dying to dye my tights

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Batman65
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batman65 »

I think you could get away with an old pot on the stove top. I believe RIT has some instructional vids on their website.
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The Batker
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by The Batker »

Batman65 wrote:I think you could get away with an old pot on the stove top. I believe RIT has some instructional vids on their website.

So you don't think a tub or 10 gallon bucket might work?
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Batman65
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batman65 »

The Batker wrote:
Batman65 wrote:I think you could get away with an old pot on the stove top. I believe RIT has some instructional vids on their website.

So you don't think a tub or 10 gallon bucket might work?
I don't see why not. Just make sure the water stays hot.
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batjonsey36
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by batjonsey36 »

I have a front washer too, so I used the stove top method. My roommate is a professional chef, so I asked to borrow his five gallon pot and filled it with three gallons of water. I then mixed one bottle of liquid RIT pearl grey with a half teaspoon of purple in a mason jar. I brought the water to a boil and added the dye. I then mixed in the tops and bottoms stirring continuously using the microwave timer. I kept lifting the tights to ensure both the tops and bottoms were being equally blended with the dye. When the timer went off for 30 minutes, I removed the tights and then rinsed them with cold water until the rinse in the sink became clear. I then put them in wash on warm for 30 minutes and air dryed. While wet they looked very purple and then they dried to a dark grey not a light grey, but a dark grey which I actually like. If I can learn to post pics I will. I also had to spend quite a bit of money to get my mock neck top fixed properly as it was poorly made, but I've already discussed that. Anyway, only one bottle of liquid grey and it did the job!!!!
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Batman65
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batman65 »

batjonsey36 wrote:I have a front washer too, so I used the stove top method. My roommate is a professional chef, so I asked to borrow his five gallon pot and filled it with three gallons of water. I then mixed one bottle of liquid RIT pearl grey with a half teaspoon of purple in a mason jar. I brought the water to a boil and added the dye. I then mixed in the tops and bottoms stirring continuously using the microwave timer. I kept lifting the tights to ensure both the tops and bottoms were being equally blended with the dye. When the timer went off for 30 minutes, I removed the tights and then rinsed them with cold water until the rinse in the sink became clear. I then put them in wash on warm for 30 minutes and air dryed. While wet they looked very purple and then they dried to a dark grey not a light grey, but a dark grey which I actually like. If I can learn to post pics I will. I also had to spend quite a bit of money to get my mock neck top fixed properly as it was poorly made, but I've already discussed that. Anyway, only one bottle of liquid grey and it did the job!!!!

Glad to hear you finally jumped in and just did it. My wife told me mine looked too purple when I showed her right after dying, but as they dry, they lighten up. Everything looks darker when it is wet, Actually, if you watch the blu rays, they are actually darker than you think. If you search the old board archives, there is an entire discussion on the color, lighting, and all that fun stuff. Cant wait to see the pics.
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The Batker
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by The Batker »

So I took the plunge and dyed my tights, they look very purple so I'm a bit worried lol.
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Batman65
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batman65 »

The Batker wrote:So I took the plunge and dyed my tights, they look very purple so I'm a bit worried lol.

My wife said the same thing when I did mine. Wait until they dry then see how they look.
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The Batker
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by The Batker »

Image

Photographs pretty true to color maybe with just a bit more purple hue. The snaps are like a bubble gum purple... but under bright flash or light looks like..

Image

Just seems a little off, a little too purple and a little too dark but I don't really have a clue how to go about fixing it.
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Batfanman
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batfanman »

What was your process when you dyed these?
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The Batker
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by The Batker »

Rite had a tutorial on how to dye fabric with hot water in a 5 gallon bucket. I dyed it in 3 gallons of boiling hot water. I used 2 things of gray and just a little bit of purple. I'd say I used half of a forth of a bottle... Whatever that comes out to.

I premixed the dye and then stirred it into the water. I paper tested it and it seemed to be a somewhat bluish gray at first. Maybe I used too much purple.
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Batman65
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batman65 »

I seem to remember Chuck saying something about using a bit of orange to neutralize the grey. Chuck? If you watch the blu-rays, the tights are actually a bit darker than you might think they are.
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Batfanman
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batfanman »

If you used the bottled dye for both colors, keep in mind that RIT says 1 bottle is equal to 2 boxes of powder.

Here's their Q&A on this:

"How does Rit Liquid Dye differ from Rit Powder Dye?

There is no difference in terms of color or dye performance. The liquid dye is already dissolved in water and more concentrated than the powder dye. So you only need to use half as much when using the liquid dye. Also, since the liquid dye is pre-mixed, this eliminates the need to dissolve the dye in hot water as you need to do with the powder dye before adding it to the dye bath. As a guideline, one bottle of Rit liquid dye is equivalent to two boxes of Rit powder dye."
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The Batker
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by The Batker »

So what would you suggest I do to try and lighten them up or change their shade?
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Batfanman
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Batfanman »

I've read that orange can neutralize gray but and if true, I'm not sure how much you should use. Others here may better advise you.
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Chuck Williams
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Re: dying to dye my tights

Post by Chuck Williams »

Hi Guys,

I've responded to Batker in a PM he sent but basically you use the color opposite on a color wheel to neutralize the color you want to tone down.
Image

If it's too blue, use orange.
Too purple, use a tan/yellow.
Too red, add some green.

You should think that Neutral Grey is the center of the color wheel.
As you add more of the opposite color, you are pulling the color you want to change toward the center so it becomes more grey.
Use small amounts of dye in roughly 1/2 teaspoon increments to sneak up on your color if it's really off. Less if you are just tweaking.

You want just a touch of pink/purple to your grey if you are going for how they really looked like in person.
More color if you want how they looked on TV or how you think they should look in your minds eye.

As you can see in the photo below, the color is fairly dark when next to white. That is so it doesn't wash out when next to the dark blue/black of the rest of the costume.


Good Luck!!!

Image
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