How to dye fabric: yourself at home or at the dry cleaner?

Unfortunately, even the most modern washing machines cannot extend the life of our favorite things; on the contrary, over time they become duller after repeated washing. Sun rays also negatively affect the color of clothing, as they reduce the level of dye fastness. Most often, things that suffer are those made from cotton fabrics. The colors fade, fade and become pale. Dyeing clothes is an ideal option that allows you to restore items to their original shade and refresh them. This can be done either at a dry cleaner or at home. This procedure allows you not only to preserve products, but also to save money. Most often, spontaneous purchases occur because old clothes have lost their color and become unusable. Next, we'll look at where and how to paint things and how to do it better.

What dyes are used to dye fabrics?

At home, you can dye your clothes with special dyes, which are natural and aniline. Let's look at each option separately.

Natural colors

Natural dyes must be crushed before use, then boiled in water and evaporated slowly to produce the desired shade. We filter the finished mass, and it is ready for use.

Important

! Getting such paints is not a problem, for example:

If you want a cream or beige color, you can use tea or coffee. To dye an item, place it in the ready-made dye and hold it until it reaches the correct shade.
Green dye can be obtained from elderberry leaves, juniper berries and marsh grass.
Yellow shades are extracted from barberry bark and birch leaves, as well as from turmeric.

In this case, you can experiment as much as you like.

Aniline

Aniline dyes should be used carefully, but before doing so, you must carefully study the instructions. From it you will learn which fabrics and which products are best to use in each specific case.

Important!

These are the products used to dye things in dry cleaners.

You will not have any problems with these paints at home, the main thing is to correctly determine the required amount of dye. It's easy to do, you just need to weigh your clothes.

Important!

If you need to color several objects, it is recommended to work with each of them separately. Before the procedure, all items are washed and all decorative elements are removed from them.

Instructions for painting in different ways

You can dye the trousers by hand or in the washing machine. If the first option is chosen, then the procedure must be carried out away from upholstered furniture and clothing.

In the washing machine

For the washing machine, only powder dye is used. In this case you will need:

Take an enamel or glass container or a metal spoon.
Mix the powder with hot water in a ratio of one package of dye per 2 cups of liquid.
Add a tablespoon of salt when the mixture becomes smooth.
Add water in the amount recommended by the manufacturer (indicated on the packaging of the powder dye).
Add a tablespoon of vinegar and washing powder to the prepared mixture.

The nuances of dyeing fabric - how does it happen and what is needed for it?

First, we go to the store and buy all the necessary components, namely:

natural or industrial paints;
scales;
liquid ammonia;
salt;
vinegar;
large capacity for coloring;
thick, durable weave fabric.

Preparation:

Carefully inspect the product and check whether it can be washed in a machine or only by hand, at what temperature it is better to do this.
Choose paints. The point is that not all materials can be freely updated in this way. By the way, you should not buy paint in dubious places, because here you will not be given a guarantee of quality. It is better to contact a specialized store where sales consultants can help you.
Determine the weight of the clothing. Each paint is designed for a certain weight of material. Basically, this is one package per four hundred grams of products.

Important!

If you want to increase the painting effect, you can increase the amount of consumables.

Wash your clothes and make sure that even small stains are removed, otherwise the coloring of the items will be uneven.

Important!

Soaking clothes occurs using warm water. If working with thin fabric, it must be washed in an ammonia solution and then again in clean water.

Coloring:

Dissolve the dye in a special container, following the instructions, and then lower the clothes into it and bring to a boil over low heat. All this time, things must be stirred; after boiling, they must be “cooked” for at least twenty minutes.
Prepare a solution to fix the color. You need to dilute fifty grams of salt with two liters of water. The products are removed from the boiling water using tongs and the fixative is poured in, put back in and cooked for another fifteen minutes.
Remove the container from the heat and let the clothes sit in the hot water until they cool completely. You can turn it over several times.
Drain the paint from the container and place the items in a bath of water. Rinse items in warm water until the water becomes clear.
Place the clothing between two pieces of thick fabric and roll everything into a tight “roll”, wring the product well.
It is recommended to dry the item at room temperature so that the sun does not hit the clothes.

Useful tips

For competent and complete coloring, you must follow several recommendations.

For high-quality dyeing, it is recommended to use a dye suitable for the given fabric .
When painting in a washing machine, the mixture must be poured into the drum, and not into the window for washing powder .
To get a darker blue hue, you can add a little black paint..
A solution of vinegar and salt is required when rinsing . It helps consolidate the result and prolong its quality.
Before dyeing, trousers must be washed and all stains removed . When stained, they will reappear on the product.

What materials cannot be painted?

It’s not difficult to dye clothes at home, but it’s important to understand in advance whether the fabric can withstand such aggressive exposure, otherwise you’ll just waste your time and ruin your favorite item.

It is not recommended to dye fabrics with a high percentage of synthetic fiber at home. Initially, they may change shade after the procedure, but the paint is quickly washed off after the first wash.

Important!

Only dry cleaning specialists can handle this kind of work, because in such cases it is necessary to use special technologies and special paints.

You can safely try dyeing wool and cotton fabrics at home.

How and with what to dye jeans

Today there is a large selection of dyes for various fabrics.

Dye for denim

Jeans need cotton dye, you can use wool dye. As a rule, the packaging contains instructions on how to use the paint and how much to use.

Aniline dye. It features a wide variety of colors that can be mixed together to create original shades. In order to use it, just follow the instructions on the label exactly.
Acrylic dyes. They resist external influences very well. They do not require re-painting for a long time.
Blue. Clothes blue is a well-known dye that has long been used by housewives. The dye, although called blue, does not paint blue, but cyan. The advantages include ease of use. After the first wash, it noticeably loses color intensity, so it is used, as a rule, to turn laundry blue.
Powder dye. A well-known dye for a long time. The disadvantages include a small range of colors.

What is professional dry cleaning?

Professional dyeing of clothes at a dry cleaner allows you to refresh and return the original color of expensive items. Many products are almost new in appearance, but their faded or discolored appearance is alarming. It is always a pity to part with exclusive and very expensive things that have become pale and unattractive.

Adding blue shades

There are also several methods for dyeing pants blue.

First of all, the use of ordinary blue - a mixture of methylene blue with starch. It is suitable for refreshing the product and giving it a more saturated color.

Manual method

The dye is diluted in the amount of warm water indicated on the package, add a couple of tablespoons of table salt .
Pants are placed in the resulting mixture. It is recommended to leave the product for several hours to obtain a bright and rich shade.
Turn over about once every 2 hours to ensure even coloring.
Before completing the process, you can prepare a solution with vinegar. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar per liter of water . It is necessary to soak the painted product in the resulting solution for several minutes to consolidate the result. Then rinse several times.

Machine method

When painting in a machine, powder dye is more suitable . It is diluted with boiling water and poured directly into the drum .
Next come the trousers . It is recommended to set the mode to “Boiling”.
While the product is going through the stages of dyeing, prepare a solution with vinegar . must be kept in it for at least 15 minutes.
Afterwards rinse with water .

These steps will help restore your trousers’ rich color and well-groomed appearance.

The most common modern dry cleaning services:

Dyeing jeans at a dry cleaner. Today it is the most popular service in this industry. The fact is that trousers and jeans themselves last quite a long time, but their color fades very quickly in the sun. After professional treatment they will look like new. By the way, in the future, they will not fade during washing, so you will not have to worry about damage to other things.
Painting jackets. When it comes to jackets fading or fading, many people throw away the items, thinking that in such a situation there is no other way than to purchase a new item. In fact, all this is fixable, just rehabilitation is done by painting textiles and leather separately.
Professional painting of dresses. Today, in order to surround yourself with truly beautiful things with rich colors, it is enough to follow fashion trends; you do not have to spend huge sums of money on buying branded products, you just need to have your dress dyed a different color at the dry cleaner.

Additional tips and tricks

If you need to dye your pants in a non-standard shade, you can prepare a pigment from:

wolfberry (results in red color);
blueberries or blackberries (deep purple);
walnut peels (sand or beige);
elderberry, spinach or sorrel leaves (rich green);
beets (various varieties of pink);
celandine and turmeric (orange).

When painting in a washing machine, the prepared solution must be poured into the drum. If the mixture is added to the powder container, other items will also acquire a dark tint after washing. To dye fabric, you can use specialized white dyes based on acrylic and aniline. These products are applied to pre-bleached material.

There is a jacket of a dark dirty green-blue color, the material seems to be corduroy. How can you dye it black - are there any sprays for fabric (which do not lose color when washed) - it just has 30 tightly sewn buttons (a jacket ala “Napoleon”) - that’s pi. You have to rip them off first, and then sew them on again, and there are bad reviews about the paint that they sell at the entrance to markets (it doesn’t apply smoothly and won’t be exactly black).

There is paint for clothes. look in stores for housewives) paint it, then you need to maintain the color or paint it later. It's probably cheaper and easier to buy a new one)

Painting of any complexity in dry cleaning

Modern dry cleaners are equipped with special equipment and have all the necessary means for dyeing any products made from 100% cotton and more. Specialists probably know how to dye the clothes they process.

When accepting orders, employees typically identify possible risks to customers, especially when it comes to problematic fabrics and materials that are prone to shrinkage. Dry cleaning services are provided not only for dyeing clothes of any color, but also for restoring the original shade. Products are accepted for work only after all details have been agreed upon with the technologist, which is important in such cases.

Now you know how clothes are dyed, and you can evaluate your chances of doing it yourself at home. We hope that whichever method you choose, you'll get a good result - a refreshed and vibrant piece that will continue to highlight your personal style for a long time.

Preparing for painting

Before you start working, you need to stock up on dyes and choose a method for doing the work.

Suitable materials

You can paint any item of clothing yourself using special paints .

There is a wide variety of colors available on the modern market. With such a spectrum, everyone can choose the shade they need.

Coloring methods

Fans of experiments identify several methods suitable for painting a product .

The most popular is dyeing in a washing machine . However, paint may remain on the drum walls. This will lead to damage to other wardrobe items.
Instead of a washing machine, you can use the manual method. For this purpose, enamel dishes are suitable, which are placed on low heat. The main thing when painting is to follow the manufacturer's recommendations .