Small questions thread

[oncebornyoucanthide]

quick update: just got refund from Pollyanna

thank to you all for your support: I'm sure they felt a little bit of pressure by seeing the thing discussed here

Thanks,

problem is Pollyanna says that's the result of me wearing the jacket (I kept it less than 24hrs) and refuses to refund...

does anyone know what means do I have to state my rights?

[the breaks]

they were being ridiculous

[Oasis]

quick update: just got refund from Pollyanna

thank to you all for your support: I'm sure they felt a little bit of pressure by seeing the thing discussed here

What did they say?

[oncebornyoucanthide]

What did they say?

they said: "I think for all our sake we need to draw a line under this: your card will credited tomorrow morning"

[Oasis]

they said: "I think for all our sake we need to draw a line under this: your card will credited tomorrow morning"

Yeah, that's pretty unprofessional to say the least.

Atleast you got what you were entitled too but total bullshit customer service on their part.

[oncebornyoucanthide]

Agree: very, very unprofessional

looks like it was the first time they had to handle a return... they said i have worn the jacket "because it shows creases": talking about a jacket folded in a supersmall box, same one they used to ship the jacket to me

Yeah, that's pretty unprofessional to say the least.

Atleast you got what you were entitled too but total bullshit customer service on their part.

[Vanna]

Is there a place in NYC that can dye clothes for you? Ive tried doing it myself a few times but with poor results. I have a few Ann pieces that I just want to dye a darker black because they have faded quite a bit over the past few years.

[t-bone]

Colibri up near K-Town is great, if a little pricey.

http://www.manta.com/c/mmzl2lq/colibri-textiles-dyeing-inc

[zamb]

Yea,
Colibri is the best here in NYC........

however doing it yourself is not that difficult, if its a natural fiber like Cotton or linen, wools and silks take dye very well but you may risk shrinkage if you are not careful.

[Vanna]

Thanks Zamb and Todd!

Todd, how much do you think a shirt would be?

Zamb, I've tried a couple of times, letting the garments sit over the stove in hot water for hours and havent been able to have the fabrics hold the color. Using rit.

[ACM]

Any tips on how to get anything to be a true black? I have been using Rit the last couple times, and I keep getting this grayish purple color.

[zamb]

Thanks Zamb and Todd!

Todd, how much do you think a shirt would be?

Zamb, I've tried a couple of times, letting the garments sit over the stove in hot water for hours and havent been able to have the fabrics hold the color. Using rit.

rit is garbage, its suppose to be an all purpose dye, that ultimately end up serving no purpose......you just cant be all things to all men, er......fabrics

that's why you are not getting any meaningful results

what is the fabric content of the pieces?
I might be able to send you something along with some instructions................for cotton, fobre reactive dyes are the best, and you will need lots of salt and Soda ash for that

for Silk and woolens, you need acid dyes with vinegar

I'm about to run out for a meeting but I can help you through the process, otherwise if you don't want to be bothered you can definitely go Colibri, ............i can tell you their work is top notch, and ive heard the boss is a fine man with a brilliant mind so that's even more reason to do business with them..........

[beardown]

I have done battle with dye many times over the past few years. Here are a few things to note:

Don't bother trying to dye synthetics yourself if you want accurate, deep colors. If it's 100% cotton or a natural blend (hemp, etc) it's quite easy to do it properly with some patience and preparation.

There are a lot of elements to dyeing and all of them are pretty important. Non-iodized Salt is an important part of getting the dye to cling to the fabric. Simple but a lot of people skip that step.

I do have to disagree with Zam about RIT. In my past few projects (I'll post one tonight later on), I started with a procion dye, well prepared with a cotton garment, used the right temperature, salt, added urea and soda ash during the process and ended up with a really light (rather than deep) color after rinsing. Got frustrated, went to the closest store and bought 2 bottles of liquid RIT, mixed it in a tub, added some salt and ended up with a really rich, deep color I was looking for, even after rinsing and washing.

If you want to try pro, you can try jacquard procion (google it) and follow the instructions on this page. Most people on here swear by this...it just didn't work too well for me.
You can use a washing machine or a tub. Soda ash is an important part of this process and you can also use urea and other chemicals to control color, permanence, etc.

Note that you need at least twice the normal amount of dye recommended if you want a 'deep' color.

My RIT experience:

1. Wash the garment in warm water.
2. Use VERY hot water in a tub (as hot as possible...3 gallons per 1 lb. of fabric) with a full bottle and a half of liquid RIT dye. Make sure it is well agitated and fully dispersed/dissolved.
3. Add your still damp/wet garment to the tub. Immerse completely, start mixing, agitating with a stick. Continue to agitate.
4. Add 1 cup of non-iodized salt to the mixture slowly. (not directly on the garment. Shift it out of the way a bit, mix to dissolve the salt).
5. Continue agitation as regularly as possible for a full hour.
6. Pour dye out, rinse garment in hot water initially, then use cool water until it runs fairly clear.
7. Toss it in a washer...rinse cycle only on cool. After that, do a full wash cycle with a little bit of detergent on warm with a cool rinse.

It's not a quick or super simple process but I don't think there is really a quick and easy way to dye and get deep, rich colors unless you go through the full process. Anything less and you're basically wasting your time to simply tint whatever it is you're looking to dye.

A word about synthetics and synthetic blends...waste of time in my experience unless you let the pros do it. Be cautious about nylon stitching and appliques on garments...if it's not 100% cotton or natural, you'll end up with contrast stitching and details.

[Vanna]

^Beardown, thank you for your extremely comprehensive post. To be honest, I did skip using the salt when using the rit dye the few times I tried dying some pieces. But also, the instructions on the bottle never suggested that I should so I had no idea that salt was necessary. I really appreciate you taking the time to write out your experience and sharing what worked for you.

Zamb, I also appreciate your help! I would be interested to see how much of what you were going to tell me coincides with what beardown suggested I do!

[beardown]

I also mixed in a tablespoon of liquid detergent about halfway through the mixing stage, which is recommended here from the official RIT page.

I'm not sure why Rit doesn't put proper instructions on their products...the website has a lot of tricks and tips to get better, deeper coverage and the salt suggestion.