As soon as I get a chance I am going to put together tutorials on dyeing with food coloring and also with Kool Aid. I hope to do that this coming week.

Billy D.

I have gone shopping so it will be later tonight before I get the tutorial done. I did have one problem dyeing the peach color and that was because I left it unattended to post here first. portions of it stayed above the water line for about five minutes...................... leaving with two shades of peach. This tells me something. Never leave your dye bath for anything, keep the fabric below the dye bath or constantly moving to keep the fabric from shadowing ( that's what I call it )

The first bit is a way to remove a dye from your antron fleece to give it another try....this is provided by Dr. Puppet (Jay).....enjoy......

You have to be careful.... but the way to do it is to fill your washer up with hot water and pour in about two cups of bleach or so. Let this agitate for a bit and stop the cycle before rinse to see how it’s coming along. You may need to add a little more bleach but be careful...too much bleach will damage the material, I go in stages, I use two cups or so let it agitate and rinse. Then repeat it if necessary. You will never get it white again especially if it’s dark to begin with but a pale yellow is usually the result.  You could do it by hand I just like the machine because it’s constantly agitating the fabric so the result is more even.

Here are some more thoughts on dying antron fleece...not sure the resource......


When using dye make certain you write down every measurement- how much water, how much dye, how long the fabric has been in the dye/water solution. Prep is also key. I wet the fabric with plain water first and ring it out - then I boil the dye/water mixture- make certain you also add salt as a fixer. Then take the pot of boiling water off the stove and wait until it has cooled until a medium/high heat (or use the hottest tap water). Now add the fleece- just don't plop it in- gently ease the fabric in quickly. I use thermo latex gloves so the hottish water won't scald, and that your hands don't end up becoming the colour you dye Evenly press down and move the fabric to get out air and to to make certain the fabric isn't popping up (thus causing uneven dying). Get a second person to time the minute you put the fleece in. Remember you'll want to dye a little darker because the fabric will dye lighter. I use to take a section of the fleece sticking out of the water and ring it out a bit- this gives you some idea of what the finished product looks like. Once you have the desired colour- pour out the dye and pour in warm water. Begin ringing out the fabric until you see no dye leaving it as you ring. Hang to dry.
Whew! It's that easy LOL Some ppl throw the fabric into a pillow case and then into a dryer on low- I hang dry it- environmentally friendly
Hope this helps

PS- You will want to try a sample (smaller) piece of fabric before you dye the bigger. Make certain you time it out. Also keep a sample of the finished fabric for future records.

Hope this all works out for you.......it can be frustrated and sometimes no matter how confident you are in dying things....it can still go wrong......you are not alone......you will get it right.....

Daryl H

Very Good Tutorial Daryl.......................... My camera is not taking real good pictures but I'm still trying. I loaded up some fabric photos under kits album. Keep in mind they are not good photos.

Here are the results of me dyeing Antron fleece using my dye packets.



Top left-peach ( left fabric splotchy so you could see the difference)
Top right- orange
Bottom left- rose
Bottom right- yellow


Left to Right........ orange/yellow/peach/rose

I will try and get better pictures. The skin tones except yellow are close in shades but vary some what............... I can't get a good picture with my camera. I will try it outside tomorrow.

Billy D.

Not sure what to do from here.   I still think i'll get the same results. I don't have access to a laundry machine at home so I can't start over.  The spots have set in so I have to make due with how it is.  I have one dye pack left of the color i'm using so what ever I do it'll be the last try.

Gav

I'll have the tutorial up tomorrow........ mean while don't dye the fabric just yet let me talk you Thur it via messenger. I'll be around all day and can instruct you better. I will help get things right with your fabric.

Billy D.

(update) I dyed another piece of the tan/peach and took more pictures.

The tutorial is ready and in my gallery in the PDF Album section. Everyone has there own method of dyeing fabric. This is one of the many different ways I have used. The secret to dyeing is just like baking bread. There is a science to it. The right ingredients and timing make a good dye. I hope you enjoy my method which has changed slightly from other methods I have used.
To prevent spotting................ make sure rit dye is completely dissolved or use liquid dye.
To prevent splotches............. keep fabric under the dye bath and moving.
I advise you to use a scrap piece of fabric to practice with if it is your first time dyeing.
Time is a issue, one minute can make a difference. So when dyeing stick with it and take the phone off the hook. Hope this helps............ have any questions just ask. Like I said my dyeing method is different from others. I encourage you to use a method that suits you and you are comfortable with.
This is just a extra note............... If using a puppet pattern cut your pieces out from the white Antron and dye separately.................. saving any scraps to dye a different color.

Billy D.

I encourage you to use a method that suits you and you are comfortable with.

I agree totally with Billy on this....I know that you can dye with a washing machine with great success and when I tried it did not work at all for me.  I like the hands on method.....it may take more time but I have success each and every time consistently.  So look around and try different methods.....it seems that you got some new ideas from Billy for dying give them a try and see what happens....

BTW Don't throw out the spotty piece of antron .....get a darker colour and dye it again over the lighter colour.

Hope this helps......

Daryl H