Name: Terry
Message: Hello. I have a 6'x9' jute or hemp rug that needs help! Over time there are now darkened and lightened spots (not a ton of them) that I thought might be fixed with fabric dye or paint. Do you possibly have ideas and a product that would work? I'm thinking I would take it into the yard or on the deck to do the work. thanks, tav

You probably cannot produce a solid color, but if you aim for a mottled effect with more than one color, it should cover up the different spots. Both dye and most fabric paints are transparent, so the areas which are lighter before will still be lighter afterwards.

If you can really rinse the rug, cold water fiber reactive dye will probably work well. Both jute and hemp are plant fibers and should react with fiber reactive dyes the same as cotton. One type of cold water dye that is very popular is Procion MX dye. You usually have to mail-order this dye to get a good price on a substantial quantity. The dye in a 'tie dye kit' is usually this type of dye.

All-purpose dye is not recommended for this project, because it requires hot water for dyeing.

If you can't really rinse the rug out well, don't use any sort of dye. You really have to wash out all excess dye after dyeing, no matter what kind of dye you use. Diluted acrylic paint or fabric paint should work, though. Fabric paint feels nicer than diluted artist's acrylics. You might use a pint each of each of two or more colors.


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