Dyeing Spandex

I had a lot of fun doing some dye work the other day and thought I would share a bit about the process and some tips for success when dyeing fabric!

Dyeing fabric and clothes can be a little intimidating - it is permanent after all! So on that note, it is good to do a lot of practice first, especially if it’s new to you! Don’t expect it to work perfectly the first time. I took a year long fabric dyeing and painting class back in grad school…and I’m definitely no master! Just know that basic dyeing is totally doable by anyone - you just need to be patient and open to the possibility that things might not go as you expect…and embrace it! Dyeing is an organic thing - there are definitely things you can do to ensure the results that you are going for, but like with anything, there’s always the chance of something unexpected happening!

Ok, very quick dyeing 101 - there are a few different types of dye that you use based on the fiber type of the fabric you want to dye. There are “Fiber Reactive” dyes for plant based material (cotton, linen, hemp), “Acid” Dyes for protein based (silk, wool…and nylon too, though that’s not a protein), and dyes for synthetic fibers (polyester, acrylic, etc.). There are also sort of “catch all” dye products like Rit that are made to dye pretty much anything. Basically, if you can match the fiber to the dye type, you will have more control and be able to get better results…but in a pinch, catch all dyes work quite well! There’s also natural dyeing where you still use all the same knowledge but used naturally derived dyes. It’s a little bit different and bit trickier, but super cool to explore. Think indigo dyeing, or dyeing fabric with avocado skin.

The other day I had to dye some white spandex to a hot pink for a commission. The spandex I got was 80% nylon, and nylon, strangely enough, works super well with acid dyes, even though it’s not a protein based fiber. For more info on that check out Dharma Trading Company’s article: https://www.dharmatrading.com/home/did-you-know-how-acid-dye-works.html

Spandex actually dyes super nicely with acid dye - it takes on the color really well and is really easy to do. I started out by testing some colors. I got a “Ballerina Pink”, “Fuchsia,” and “Cherry Red” from Dharma Trading Co. to do some tests. When I’m testing out colors I just do it really simply - I line up some measuring cups (these are used ONLY for dye - if you start doing dyeing, definitely designate cups, spoons, and pans that will only be used for dyeing. You don’t want to mix these things with stuff you’ll use for food!). I fill each cup with a little water and a little dye and stick in some small test pieces of the fabric I will use. This will give you a good sense of what the color will look like. Make sure to dry your sample too - things will look quite different sometimes!

The Ballerina Pink was actually a perfect color on it’s own…though I wanted it much more saturated than the advertised light pink color, so I knew that in the dye bath I would probably be using a lot more dye than recommended. I pre-washed my fabric - you want to use a very neutral soap (synythrapol is great for this!). Why wash it before dyeing? This might sound crazy, but even a fingerprint on the fabric can mess up your dyeing and create something uneven. Better to be safe and pre-wash!

I then prepped my dye pots. I have two large metal stew pots that I use for dyeing (and only dyeing - they actually even just live outside in my backyard) …honestly the bigger the better. You technically want your fabric to be able to float freely in the vat. I have some metal tongs that I use to stir the fabric and take it out when I need, and I have a small hot plate that I can place my pot on to keep it at temperature. It’s also handy to have a thermometer. Rubber gloves are good too!

**A note on safety! Dyes can be quite toxic! Acid dyes are actually some of the safest dyes - they are essentially what’s used in Coolaid. They will dye your skin so I do recommend wearing gloves when working with it. Other dyes though, are much more toxic and it’s super important to work in a well ventilated area. I work outside whenever I can! For the most toxic dyes (the ones used to dye synthetic fibers), I would definitely recommend wearing a respirator when working with them. In general it’s good to wear a mask while working with the powders, especially if you’re not in a well ventilated space - those particles are not good for your lungs! Keep your workspace clean and organized. Keep your dye tools and pots separate from things that you will use to cook food. Clean up well after the whole thing - you’d be surprised at how far those dye particles end up! Also, make sure to do your own research as well - there are a lot of amazing articles and books available about dyeing fabric. It’s important to take all the proper precautions before diving in! **

I like to set up one vat for dyeing and one vat with just clean water. I also try to have another pot or plastic tub to place fabric in when I have to take it out to check the color and that sort of thing. I immediately put my fabric in the dye vat with just clear water. It’s helpful to let the fabric and water come up to temperature together so that the fibers aren’t shocked by suddenly placing them in hot water. The temperature is dependent on fiber and dye type - you can look up instructions based on what you’re using. I highly highly recommend Dharma Trading Company for this - they have great instructions and great products too! While my vat was heating up I mixed up my dye. It’s important to mix up the dye powder in a separate smaller cup with water to make sure it all dissolves properly (“pasting” it out). When the vat was ready and at temperature, I took out my fabric and set it aside and brought my dissolved dye over. I carefully poured it into the vat through a coffee filter (you can also use a fine mesh strainer). This helps to filter out any undissolved or larger particles, and though it’s a pain, this makes a huge difference! If you’re lazy and just pour it in (which I admit I’m guilty of, especially with my own stuff vs. a client’s), you will likely get some spots on your fabric.

Once the dye was in the vat, I gently placed the fabric back in and stirred it up really well! You want to get all the air bubbles out and make sure the fabric is completely submerged. I find that it’s easier to just use your hands here - I wear big rubber heat-resistant gloves and just squish and mix it all around! I then just kept monitoring and stirring. After about 15 min, when the vat was up to the temperature I wanted it to be, I added in the designated amount of citric acid (you can also use vinegar) to make the bath acidic - this helps with the bonding of the dye particles to the fiber…this gets very technical very fast so if you’re interested, I recommend reading more about it in a dye book or honestly just at Dharma - they have good info!! Make sure to keep stirring and checking. I like to attach some smaller pieces of the fabric to the actual fabric yardage with a safety pin so that I can take out the little samples throughout the process and check on the color. Again, make sure to actually dry those pieces to be able to tell what the actual color is! I found that I needed to add more dye - the fabric was just sucking it up! After only a short amount of time the bath was completely clear again - I love when that happens! It means the fabric absorbed all the dye and you did a good job using the right amount. Because the water got clear I also felt that I could try adding more - the fabric was still absorbing the color. Again, I took the fabric out so that I could add the filtered dye to the bath (you don’t want to just pour the dye into the bath with the fabric in there - that’s how you get weird variances in the color and splotching). I put the fabric back, kept stirring, and again the water went clear! I took out a sample and dried it to check color…and decided that I still wanted it to be more saturated if it would take it. So, I repeated that process and low and behold the water went clear again! Woo! I took out a test sample and was happy with the color (good thing too as I ran out of dye haha!).

I took the fabric out and rinsed it in warm water (again, if you can avoid it, you don’t want to just shock the fibers by plunging the hot fabric into cold water - this is especially important when you’re dyeing wool). There was hardly any runoff which was awesome and then I popped it in the wash again to make sure any and all excess dye was washed out before I work with it.

Phew! It is quite a process but so satisfying when it works well! I love when the dye bath goes clear - so good to know that the fabric has sucked up all that color and that you didn’t waste any dye! Yay!

Anyway, dyeing fabric opens up a whole new world of possibilities! Not only do you have options when you can’t find the color you’re looking for, but there are a ton of fun and artistic things you can do to fabric to really make it shine - try tie-dye, shibori dyeing, painting onto fabric, screen printing, block printing, etc. So many possibilities to explore!