Name: jackie


Message: What about dying a bathing suit? the outer layer of the suit is spandex and nylon but the inner lining is polyester, if i dye the bathing suit do i run the risk of ruining it or will the dye just not stick to the polyester lining? Also what about getting into a chlorinated pool? Thanks for your help!   

I think you'll do better to buy a new 90% cotton/10% spandex bathing suit from Dharma Trading Company, and dye that with Procion MX dyes. Cotton is easier to dye in a blend with spandex, because you can use Procion MX dyes at room temperature, without threatening the stretchiness of the spandex in your suit.

The problem with dyeing a nylon/spandex blend is that nylon requires heat to dye it with acid dyes, while spandex is very sensitive to heat and will lose its shape if overheated.

Polyester is an even bigger problem, since it requires extensive boiling in a special polyester dye called disperse dye. You cannot dye polyester when the garment also contains spandex. However, you could leave the lining of your bathing suit undyed, and just dye the outside, so that's not necessarily a big problem. 

The blank white bathing suits that Dharma Trading Company sells are not at all expensive, and they dye up great. The only problem will be if you need a wider range of sizes than they provide.

See also:
• How to Dye Spandex
• How to Dye Nylon
• How to Dye Cotton with Procion MX dyes
• Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes


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