Name: Debriella
Message: I've tried using this password to log in and it keeps telling me invalid username and/or password. The only thing I was inquiring about was on how to dye these shoes to match a periwinkle dress.

The Dye Forum is really for those who wish to continue to discuss dyeing, not for single questions.

If you will read the subject line of the message you replied to, or the text of the message, you will see why your password did not work. No one can post until their accounts have been individually approved. The Dye Forum is being heavily targeted by spambots, which has required me to install account approval before anyone can post.

I will approve your account for the Dye Forum if you can tell me that you intend to continue to take an interest in dyeing. No experience in dyeing is required for membership, but a continued interest in hand dyeing is essential.

Your choice in shoes is the best I have seen for dyeing. Most wedding shoes are made with a polyester satin fabric, not silk, so they cannot be dyed easily, only tinted or painted. Since the shoes you have chosen are covered with silk, a protein fiber which can also be dyed exactly like cotton, there are many different ways that they can be dyed or painted.

Silk is the easiest of all fibers to dye, but since you cannot expose shoes to the heat required for most silk dyes, you have two main choices. Once is to use the same Procion MX dye as is used to tie-dye cotton, along with soda ash which you would add directly to the dye. (Dilute Marine Violet should make a nice periwinkle.) This would be a good solution for someone who already dyes cotton. The other, which is probably more suitable for the dye novice, would be to use a high quality silk paint, such as Jacquard Dye-na-flow fabric paint or Setasilk fabric paint. You MUST buy some silk satin yardage from your local fabric store to practice on, as there is no other way to be sure that you are using the right color and intensity of paint. Let your test scraps of silk dry before comparing their colors to the color you wish to match.

Let me repeat - you MUST run TESTS before you touch your shoes with any fabric dye or fabric paint!

Dye-na-flow and Setasilk fabric paints are very easy to use. Any high-quality thin fabric paint labeled for use on silk will work well. Some fabric paints that do not include the word 'silk' on the label will be too thick for your purposes, and will leave too rough of a feel on the fabric.

Alternatively, simply follow the instructions on the page for the silk shoe , which says to contact your local shoe repair store to get them to custom dye the shoes for you.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)