Name: James

Message: Hello,

I stumbled across your site, and it seems very informative. I am a novice with respect to these sorts of things, however I have a 100% polyester fleece microfiber blanket which is white. I am interested in drying it green, but I am unsure how I would go about it. Do you know where I could buy the correct dye (ie: disperse dyes)? And also, where I might be able to find a protocol to use.

I am not really worried if it does not turn out 100% as I like, I am just trying to dye it some shade of green.

I would recommend that you use transfer dyeing. Using disperse dye paint, create a large number of leaf shapes, or some other shape that you like, on paper. Consider using stencils or simple stamps to do this, or paint different shapes free-form. Then, transfer the dye to the polyester by ironing them onto the blanket. Use different shades of green, and overlap some of the leaves randomly. You can recolor and reuse the same piece of paper repeatedly, using the same design, if you like, or use many different original designs if you prefer. Or, you can paint solid colors or variegated colors onto paper and then cut out the shapes that you want to iron on, using scissors.

You can order disperse dye powder from PRO Chemical & Dye, in the US. I see from your email address that you are in Canada, but ProChem will ship to Canada. You can also buy disperse dyes already made into transfer paint, from G&S Dye in Toronto. (See "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World".) For a more childish look, you can use disperse dye fabric crayons, which are sold in most fabric and crafts stores, to  make your paper transfers, though coloring your transfers with crayons will take longer than painting them would. To get different shades of green with the crayons, color lightly over the same paper drawing with a green crayon and a brown, black, or blue one.

I recommend the use of disperse dyes for transfers because I don't see how you are going to find a cooking pot large enough to boil your blanket with the disperse dyes for immersion dyeing. Even if you find one, you should not reuse it for food later, which would make this a very expensive project. The transfer method does not require any equipment other than a home iron or a heat transfer press, the paper that you paint or draw on with your disperse dyes, and some extra layers of paper or fabric to protect your iron and your ironing board.

You cannot immersion dye polyester fabric in the washing machine, because the minimum temperature for dyeing polyester is at or above boiling temperature of water, and higher temperatures are preferred. These higher temperatures are easily reached with a home iron or heat transfer press.

The reason why I suggest leaf shapes is because you will never be able to get a perfectly smooth solid color by transfer printing, but you can make this a desirable quality if you use shapes that you like. The detail of your designs will be limited by the texture of your polyester fabric. A soft blanket will make less detailed, fuzzier pictures than a fine polyester taffeta. See my page on "Iron-on Fabric Crayons for Synthetic Fibers", for an example of a design made with a disperse dye crayon iron-on, ironed onto smooth polyester satin.

Whatever the current color of your blanket, it will be included in the final color, since all dyes are transparent. Because your blanket is now white, you can transfer any color you like onto it.

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