Message: I'm looking to dye a skirt which is polyester with an acetate lining. Is there a dye that would do this?

It can be done, but I'm not sure you'd be able to wear the skirt afterwards.

Both polyester and acetate are best dyed with the same type of dye, Disperse dye. The only way to apply this dye in garment dyeing is to boil the skirt in the dye for half an hour or longer, in a very large stainless steel or enamel cooking pot.

There are two problems. One is that the skirt itself might not survive extensive boiling, or one layer of the skirt might shrink while the other does not, resulting in a lining that no longer fits in the skirt. 

The other problem is that the pot you need to use to boil the dye in is expensive, considering that you shouldn't reuse it for food afterwards. The pot has to be large enough for the garment to move in freely as you stir it in the boiling dyebath, as otherwise the color will come out uneven. Expect such a pot to run you about $100. It's a great investment if you will be doing a lot of hot-water dyeing, but it's rather a lot if you are planning to dye only this one skirt.

If you decide to go ahead and dye the skirt, you will need to obtain some disperse dye. You will not be able to find disperse dyes in local stores. You cannot use all-purpose dye, such as Rit, nor any other sort of dye that works on cotton or wool, because the synthetic fibers require a completely different dye chemistry than natural fibers do. You can buy disperse dye by mail-order from a number of different dye suppliers. In the UK, where your email address suggests you are, you can mail-order your dyes from Kemtex Educational Supplies or from Fibrecrafts. See my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World". For more information on dyeing polyester and acetate, see "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes". 

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