# New wool is not colorfast-what to do?



## Mami (Mar 19, 2004)

My mom knitted us some beautiful wool pants(pic coming), but the dye must not have set, because they bleed like crazy, my mom's hands even got color on them while knitting. Is there a proper way to wash these so the color no longer bleeds? And what do I do with the dipe that got color on it(silly me for putting them on, I know, but they were soooo cute...). Any advice is welcome.


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## pb_and_j (Feb 13, 2003)

It's not abnormal for dyed wool to bleed the first few washings, esp dark colors like red and blue. Wash it like normal then soak it in a mild vinegar and water solution. That should help set the dye better, though it will probably still bleed in the wash water for a while. The dye should wash right out of fabric since it was not "set."

HTH~


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## Mami (Mar 19, 2004)

Thanks for that info. How much vinegar do I use? And cold or warm(not hot, I know) water? Do you happen to have a link to instructions? Does it seem weird that the wool would bleed while knitting? I have some other colored wool from the same place that doesn't do that.


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## pb_and_j (Feb 13, 2003)

Oh, a couple of "glugs" of vinegar for a sinkful of luke warm water.







I don't have a link for instructions for this specifically, but there is some good wool info in the FAQ section here: http://205.214.82.233/discussions/sh...ad.php?t=64986

No, it doesn't seem too odd that it would bleed while knitting either. I've had hand dyed and commercially dyed wool bleed on my hands and needles before. I wouldn't say it's the norm, but it's not that unusual. It depends on the colors too. The really dark ones (red, blue, black, etc) tend to bleed a lot more.


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## Mami (Mar 19, 2004)

Great! Thanks! I think I'll try that.


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## Mom2Sailor (Sep 20, 2003)

www.dharmatrading.com has some dye fixatives and such too. Something called (forgive my spelling!) synthropol is great for washing out residual dye if the vinegar doesn't give you the results you're looking for. Good luck!
~Kira


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## Myaimistrue (Jun 6, 2004)

Depending on the dye you would change what you used. If it's a fiber reactive dye, you need soda ash. You can get this at Dharma (someone posted the link above) or at any pool store. If it's an acid dye then you should use vinegar. If it's kool aid, or the food colorings, then you'd use vinegar for that too.








Deep, dark colors, like purples, reds, browns, blacks, dark greens and blues, they will bleed for awhile even after the fixing.This is because you have to use twice the normal amount of time and dye to get that deep color into the fibers. All the extra dye just sits there waiting to come loose. That's why almost all new red shirts and blue jeans will bleed all over your favorite white t-shirt.







Depending on the dye, the fixative and the temp of the water it could take up to ten washings. Some colors will still bleed when you wash them, but not on the dipes.
The dipe you got the dye on should be ok as long as you didn't run it through the dryer. That will have heat set the dye and it's there forever, or unless you get brave with bleach, but even that won't remove all of certain dyes and will dammage the fibers.
Good luck!
-Allyson


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## Knittin' in the Shade (Feb 14, 2003)

Quote:

Depending on the dye you would change what you used. If it's a fiber reactive dye, you need soda ash. You can get this at Dharma (someone posted the link above) or at any pool store. If it's an acid dye then you should use vinegar. If it's kool aid, or the food colorings, then you'd use vinegar for that too.
It's not the dye that would change what you use, but rather the fiber. For wool, you need to use vinegar (or acetic acid) becuase wool is a protein fiber and protein fibers need an acid to set the dye. For cotton, or other plant fibers (like linen) youd use soda ash, becuase that's a base and plant fibers need a basic solution to set. You can use fiber reactive dyes either way, depending on whether you add vinegar or soda ash, but generally they don't yield results as good as acid dyes.

For the bleeding ont he diaper, just wash it normally and it should wash right out, becuase there's no basic solution that has set the dye on the cotton. It's not at all uncommon for dye to bleed onto hands when you knit, it's because there was excess dye that didn't react with the fiber (which usually gets rinsed out after the dyeing, but sometimes there's excess dye that's partially set and then becomes transient and releases.)

Anyway, soak in vinegar and rinse, rinse, rinse and it should be okay


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## Myaimistrue (Jun 6, 2004)

Quote:

It's not the dye that would change what you use, but rather the fiber. For wool, you need to use vinegar (or acetic acid) becuase wool is a protein fiber and protein fibers need an acid to set the dye.
Thanks! That's good to know! I thought it was the dyes themselves for some reason.








-Allyson


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