You got some skeins of acrylic yarn of a particular color, but need to change the color? How nice it would be if you could change the color with a button! But the reality is even harsher than the falsehood of this fantasy. Unlike many yarns, acrylic is too difficult to dye and has fewer dyeing techniques.
But don’t lose hope yet. We have gathered all the methods on how to dye acrylic yarn in this article to help you out. The process includes dyeing your yarn with the Disperse dye, hair dye, and even some food ingredients from your kitchen! Let’s get started!
How to Dye Acrylic Yarn – Different Processes Are Shown
Not all the methods to dye your acrylic yarn are perfect. Some of them are easy but the results can’t be always satisfactory if you don’t have any experience with the coloring process.
1. Disperse Dye
Disperse dye appears to be the most effective dye on acrylic yarn. It is a powdered dye that requires a lot of heat to dissolve in water. Also, this dye needs to be applied in acidic conditions, which is not always suitable for home use. However, dispersed dye is very inexpensive, so it won’t hurt to try it at home.
You can use this dye for pale or medium shades since they show low affinity towards the fiber. To use this dye, you need to heat water in a large pot and dissolve the Disperse dye in it. Then toss your acrylic yarn or cloth into the pot and keep stirring until it boils.
After half an hour or an hour, turn off the heat and let the acrylic products cool off. When the water’s not hot anymore, dispose of the dyed water down the sink. Now rinse the yarn in warm water and wash it to remove excess dye.
2. Basic or Cationic Dye
The basic or cationic dye can give a better, permanent, and more intense color to your acrylic yarn than the dispersed dye. However, this dye has too many drawbacks to try. It is a toxic and carcinogenic product that can be easily absorbed through the skin. Also, the dyeing process with this type of dye is quite longer.
So, using basic dye to color your acrylic yarn at home is not recommended if you are a beginner. Even it is not suited for many experts to use. But if you happen to deal with this dye for some reason, make sure to take proper safety measures.
3. Food Colors
Food coloring cannot be used to dye any synthetic yarn like acrylic. But don’t lose hope yet, it is possible to dye acrylic with food colors if it is in a blend with animal fiber, specifically wool. If your yarn is such a blend, you can easily go with this procedure.
First, mix water, 2/3 spoons of vinegar, and food color as much as you want. Then put this mixture to boil and put your yarns in it. After that, lower the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Wait for 30 minutes or when the dye bath has no color left. Then turn off the heat, let the yarn cool, and then hand dry after rinsing.
4. Tea
Just like some fruits and vegetables, tea can dye acrylic material but the color will be dull and fade away soon. If your yarn is made with 100% acrylic, you will need too many tea bags and a pressure cooker to force the color into the fibers with extreme heat. But if your acrylic yarn is blended, the color will work better.
Just follow the same process as dyeing with food color, except you will need to steep the tea before adding the yarns.
5. Coffee
You can dye your acrylic yarn with coffee to get a rich brown color that will last for a long time, no matter how many times you wash the yarn product. To work with coffee, first, wash the yarn as it helps the dye to spread evenly as well as remove attached chemicals.
You will need to fill up a large pot with warm water and soap flakes and give the yarn a cozy bath. Do not use a metal pot since it can alter the color of the dye. The next task is to prepare a bowl of strong coffee. For better results, you will need some high-powered mordant with the coffee.
Soak the entire yarn in the pot of boiled coffee and let it rest overnight if possible. You will get nicely dyed acrylic yarn the next morning.
6. Kool-Aid
You can try dyeing your acrylic yarn with Kool-Aid too, but you will need extreme heat for this process. Nevertheless, the result will only be satisfactory if the yarn has any animal fiber blended with acrylic. For 100% acrylic yarn, most of the dye will wash away while rinsing.
7. RIT Dye
There are several types of RIT dye out on the market and several of them are suited to dye acrylic fiber. Read the label of the RIT dye carefully and get the one that says it is suited for your acrylic blend. Then put your yarn in the dye mixture for some time and wash the residuals to get your desired result.
8. Hair Dye
If you follow the right steps, you can even dye acrylic yarn with hair dye. For this procedure, you need to mix up a huge quantity of hair dye in a pot. Make sure the dye is enough to cover all of your yarn otherwise, you will get uneven patchy, and shady colors. Then put the yarn inside the dye for an hour and rinse it thoroughly.
You can also brush the dye in the yarn, but you have to be careful. You can also use a syringe to dye different spots to make designs with dye.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
- Can I dye acrylic yarn with Dylon?
The answer is No. Any synthetic fiber, including acrylic yarn, cannot be dyed with Dylon. Even if you try dyeing, the fiber won’t hold the colors.
- Can I bleach acrylic yarn?
Acrylic yarn is synthetic, so they don’t get too damaged like animal fiber when bleached. But strong bleach or frequent use can harm your acrylic yarn fiber.
Prior to Leaving
Now that you know how to dye acrylic yarn, you are closer to getting the perfect hue for your yarn. Just follow the procedures strictly and take the necessary safety measures. You will definitely enjoy working with the colors.
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