Prism99

I have some white tone-on-one that is just a little too super white. I would like to tone it down (no pun intended!), if I can, to a natural white. Has anyone tried this? I'm thinking of using Rit dye in my front loader. The major questions I have are (1) Will it come out too dark? I just want to tone down the white to something similar to a natural muslin (or even lighter). I do not want tan or brown. (2) Will it be colorfast? Quilts get washed. I won't mind if it lightens somewhat. I've read that Rit dye fades over time. Maybe not a problem, as the worst it could get is its original white-white.

It's 5 or 6 yards of fabric, so it's not as if I could boil it on the stovetop.

Anyone with experience out there?

Boston1954

My goodness, I have never even thought about that. Maybe go check out the choices of dyes, and see if the package has time limits on what shade you want.

nativetexan

I know some have tea dyed fabric. you might look that up.

ILoveToQuilt

The "white" part of the white on white (the design) is usually plastic of some sort and I don't believe that it will take dye. The background fabric, will, however so you may wind up with stark white designs on dark fabric. Just my 2 cents.

Jennifer23

I have done this, but not just to shade it... I went to a much different colour. I liked the final effect; the printed white stays white, and only the background gets dyed, so it creates a very different look.

Guessing at answers to your questions:
(1) How dark it is depends on the amount of dye used, tone of dye used, and length of soaking time. I would do some samples (fat eighths, maybe?) to see how it works out. If you use a brown dye, it will probably be too dark; if you use a tan or lighter dye it's more likely to turn out how you want. Tea dying might be a better way to get the light shade you want.

(2) In my experience, Rit dye does fade over time. How long it will stay depends on how often you wash it. It's unlikely to fade away completely.

Good luck with it! I'm excited to see what you end up with.

Prism99

Okay, thanks everyone! Think I will take a run to Walmart tonight and see if they have the light tan. I have enough of the fabric to try a run in the washing machine with a fat quarter to see how it turns out. What I want is something very, very pale -- just to take the edge off the super white background. A bit of work, but worth it if it turns out the way I want.

Edit: Oh, and the title of my thread should have been "dyed", not "died". I make more typos as I get older....

Prism99

Well, our small Walmart doesn’t have the tan color I want. Will order it online along with the dye fixative they sell.

IceLeopard

If you want it to be colorfast, *do not* get Rit dye! It *will* fade, and after only about a dozen washes it will be gone. You want a Procion fiber-reactive dye that actually becomes part of the fabric. Dharma Trading Company is a good online source, or if you have a local artists supply store, they may have Jaquard dyes. I have t-shirts dyed 7 years ago with Dharma dyes that have only now started to show signs of fading.

Cari-in-Oly

I think I would be hesitant to do this in a front loader. They don't use enough water.

Cari

Irishrose2

Have you tried turning the fabric over? It won't change the color, but it will get rid of the 'glow' from the WOW. I did that with a white with roses and it worked.