Dyeing embroidered appliqués

[Marniesews]

I rather like this appliqué but not the colour, I'd need to dye it but am pretty sure it's polyester.    I haven't got a colour scheme in mind right now but it won't have to be an intense hue, a paler tone would be acceptable.

I'm happy to experiment but can anyone give me some ideas on what options are there for using paint dyes on this type of thing and best technique? I'm trusting @Alangus will have an answer for this and perhaps a few more people too?

[Alangus]

Hi Marniesews,

As you probably know - dye makes a kind of molecular bond with the fibre and usually needs a chemical and or heat catalyst. Paint sits on top of the fibre, kind of glued to it.

For painting I think Jacquard Dye-na-flow would be good, its a very thin paint. If used with their Air Fix product you dont have to heat fix it.

If you want to dye it, Idye poly is for polyester and I think it dyes other synthetics too. You have to use heat and dye in a pot on the stove - you cant paint it.

I havent used dye-na-flow on very much and only tested it on lace. It makes it a bit stiff and the lace looses some of its lustre. But, because its paint its easy to use and mixcolours.

Acid dye is great with nylon but I dont think much lace is nylon.

so thats my 10 pence worth, Im
no expert, ive just played around and experimented alot. There are some good books out there in dyeing if u go down that route.

Ive also tested procion type dyes on viscose and cotton lace - they can also be painted on but there is a bit of prep & some other chemicals to use - try googling procion dyes + lace

[Efemera]

Have you ever used transfer dyes...it’s fabulous stuff. They come as a powder which you mix to a watercolour consistency. They’re then painted onto copy paper and let dry. You then iron the pare onto your fabric and the colour transfers. It’s for synthetics but gives paler results on cottons. The possibilities are endless, you can cut shapes from the paper and use those, you can overlay the colours. You can paint the dye in patterns on the papers and use those..it looks fabulous ironed onto lace.

https://www.vycombe-arts.co.uk/onlineshop/prod_4076412-BOOK-4-TRANSFER-TO-TRANSFORM-By-Jan-Beaney-and-Jean-Littlejohn.html

[Marniesews]

Thank you both.    That gives me a good direction to follow. Quite a bit of the appliqués would end up rhinestoned so there are options for hiding imperfections, which is always comforting.

[Sewbusy]

I have seen many successful dye projects for motifs and trims done by the classical tutu makers, they set great score by colour matching nets and trims.