of colors that can be mixed. Angelus shoe dye is one I have used ( just tried a dip test on a short piece of white elastic, did really, well, it is black now though not jet black, it helped to stretch it in a paper towel so the dye could saturate all the fiber, I have no idea why I wrote all this. Thank you for your video, it inspired me to research methods of dyeing various fabrics and to try and prevent the damaged caused by the heat, BTW the RIT bottle says to use 140F ideally for bucket method (200F for stove top) plus they offer tips on their website for dyeing cotton and nylon. They also suggest using RIT ColorStay Dye Fixative for a more vibrant color and to make the dye last longer thru washes.
Sorry I missed your comment, Mark. :(
I've never tried shoe dye on elastic. It's been nine months since you posted this comment, how long did the show dye last? Did it fade after a while?
Honestly, I never measured the temperature of the dye bath water. It was hot enough I could only put my finger in for a second or two. Too hot damages the elastic. Not hot enough and the color doesn't take well. ... However, since I filmed this RIT dye has come out with a new synthetic fabric dye. The colors are limited, but test runs on crinoline and nylon lace look good.
@@sewlikeapro1 lol, thanks, like I said not sure why I wrote all that before, I was just curious about dying techniques back then, I just tried washing the sample in the sink with scolding hot water, dawn and bleach, can't see any color removal or fade after 5 minute soak. I'm pretty amazed it did that well. The shoe dye works awesome on leather and other fabrics, (I use it on my black jeans to cover up bleach spots, it works better than a sharpie from a permanence standpoint, does seem like I have to reapply after 4 or 5 washes to get the jet black back). On shoes it is protected with a wax job so it is mostly permanent withstanding normal shoe uses, lacquer thinner will take some of it off but it is mostly removing the wax for a color change.
This comment is gold thank you for sharing your research, you’ve saved me hours ❤ thankfully my elastic tells me the fabric type, 65% polyester and 35% rubber, I’ll have to experiment with some samples of it I think
Just the info I was looking for...Thank You!
Quite welcome!
Teresa, can you go over the process of dyeing tulle? I need to fix a ballroom gown but am unsure how to go about it.
The principles for dying most things is the same as I mention here. Delicate fabrics require a strong dye bath so the fabric doesn't have to stay in the water as long. However, tulle may or may not take the color.
I suggest using one of the dyes for synthetic fabrics. RIT dye and several other companies make them now. They do a decent job of coloring crinoline, though it is not as dark or rich as dying a cotton or even elastic. However, there is hope tulle may take color also.
...Good luck! Keep me posted on what happens
Great tip! Thanks Teresa!
Thanks, Marianne. But since you're in my Sew Like A Pro™ school, you have an even more detailed version in the module 5 elastic training bonus. :)
What a great video!
Thanks, Mary! I'm glad you found it useful :)
I have bra straps that are too light and black lace fabric covering the straps. You had suggested using foundation to darken the straps when they are sewn on the dress. When the dancer sweats, will the foundation bleed through the fabric.
Mary, are you saying the black lace straps are too light for your skin tone? Or the actual straps are too light and you want to cover them in black lace?
As far as putting foundation on the straps to darken them, as long as you use a water-base makeup I've never heard of it bleeding through and staining the fabric. (Though it may have and none of my clients mentioned it.) Especially if you have a dark dress, you should be good to go. The makup will wash off when you wash the dress, but the color is diluted in the wash water so that too has produced okay results....
However, I cannot guarantee anything. Think of that as the legal-eze "I am not a doctor, but here's my opinion." :)
This is a great help! Do you know if the color will bleed when dancing and sweating?
Lisa, I have never had the color of the elastic bleed (that I'm aware of.) But then again, it's flesh color and it would blend in with skin :) ... Seriously though, no client with a white dress have ever mentioned that problem.
Now if you were dying it red, I'd be careful since red and black are prone to fading and bleeding.
Very helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome, Rose Rose! Glad you got solid tips you can use.