What is the easiest way to dye a brown winter jacket black?

Question

I have a brownish greenish winter jacket. I really like the way the jacket was designed which is what made me buy it. Unfortunately it never came in black. It doesn't really go with any of my clothes.

I'm just wondering if there's an easy way I can dye it black? or as near to black as possible. What do I need in order to this? Would it be expensive?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

This depends on what it is made of. You may be able to do it yourself, but I doubt it. Take it to a dry cleaners and ask them

Answer 2

The claim that Rit dye can be used to dye polyester is wrong. Rit dye will just wash out of the polyester, no matter what you do.

In order to dye polyester, you must boil it for some time with a special polyester dye called disperse dye. A new brand of disperse dye is "iDye Poly", which you can order from Blick Art Materials. The cooking pot you use to do the dyeing must be large enough for the jacket to move freely in, and it must never again be used for food, because all clothing dyes (including Rit) will contaminate food. Investing in a dyepot is a great idea if you're going to be doing a lot of dyeing with hot water dyes, but it's too expensive for a single project.

Most dry cleaners will refuse to dye polyester, but there is one custom dyeing company that will dye polyester, Manhattan Dyeing Service. You can mail them your jacket, and they will dye it for you, unless it is water-repellent (you can't dye anything that is water-repellent). This would cost less than buying your own twenty-gallon stainless steel dyeing pot. There's a link in the custom dyers list below.

Answer 3

Nylon/Poly is dye able with Rit. You can usually find that in the laundry section in either a bottle or box with powder packets, and you can do it at home in a washing basin or machine. If you do go that route, be careful as the black can sometimes transfer, I would recommend only using detergents made specifically for darks after dying (Woolite makes one - or you can just wash darks with vinegar to keep the color in.) I have dyed a lot of my own blacks that faded out with it. Just make sure that if you do it in the machine to run a couple cycles with nothing in it but bleach and water, so all the dye comes out and doesn't end up getting on your next load of clothes.