Name: Kristen
Message: Hello-
I have a white coat that i would love to dye black. I can not find any company in my home town that does any kind of dying of clothes. The material shell: 100% cotton body lining: 100% acetate satin. I have never dyed anything ever. What would you suggest i do? Thank you for your time.

The outside is cotton, and the inside is acetate?

The most likely problem here is that the coat may not be washable. Does the care label say that it should be dry-cleaned? If so, you won't be able to dye it. The washing associated with dyeing will cause the cotton to shrink, but the lining will not shrink. This will cause the lining to hang below the bottom of the coat, and any fitted portions of the coat will no longer lie flat when you wear it, which will ruin its shape. There is no problem if the coat is machine-washable, however. All that is required to make such a coat machine washable is to prewash the fabrics before sewing the garment.

If you have successfully washed this coat already without problems, and if the outside of the coat is neither stain-resistant nor water-repellent, then you should be able to dye it, using a cool water fiber reactive dye. Those are big "ifs".

Dyeing washable cotton is easy with Procion dye and other cool water fiber reactive dyes. All you have to do is follow a good recipe for dyeing in the washing machine or a large bucket. See "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". Prewash the coat first in the hottest water it can withstand.  You will need Procion MX dye, soda ash (sodium carbonate), and ordinary non-iodized salt. Check the recipe you choose to make sure that you buy enough dye, soda ash, and salt. 

Do not use an all-purpose dye, such as Rit or Tintex hot water dyes. These dyes are more difficult to apply than cold water dyes, since they require extensive simmering on the stovetop in scalding hot water with the fabric. Obviously, hot water dyes will cause more shrinkage of the cotton in your coat than cool water dyes will, just because of the temperature of the water. In addition, all-purpose dyes do not last as long before fading, and they bleed forever in the laundry. Cool water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, gives better results on cotton clothing.

The amount of dye you will need depends on how many pounds the coat weighs. Black dye requires a much larger quantity of dye powder than a lighter color would require. To dye five pounds of cotton in the washing machine, you will need 38 grams (about five tablespoons) of dye to produce a medium color, or 150 grams (one cup) of dye to produce a deep, dark black. For dyeing one pound of cotton in a three-gallon dyebath in a five-gallon bucket, with a lot of stirring, you will need only 30 grams (about four tablespoons) of black dye, plus two pounds of salt and half a cup of sodium carbonate.

The acetate lining cannot be dyed, except by extensive boiling with disperse dye, which is unlikely to be worth the trouble. I would advise you to keep the lining its current color, and dye only the cotton. Only the cotton outer part of the coat can be dyed. Perhaps the acetate will stain a little with the same color, which would not be a bad effect. 

Another issue to be aware of is that the coat is almost certainly sewn together with polyester thread. The cotton will dye black, but the stitching will stay white. Whether this is a problem or not depends on the style of the coat. Don't dye the coat if you don't want to have white stitching after you dye it.

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