Jump suit dying question

I know this topic has been beaten to death in the past but i never got around to dying my ESB, RA jumpsuit and was curious if anyone attempted to dye there RA suit. I unfortuantly dont have the picture of my suit at the momment but it definitely needs to be lightened up w/ more baby blue in it. Any ideas? I thought of getting some close up of my suit and the esb ref. shots and email them to RIT and see if they can give me some formual to use.....any other suggestions? Thanks -Tim

the actual suit is a light, light gray. my suit is currently a heather gray or postman blue. and will soon make a suit from the correct color material, it would be hard to say how to do it and make it look right by dyeing.especially to a lighter color. i think it would be best to start from scratch. with the right color material.

So far ive tryed lightning it up with "bleach" ive put it through the washer twice so far and it has gotten lighter, it probable need like 3 or 4 more washes and it will look alot better. None the less the material is just not correct so i think ill end up making a new one w/ the correct color/material once i finish this one.

i need to dye mine as well.how much bleach did you use for each wash?

Don't use much bleach unless you have to. Bleach can be potentially harmful to the fabric (as it is a very potent substance), and if you use bleach, you only need a pinch or two, even for the jumpsuit. Remember, it's not a full load, and you also don't want to overbleach. You might end up with a way too light, uneven suit that may or may not have weakened or loose thread.

What I would do first is use a packet of RIT Color Remover each wash until you get the lightness you want. If the material doesn't take the Color Remover well (and it might not, if it is polyester or a cotton/poly-blend), then resort to a pinch or two of bleach. Once you get the right lightness, then use the light blue (or equivalent) RIT dye (I recommend the liquid that comes in a bottle), and use increments until you get the right color (keeping in mind that it will always dry lighter). You might also want to keep some gray RIT dye on hand in case you need more gray in the suit as you go. Whatever material the jumpsuit is, it will take the dye, but some fabrics take it faster or slower than others. I recommend putting the suit in the wash with half-a-cap of RIT or so, and then hand-stirring in a basin and adding dye accordingly until the correct color is reached. Try not to let the suit soak in the dye without getting stirred, because the dye will separate from the water, and you won't get an even dye.

Above all, though, I would recommend trying this process on a sample of the same fabric first, if possible. Hope this helps.

Okay...

I picked up a khaki surplus flight suit today to use as my base. However -- there is the necessity to dye it.

Therefore I ask the question to the experts:

I am aiming for a deep burgundy to merlot red as the color I want to achieve.

The suit is, as previously mentioned, khaki.

It is a 65% poly, 35% cotton blend.

Any suggestions, hints, recommendations I need to take into consideration before dying? Dye brand/color suggestions to use? Any advice whatsoever?

Thank you in advance for your input.

well i tryed the RIT removal and it didnt do to much to the suit, so I did a bit of bleach and that worked better. I didnt really measure how much i used, maybe a cap and a half full each load. I periodically stopped the wash and kinda hand washed the suit and then put it back in. It took about 2 washes to notice a different in the color but its getting there...

Just as an update --- I've officially begun costume creation today --- I dyed the jumpsuit, and while it is drip drying now - it looks like it came out a very nice deep shade of red wine. Not QUITE as dark as I wanted - so I may put it through another session, but it looks pretty good for being a 65/35 poly/cotton blend. I expected much more resistance from the fabric. Then again --- I did use 4 of the concentrated liquid dyes where the "recipie" called for one and a half!

I'll post a pic as soon as I get one taken.