Name: darlene
Message: I have a baby's crib bedding set in pale pink that I would like to dye to baby blue. The material is 65% cotton and 35% polyester. The set consists of a quilt, bumper, fitted sheet, dust ruffle, diaper stacker, valance and lamp shade. Do you think I can dye this successfully? I was trying to save money by dying what I already have, but I don't want to ruin the set. I could bring it to a consignment shop and just buy something inexpensive. Thank you for your help.

It is easy to safely dye any washable 65% cotton to make it a different color, if you use a good dye, and strictly avoid all-purpose dye (which runs in the wash). The colors will not be as intense as in 100% cotton, but they can be quite pleasant. The only requirement is that everything you wish to dye must be washable, and contain more than 50% cotton or other dyeable fiber. You will not be able to dye anything that is not washable, and the polyester fraction of the fiber will not dye.

The one problem is that pink cannot be dyed to make baby blue. Dye is transparent, so the earlier color will mix with the dye color to produce the final result. Baby blue is such a boring color, anyway, though. Why not dye the sheets a different color? The most important factor here, I suspect, is probably just making the sheets look less 'girly' for a baby boy. A boy does not have to be surrounded by baby blue, however; babies like lots of different bright colors.

There are many different colors that you could dye your sheets. The only case in which the pale pink will have a major impact on your final color is if you are dyeing pale pastels. Adding a pale blue will create lavender, not blue, but adding a dark blue will make a dark blue. Adding a pale yellow will create apricot; adding a bright yellow will make a golden yellow. Bright orange or red will completely hide the pink. Royal blue will work fine, too.

The most important thing is to use good cool-water dye, not all-purpose dye. It is easy to mail-order good fiber reactive dye from a company such as Tie-dyed.com for a wide range of colors of this type of dye, or see my list of other dye supplier companies around the world; look for Procion MX, or just MX, as the name of the dye. Just pick your favorite shade, buy a two-ounce jar of it, and get some soda ash, too. (It's the same as the active ingredient in washing soda.) You can buy several boxes of salt at the grocery store, and then you'll have everything you'll need - dye, salt, soda ash, and cotton clothing. You will want to do your dyeing in the washing machine, as this is much easier than dyeing in a bucket. See my page on how to dye in the washing machine.