How to Dye a Polyester Tutu

Disperse dye crayons are transferred to fabric using the heat of an iron.

Unlike natural fibers, such as cotton and wool, synthetic fibers, like rayon and polyester, are not easy to dye. Most natural fabrics are dyed using the immersion dyeing technique, which involves immersing the fabric in boiling water without any additional chemicals. Since polyester is a man-made fiber, you must dye it using the dispersion technique. Dispersion requires additional chemicals or water that is hotter than 266 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re attempting to dye a polyester tutu, you can use disperse dye fabric crayons.

Things You'll Need

• Letter sized paper
• Disperse dye fabric crayons
• Iron
• Ironing board

Instructions

1. Lay a sheet of letter sized paper on a flat work surface and color the entire surface of the paper using your disperse dye crayons. If you want your tutu to be a solid color, color the entire sheet using the same crayon. The color should appear dull on paper but when you iron it onto the polyester it becomes dark and vibrant.

2. Color enough sheets of paper to cover the entire surface of the tutu. Once you iron over the paper, the dye transfers to the tutu; therefore, you can’t use the same sheet of paper to dye more than one area.

3. Plug in your iron. Set it to the hottest setting and allow it to heat. While the iron heats, lay the tutu flat on your ironing board and lay one of the colored sheets of paper on top of it. The colored side should be touching the polyester fiber.

4. Press the iron onto the surface of the paper and rub it gently until the crayon color transfers to the surface of the fabric. Continue this process, using new sheets of colored paper until the tutu is completely dyed.

Tips & Warnings

• Using disperse dye crayons is not the only way to dye polyester. If you can't find disperse dye crayons, use disperse fabric paint. This method of dyeing requires you to put the disperse paint crystals into a pot of boiling water and immerse the clothes in the hot water. The chemicals in disperse fabric paint are specially designed to dye man-made fibers like polyester.

References

• Paula Burch's All About Hand Dyeing: Dyeing Polyester With Disperse Dyes
• Crochet N' Crafts: Synthetic Fibers
• Sew a Quilt: Fabric Crayons for Coloring Fabric
• Eastern Michigan University: Dyes and Dyeing Glossary A Glossary of Terms for Materials and Processes in Textile Dyeing for Artists