Name: Pauline

Message: I have a black knit top that is 72% silk and 28% nylon.  I accidentally put it in the washer and the color faded.  How can I restore the color?  It's a lovely top.  Thank you,  Pauline

Now that you've washed it, you may want to keep on washing it instead of dry-cleaning it, using a delicate cycle to avoid damage, since washing in water is so much better for the environment, and healthier for you, too, in addition to costing less. This means that I recommend that you use the most washfast (wash-resistant) dye that you can.

For a true dark black, you will want to dye both the silk and the nylon. This means that you will want to use some sort of acid dyes, since acid dyes work well on both silk and nylon. All acid dyes require heating, so you will need a stainless steel or enameled cooking pot to do your dyeing in; do not plan to reuse this pot for cooking, once you've used it for dyeing. Aluminum pots, although cheap, won't do because they react with the vinegar used as an adjunct to the dyeing. You can buy a large enamel pot that is sold for use in canning. Whatever pot you use, be sure it's large enough for your garment to move freely in, or you will not get smooth, even results.

The very best black acid dye is the Lanaset Jet Black, which you can order by mail from Paradise Fibers, among other sources. The Washfast Acid Jet Black is also a very good black acid dye; it contains one of the two black dyes in the Lanaset Jet Black, at half the price. These two dyes are remarkably washfast, resisting even hot water. Other acid dyes wash out more easily, so clothing dyed with them should be washed only in cool water, separately from other colors of clothing (or dry cleaned). Jacquard Products sells a black acid dye mixture. Even an all-purpose dye mixture, such as Rit or Tintex dye, can be used, if you add a little vinegar to your dyebath to help the nylon take the leveling acid dye in the mixture, and use two to four times as much dye per pound of dry fabric as the package directs, since black, being the darkest of all colors, requires a lot of dye.

A less expensive solution is to use a cold water dye, which will not require you to invest in a dyeing pot. Procion MX dye works well in room temperature water, 70°F or above, so you can use it in a cheap plastic bucket, and stir, stir, stir. However, nylon cannot be dyed without some heat. When you use Procion MX dye with soda ash as the auxiliary chemical, only the silk will take the color. You will be able to get a dark gray, since 72% of your garment is silk, but not a true dark black, since the nylon will remain its current color. It is possible that only the silk lost its color when you washed the shirt, or only the nylon, so your outcome is a little unpredictable here.

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