Well I'm Taking the Plunge - Girth Belt dying

[wizardofflight]

I got my 38” mohair girth belt from an online tack shop called the Chubby Pony. It was used so it was only $6 plus shipping it had a few dirt stains but otherwise it is in great shape.

I have finally got the courage to plunge into the dye bath and it is on the stove cooking now. I’m using the liquid dye formula of ½ cup Rit Dark Brown & ¼ cup Rit Wine. Right now it looks real dark, but hopefully it will lighten up once I start rinsing it. I have the stretching board already to go.

I got my fingers crossed.

Alan

 

[Jun Garros Fett]

Good luck. Hope it turns out ok.

 

[crazy4BobaFett]

Alan,
Which one are you dying it for ESB or ROTJ?
I'd be curious to hear how it turns out.
Christi

 

[wizardofflight]

Well it took the dye really well, maybe too well, I was a bit worried as I didn’t do the acetone bath first. I suspected that the belt had been cleaned before I bought it and apparently it had.

I was shooting for an ESB look, but it looks like came out too dark even for that. It’s a real DARK burgundy, but it's still drying out. I have it mounted on a plank and I also tack nailed the three cross stitched areas to keep them from bunching up as well. It looks good, but I don’t think I achieved the right shade for ESB and it is definitely way too dark for the ROTJ maroon.


Don’t know if I’m going to try again or just leave it as is. I may hang it in the sun for a day to see what that will do.

I’ll try and post a pic tonight.


Alan

 

[wizardofflight]

It came out a lot darker than I expected. I tried to snap a pic, but the burgundy color shows up as black. Not sure what I am going to do yet, it needs more red.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.
Alan

 

[Christo Fett]

How bout if you hit it with some of that Rit dye remover to lighten it up?

 

[wizardofflight]

I sent it through the wash with a little bleach which lightened it up a bit, but not as much as I expected. Then I put in a dye bath of Rit Scarlet for 1/2 hour and it looks a lot better. Now I'll have to wait until its dry to see what I've got.

Alan

 

[wizardofflight]

I finally remembered to post the final results:

 

[Shinobi Fett]

Say, That's where I am now... I used a bottle of liquid RIT wine, and a pack of cocoa brown. Right now it looks very dark burgundy, almost purple-ish. I'm going to try a dose of scarlet too, maybe with a wash in between. The ESB belt is very marroon, so I think I over-darkened it. we'll see how it goes! I'll post pics too, soon.

Shinobi

 

[crazy4BobaFett]

I think the wine has to much blue in its base. I was a bit ticked with the turn out on mine. So I've stipped it down and am looking into a different dye rather than Rit.
But I'd still be interested to see what happens with yours Shinobi.

 

[Shinobi Fett]

Well, It looks like I'm on the same path as wizard, which dosen't make to a nice tutorial. However, Maybe the next time (if there is one) I would start with a mix of scarlet, cocao bown and a tiny splash of wine. Back-tracking is not as easy as getting it right the first try! I'll keep you posted!

Shinobi

 

[Shinobi Fett]

After a day of drying, my belt looks kind of light, purple-brown. I dyed it on the stove top at a simmer for about 30 minutes before rinsing. then hung it up to dry. I think that I will not need to fade it before soaking it in scarlet dye. I think maybe I should let it soak in the scarlet dye for about a hour or two at this stage. What does anyone think? I know the water is supposed to be hot, but it will cool down. If it starts out at a simmer, would soaking it for longer be a good approach? Opinion?

Shinobi

 

[wizardofflight]

I'm thinking that an hour should be about right. 30 min really wasn't long enough and I'm considering putting mine back in the scarlet die for a bit longer to bring it more to a maroon color.
Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

Alan

 

[slave1pilot]

I really think the "wine" is the wrong way to go.

here's what I did to mine

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=9257&highlight=rit

If you'll notice, I had similar results to you guys & ended up using "color remover"
It turned out great (I think)

 

[wizardofflight]

I agree completely, I was very disappointed with the results from the wine color die. Yours came out looking great!! I'm hoping that mine will look a little better with some more time in the scarlet. I'm a bit reluctant to go with the die remover I'm looking for something a bit on the dark side.

Alan

I really think the "wine" is the wrong way to go.

here's what I did to mine

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=9257&highlight=rit

If you'll notice, I had similar results to you guys & ended up using "color remover"
It turned out great (I think)

 

[wizardofflight]

I agree completely, I was very disappointed with the results from the wine color die. Yours came out looking great!! I'm hoping that mine will look a little better with some more time in the scarlet. I'm a bit reluctant to go with the die remover I'm looking for something a bit on the dark side.

Alan

I really think the "wine" is the wrong way to go.

here's what I did to mine

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=9257&highlight=rit

If you'll notice, I had similar results to you guys & ended up using "color remover"
It turned out great (I think)

 

[Shinobi Fett]

That looks pretty spot on S1P! That's the color I'm looking to get! I think te right forulaa is a mix of the dark or cocoa brown, scarlet and a little bit of wine to add a little marroon to it, but not too much. When mine comes out of the scarlet, I hope it looks something like yours, S1P! I think yours is getting there, too, Wizard. A little more scarlet should work nicely! I am reluctant to use the color remover yet, becuase mine came out very light the first time. I'll get some snaps soon!

Shinobi

 

[Darth Mule]

I found a color of procion dye thru dharmatrading.com that is called "maroon brown". I'll let everyone know how it turns out when I get it in my hands. It's on it;s way in the mail as I type.

 

[Shinobi Fett]

Well, still with no progress pics posted (d'oh) I have gone to the second step of a scarlet dye bath, and it seems to have come out the perfect color at this point. It's hanging to dry for about a week I'll give it. I did this in two stages, but potentially it could be done in one. I used RIT liquid "wine" and powdered cocoa brown. Simmered that in a pot on the stove top for 30 minutes, rinsed it. let it dry 1 week. Then, I simmered it in RIT scarlet for 30 minutes, then let it soak for about 30-40 minutes, rinsed it, and hung it up, where it will dry for a week. Once fully dryed, it should be the right color. I'm very curious to see DMs test with the Marroon brown dye. That seems exactly the right color to start with.

Shinobi

 

[crazy4BobaFett]

Shinobi Fett
Let us know how the results are once its dry. I followed the same path with the RIT(drk bwn and wine) and actually tried to strip it out with the color remover and it didn't even budge yesterday. I had more sucess with a bleach rinse.
I am going to try the cocoa brn and scarlet later this week, as of right now it is very purple and the color is inconsistent.
So we'll see, I am anxious to see Darth Mule's results as well.