Can I dye polyester cotton, in the same way as bleached cotton?
Yes, you can dye a cotton/polyester blend using a dye intended just for cotton, but your results will be lighter in color than if you dye 100% cotton, because the polyester will not take the dye. Dyeing a 50% polyester garment will result in pastel colors. This is true whether you use high quality fiber reactive dye, or lower quality all-purpose dye. The polyester portion of the fiber can be dyed only with a special type of dye called disperse dye, which must be boiled with the fabric, or, for hand-drawn designs, can be ironed on. See “Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes”. Alternatively, you can use a fabric paint on cotton/poly blends, for colors as bright as those on cotton alone. Pigment “dyeing” with fabric paint can be used for beautiful effects, though not for perfectly smooth solid color. (Please help support this web site.
