Faded Cotton Jacket

[TheJay]

Hello everyone.

I have found a jacket in the loft, which I really like but is a very faded green colour.

I want to revive it and make the green look slightly darker/not faded.

Could you please tell me the best way to fix this permanently? I've seen people say terrible things about Dylon and don't know what is best to use that isn't going to fade quickly?

Thank you for your help.

 

[danski]

I’ve re-dyed a few shirts and a pair of black jeans to good effect with dylon.
I also dyed a chair cover to not so great effect but I think I may have needed more dye.

 

[moose]

Hi What's the jacket made of? Dylon is great, but only works well on natural fabrics. Rit make a dye for synthetics. You need to match the right dye to your project.

Dying old clothes can be problematic, which is why it gets a bad rep - any stains or invisible grease spots will not dye out, and often if the jacket is cotton, the stitching will be synthetic, so you get a dark green jacket with light green stitching.

However you could argue that you have nothing to lose by having a go.

 

[dessiato]

In the past we’ve used Dylan. Never had a problem with it.

Be careful to follow the instructions and make sure you get the right type of dye for the fabric.

 

[TheJay]

Thank you for your replies. It's a cotton jacket as mentioned in the title

I'm not bothered about stitching looking different. There are so many bad reviews for Dylon, people who have used it for years are slating it now.

 

[TheJay]

Also, many state it wrecked the seal on their washing machine despite following the instructions.

 

[moose]

Oh, I never use Dylon in a machine, especially the new one - use a bucket or stainless steel sink. Make sure you wash the jacket thoroughly first and leave it damp. Depending on the material, it's sometimes worth taking the buttons off.
If you have a big bucket, do it in that - put an inch or 2 of very hot water in it, and stir in the dye till thoroughly dissolved. Then top it up to about half way, stirring all the time. Put the jacket in and keep moving it about for 5 mins. Get your gloves on and squish it about. Repeat every 10 mins, turning the jacket to make sure there are no folds resisting the dye. After half an hour or so, you can start rinsing by hand, then when the water runs clear(ish) give it a wash in the machine. Dry naturally, hanging up, not on a radiator. Please post the results!

You can use America's favourite, Rit, but I find it less predictable than Dylon.

 

[TheJay]

Thank you very much. What's the way to get the correct amount of Dylon? Weigh the jacket dry?

 

[moose]

Thank you very much. What's the way to get the correct amount of Dylon? Weigh the jacket dry?

If you're dying up to 600g dry weight, use 1 full container if it's the new 'All-in-one' tub like this Green
(if it's not 'All-in-one', you'll need salt too). If your jacket weighs more, it'll just dye lighter. Don't bother with the hand dye packet, even if you're using a bucket.

 

[TheJay]

Thank you very much

 

[Badgers]

Before and after pics please

 

[TheJay]

If you're dying up to 600g dry weight, use 1 full container if it's the new 'All-in-one' tub like this Green
(if it's not 'All-in-one', you'll need salt too). If your jacket weighs more, it'll just dye lighter. Don't bother with the hand dye packet, even if you're using a bucket.

It's 916g, is it worth using two? I'd like to try and get the same colour or darker (rather than a diluted effect).

 

[moose]

It's 916g, is it worth using two? I'd like to try and get the same colour or darker (rather than a diluted effect).

View attachment 306688

Bucket or washing machine? 1 will probably be ok for bucket, as you're using much less water, 2 for washing machine.

Although I'd try it in the bucket first to make sure it fits! If it's a tight fit, you'll need to keep it moving in the dye.

 

[TheJay]

Bucket or washing machine? 1 will probably be ok for bucket, as you're using much less water, 2 for washing machine.

Although I'd try it in the bucket first to make sure it fits! If it's a tight fit, you'll need to keep it moving in the dye.

Definitely a bucket job. Preferably one of those flexible buckets I think.

 

[Boudicca]

Just to echo what moose said, definitely dunk the jacket in water first. You have a much better chance of the dye distributing evenly if you you start with it damp.

I've never had a problem dyeing things in the washing machine, but it works better if you have one which uses less water.

 

[TheJay]

Our washing machine just packed in, ordered another but expected delivery between 10 and 21 days

I'll be doing this in a bucket for sure, thanks for the tips on making sure it's drenched first.

 

[dessiato]

Make sure there's no holes in the gloves.

 

[TheJay]

You look good in blue

 

[moose]

Awww, I wonder where TheJay got to? I hope the jacket worked out.

 

[TheJay]

I have to say I am a bit disappointed. See for yourself.

I followed your fantastic instructions and it looked like it was going really well, it was a beautiful dark colour and after rinsing by hand and then washing in the machine, I'm pretty sure it looks the same?

 

[dessiato]

I have to say I am a bit disappointed. See for yourself.

I followed your fantastic instructions and it looked like it was going really well, it was a beautiful dark colour and after rinsing by hand and then washing in the machine, I'm pretty sure it looks the same?

View attachment 312287

Are the faded areas gone?

It looks OK to me.

 

[TheJay]

I was looking forward to it being a dark green colour and looking completely different though.

 

[moose]

What a bummer. At least it's even. I'm wondering if there's some sneaky synthetic in the cotton, because it's weird that even the faded tips of the cuff tabs haven't taken dye. Sorry

 

[TheJay]

It's possible, although that's not what it said on the label.

 

[Saunders]

Oh that’s disappointing. I was hoping to follow your lead with some sofa covers.
I have used machine dyes before and they’ve been great but my most recent attempt was dreadful. Might you have used not enough dye or salt?

 

[TheJay]

Oh that’s disappointing. I was hoping to follow your lead with some sofa covers.
I have used machine dyes before and they’ve been great but my most recent attempt was dreadful. Might you have used not enough dye or salt?

I used the machine pod as recommended by others in this thread so didn't need salt and the amount of dye in the pod was in excess of that required by the jacket.

 

[Saunders]

Yeah my disaster was with the pods. In my case it didn’t evenly distribute so I ended up with very patchy, blotchy result. But the dye definitely took in the blotchy patches so, as said above, I wonder if there is some synthetic fibre or coating on the jacket. The old Dylon machine dyes in boxes were fantastic and reliably turned out as you’d wanted/ expected. If you can be bothered, I’d try using hand wash dye and including a handkerchief sized piece of 100% cotton fabric like a bit of an old tea towel or pillowcase, to see how it takes on that.

 

[RubyToogood]

I think it must have a showerproof coating or something.

 

[TheJay]

Like the sprays you get for shoes and coats? Even if the jacket was absolutely saturated with water and had been washed on an intensive cycle before the dye was used?

 

[TheJay]

Yeah my disaster was with the pods. In my case it didn’t evenly distribute so I ended up with very patchy, blotchy result. But the dye definitely took in the blotchy patches so, as said above, I wonder if there is some synthetic fibre or coating on the jacket. The old Dylon machine dyes in boxes were fantastic and reliably turned out as you’d wanted/ expected. If you can be bothered, I’d try using hand wash dye and including a handkerchief sized piece of 100% cotton fabric like a bit of an old tea towel or pillowcase, to see how it takes on that.

I'll have a think about that, I'm still sore over it.