experience with dyeing fabric or quilts?

[Mommy_Mea]

we are going from a queen size bed to a king size bed and I have an existing king size coverlet I'd like to reuse. it is a lemon grass color ( lemony yellow green) and I would really like a orange or burnt orange colored coverlet. it is a really high quality coverlet ( from the hotel collection at Macy's) and it would be great if I could just make a different color.

anyone have any experience with dying something like this? I was thinking I could use something like Rit dye, but not with such a heavy/thick fabric. Any help/tips is appreciated!!

[PunkyBoo]

For something that big, I'd probably take it somewhere to have it professionally dyed. I did a corduroy jacket with Rit dye a couple years ago in my kitchen sink and it came out great. BUT it took 2 or 3 boxes of dye to get the color as deep as I wanted it and the sink was full. I know you can dye in the washing machine but I was afraid of not being able to get all the dye out before using the machine again. But even my top load washer would be too tight to fit a king size coverlet with the amount of free space needed to swish around and get even color saturation. Good luck!

[MommyAllison]

I agree, I'd have it professionally dyed. I've had great success dying prefolds cloth diapers and HA cotton underwear with Dylon dyes, but when I tried an Ikea couch slipcover in my bathtub, it didn't dye evenly at all - it kind of looks crackle dyed. I can't think of a bigger place than a bathtub to dye in at home, and I don't think you'll get even dye results on such a large item.

[sarahsthreads]

I've tea-dyed several yards of muslin to make a mummy costume, and even that thin fabric didn't evenly dye (which was good - I wanted a mottled look!) in the largest pot I own (the gigantic pot I can boil 3 dozen ears of corn in at a time) so I can't even imagine trying to dye something that large and heavy yourself. I'd definitely have it done professionally if you want a solid color instead of a tonal, I think you will be happier with the results. (Now that I say that, though, I don't know where you'd having something dyed professionally. Do dry-cleaners do things like that?)

Sarah :)

[Mommy_Mea]

Thanks everyone, I didn't think about the extra space I would need in the whet to get even coverage. I will look into professional dyeing but sounds like I might just be spending money on a new one. I was hoping to reuse and be green :-)