Can you dye technical clothing?

morningstar

Cathlete
At today's race, I got a really wonderfully-fitting technical shirt (wicking, light, etc.) I HATE the colour! It's a light green with lots of yellow in it, a combination guaranteed to make me look deathly ill.

Does anyone have any experience dying technical clothing? If so, does it take the dye well, and does the dying change any of the technical properties of the cloth?

I'd love to change it to a colour that would suit me more- at the very least, a green with a lot more blue in it as I think red or a deep blue wouldn't be possible. I look best in saturated colours, in deep reds and blues.
 
You know that is a good question. I've never tried it but something tells me that you can't with the commercial dyes available on the market. I don't think that they are strong enough to penetrate the fiber. These usually work better on fabric that is 100% natural or close to it. Also because the fabric is a wicking fabric it would probably repel the dye instead of absorb it, . . which is what you want a dye to do. I've dyed silk, cotton, and wool but never man made synthetic fabrics. If you can sew you could always trace the shirt for a pattern and make a new one with fabric of your choice. I like to do that sometimes. If you do try it I'd love to know if it works.
 
I'm with you on green and yellow NOT being a good look (in fact, I think that those colors don't look good on much of anyone except those with a dark complexion).

I Googled "how to dye technical fabrics" and found this site, with specific dyes for different materials:

(here's the 'synthetic fabric" dye):

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2518921-AA.shtml

If this doesn't give enough info, I'd contact them and ask.
 
i've done it

I had a pair of hiking pants that were an almost see through off white.
I bought a bottle of dark green RIT dye..and ended up with kermit green pants!

So the color doesn't absorb like it would on cotton.

Not sure if this helps you at all (probably not), but just thought I'd share what happened when I tried it
 
Something to bear in mind: clothes that you sweat in, if you dye them, you will sweat the colour onto your skin. Nice! Just a thought......

Clare
 
...or the dye will bleed off onto other clothes in the wash...

You're right about the yellow green color that seems to be everywhere. there must be someone who looks good in it but it sure isn't me or anyone else I know.
 

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top