How to Dye Shirts Red
Any shirt made from 100 percent cotton can be dyed at home. When you want to dye a shirt red, consider the original color of the shirt. For the best results, use a shirt that is white or off-white. Any light colored shirts should take red dye, but with very dark colored shirts, it may be difficult to achieve a bright shade of red. When working with dye, wear rubber gloves and a protective dust mask and also protect your clothing and surfaces from staining.
Things You'll Need
- 100 percent cotton shirts
- Soda ash
- Red powder dye
- Measuring spoons
- Old plastic basin or bucket
- Wooden spoon
- Old plastic bowl
- Plastic spoon
- Two large zip-lock plastic food bags
- Washing machine
- Laundry detergent
Instructions
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1
Add warm water to the bucket or basin, and mix in one cup of soda ash per gallon of water. Add the shirts to the water, stir them around a little with the wooden spoon to thoroughly saturate the fabric, and let them soak in the solution for at least 30 minutes.
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2
While the shirts are soaking, mix up the dye powder and water in a plastic bowl using a plastic spoon. Follow the specific directions on the packaging regarding the ratio of powder to water, and make enough dye solution to saturate the shirts.
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3
Remove the shirts from the soda ash solution, and ring out the excess liquid. You can save the remaining soda ash solution in a sealed container indefinitely. Place the damp shirts inside one of the plastic food bags.
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4
Pour the dye solution into the bag with the shirt and seal it. Place the first bag inside a second one and seal the second bag. Manipulate the shirt inside the bags with your fingers and agitate it so that the dye solution evenly penetrates the fabric. Leave this undisturbed for at least a few hours. For a deeper color, let the shirts sit in the dye solution longer. Leave the shirts in the dye for over 24 hours if you want to ensure deep color penetration.
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5
Remove the shirts from the plastic bags, and pour away the excess dye solution.
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6
Rinse the shirts under cold water until the water runs clear. Rinse them in a sink full of cold water at least two or three more times.
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7
Wash the shirts with laundry detergent in your washing machine. Wash in cold water because cotton often shrinks in warmer water.
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Tips & Warnings
If the shirts are not as red as you want, make a new batch of dye solution and repeat the entire process, but let the shirts sit in the dye solution for a longer period of time.
If you have too many shirts to fit in the plastic bags, soak them in the dye solution in a bucket or basin and cover it with plastic wrap while they soak.
After you use kitchen equipment for dyeing, never use it in the kitchen again as the chemicals involved are hazardous. Only use them for dyeing in the future.
