Dyeing Wool,,setting color

[necchi]

My son has finally out grown his Capote,,I found a nice condition large wool blanket suitable for makeing another,,the trouble is/was it's Pink! (light red).

I bought a couple bottles of liquid Ritz in navy blue and using the "stove top method" actually got a nice shade of blue color. I pressed out the excess water/stain, then tossed it into the washer for 1 cycle useing hot water. Then into the dryer set on hot till it was full dry.

My concern now is,,, Was that enough to set the color?

Capote's are worn many times in inclement weather, light rain, snow, and I don't want that color leaching through too his other clothing or onto bedding or furniture.

Thoughts, experiance, any comments welcome.

To Moderator,,maybe this belongs in the historical clothing forum?? I'll try here for awhile,,thanks

 

[dyemaker]

Well man, according to the Society For Creative Anachronism you score zero for authenticity.

http://www.drachenwald.sca.org/files/a&s/criteria/dyeing.htm

Just joking around. I am trying to learn about this but have little experience actually dyeing. Not even with rit dye. Here is a page about dying horsehair which seems similar enuff to wool. It may prove useful. It suggests vinegar to set the dye. I would be concerned about the content of pure wool. Rit dye doe's bleed on some materials or is blotchy on some blended material. It's cheap stuff not meant for alot of applications. I know alot more about natural dyes. Just trying to help out since noone replied.
http://www.horsehairart.com/dyeing/RIT.htm

A chemical called sodium hydrosulfite will remove rit dye but needs caution using it.

 

[necchi]

Thank you, I e-mailed rit 2 day's ago and haven't gotten a responce from them either

I guess the only thing I can do is get it wet and place it together with a section of old white sheet and/or a t-shirt and see how much it bleeds. I'm pretty sure it will. If it's more than tolerable then I'll use it as cover for a ticking lined gun cases.

Vinegar's cheap, I'll try a gallon in a wash cycle first, and another hot dry. I won't be out that much and at least it'll smell freash. :haha:

I live in Minn. near where the famous Fairbault Woolen Mills is located,,sad news here,,the plant shut down! Used to be able to pick up mill ends for $40-60. 260 people out of work and they filed bankruptcy. The building is shuttered. They actually had a Military contract, but the city couldn't/wouldn't forgive a $60,000 water bill. It's ironic, the mill built the first damn in town 100+yrs ago to run the mill equipment. And the current water supply comes from a resivour from that expanded damn.
Seem's our disposable culture is happier with inexpensive flannel blankets made over seas.

 

[dyemaker]

There's a link with tips for the rit dye in the second link. Other than that I'm no help. I just like reading about natural dyes and collecting the dyestuff. All I've dyed was mohair and feathers for flytying. Tried walnut husks which is colorfast and really needs no mordant. If all else fails you could turn the pink capote into a Coachman brown capote with them. The color originated for coachmen's clothing but was used for "Coachman" fly patterns. True genetic Coachman brown rooster capes have a touch of magenta color to them. I don't realy see why wool would bleed.
:haha:


Go Vikings! Saw them in the dome during the preseason game in Indianapolis before Brett Farve signed on. Long time fan here going back to Fran Tarkington days.

 

[Birdman]

necchi, instead of redyeing the wool, why not just remove the color and go with plain white which is very documentable to most time periods, A time of two in the woods or around camp and the white will have some stains n dirt on it that will give the impression of plenty of good use. Seems a simple solution to your problem if ya want to go that route.

 

[bdhutier]

My wife dyes wool regularly, as we use cloth diapers. She uses the Kool-aid mix you add sugar to. You heat the wool on the stove (no sugar) in enough water to cover, and after a bit, the coloring in the Kool-aid disappears. You then drain and hang to dry. That's it, not a lick of running colors, or fading for that matter.

Putting wool in the dryer will "felt" it, making it more of a thick knit consistency. To make water resistant and prolong life, soak in warm water laced with a little Lansinoh breastfeeding ointment from walgreens or wally-world. Soak for 12-24hrs, drain, hang to dry. This will lasts us around 2 mos or so of pretty consistent covering of wet dipes.

 

[necchi]

That crossed my mind also Birdman, what I was afraid of was, that I'd end up with a lighter shade of Pink.
It's for a teenage son, I don't think he'd take kindly to that particular shade of color.
I've used rit brown on white canvis pants and although I didn't see it bleed color, it faded to an off red sooner than i'd hoped.

 

[necchi]

Well, I ran it through the wash with a gallon of vinegar. The water turned blue before the cycle started. :hmm:
It lost a shade of color by the time it came out of the dryer, I've got more of a Nobel Purple now than a blue.
It's looking more like gun sock material than capote now. Oh well, the search goes on for affordable wool blankets

 

[Robert58]

There is a bunch of wool blankets at good prices on ebay that would make a nice Capote.

Robert

 

[dyemaker]

PC for a Viking fan trekker anyways.

 

[necchi]

PC for a Viking fan trekker anyways.

:haha: :rotf: It would be at that!! :haha:

p.s. to Robert58, thank's I didn't even think of that, bid on one last night~

 

[Lostrifle]

Ms Kat here:

I would also check out Dharma Trading Company (don't know url).
They sell dyeing equipment, dye powder, all sorts of dyeing stuff, and a lot of un-dyed material.

Look for Cushing Dye or Wash Fast Acid Dye. Dharma also has instructions on how to use the dyes and even answers questions on dyeing.

Beyond that I would suggest finding a dyer with an Indigo Dye Bath sitting around (just plug your nose cause it uses fresh urea as a 'setting' agent for the dye). :barf:

Sorry I can't help further.

 

[necchi]

Ms Kat here:
I would also check out Dharma Trading Company

GREAT Tip Ms Kat,,
What a great site,,affordable too. here's a link for others,
www.dharmatrading.com

Added it to the favorites list. I'm afraid I've made a mess of this blanket as far as Capote, I can still use it though.
When i'm ready with another proper blanket Dharma WILL get and order from me.

Many Thank's,,,John

 

[geologist]

http://www.customwoolenmills.com/

:thumbsup: