Name: Donna
Message: I Make Rope Halters for Horses. I have tried to Dye the rope with the Rit Dye.. I shrunk my rope the Heat of the water.. And then the Dye don't stay very well... I my self are looking for a dye for Nylon Rope...
 
Are you sure it's nylon rope? Dye will not stay long in polyester or polypropylene or polyethylene rope, no matter what you do. A lot of ropes are made of these materials, instead of dyeable materials like nylon or hemp. Here is a link to a page on "How to Identify the Synthetic Fibres Used In Rope Making". If the rope floats even without air bubbles, then it is made of polypropylene or polyethylene. If you place a tiny bit of the rope in a flame, holding it with metal tongs, and then remove it from the flame, polyester will make black smoke and leave a black bead afterwards, while nylon will make white smoke and leave a yellowish bead afterwards.

To dye nylon, you need an acid, such as vinegar, which is why we call the type of dye used for this 'acid dye'. The dye is not an acid; the acid is the vinegar that you use with it. Did you use vinegar when you were dyeing? You must carefully measure out the amount of dye and other ingredients called for by the recipe. Choose a recipe, and then buy the kind of dye called for by the recipe. You cannot dye nylon in cold water, but the water does not have to boil; you can use a thermometer to keep the temperature around 180 degrees Fahrenheit, to reduce the chance of shrinkage.

If you choose to follow the recipe for "Immersion Dyeing on Nylon using WashFast Acid Dyes", buy white vinegar at the grocery store, and buy "Washfast Acid Dye" from PRO Chemical & Dye.

Lanaset dye is more washfast than Washfast Acid dyes are, that is, it does not wash out as easily. Try ProChem's recipe for "Immersion Dyeing using Sabraset/Lanaset Dyes". If you choose to follow this recipe, you will need to buy sodium acetate and synthrapol and albegal SET and Lanaset dye from their auxiliaries page and buy Lanaset dye. This is the best type of dye for dyeing nylon black, but the other colors are good, too.

If you ever find yourself with cotton rope that will work for you, or another plant fiber such as hemp, ramie, or jute, you can dye it in room temperature water with fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, or a "tie dye kit". This type of dye is very easy to use, since you do not have to cook the rope. However, you cannot dye nylon with no heat at all, and you cannot dye nylon with the same recipe that is used to dye plant fibers.