Name: Marcia
Message: Hi, I was given an all-cotton messenger bag and it's an eggplant color. I'd love to try and dye it so it's an olive color, or even brown since I don't care for purple. Do you have any tips or ideas for me? Thanks very much.

If it does not contain any sort of stain-resistant or water-resistant coating, and if you can wash it, you can dye your messenger gab a dark brown or black with fiber reactive dye. Olive would be impossible, since dye is transparent, so the purple would always show through any olive-colored dye.

The most popular fiber reactive dye is called Procion MX dyes. Order some Procion MX dye and soda ash from Amazon or any of the dye suppliers listed on my page of dye suppliers around the world. I would recommend against all-purpose dye because it is a hot water dye. However, it would probably be good enough for a bag, which is infrequently washed.

Tightly-woven canvas can be difficult to penetrate with dye. It helps if you soak it overnight in water with a tiny amount of detergent added, before applying the dye.

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