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dyeing sneakers

topic posted Tue, June 19, 2007 - 11:11 AM by 
hi there!
nifty tribe you've got here!
I just joined specifically to ask for help with my sneaker-dyeing project.
I've been reading about natural dyes and mordants and different fabrics and colorfastness and my head is spinning!
By "natural", I mean things like cabbage or woad or mushrooms or tea etc.

I have these white canvas sneakers that I would like to dye. The upper is 100% cotton canvas and I don't believe it's pre-shrunk.
Orange would be awesome. Purple or a pretty purply-blue would be great (not dark blue).

Questions:
Do I *have* to boil/simmer my sneakers? or is there some cold-dyeing process you know about?
They'll shrink, won't they?
If I wear them on my feet (after they've cooled a bit) while they dry, will that minimize shrinkage?
Besides shrinking, do you think boiling will melt any glue and cause my sneakers to fall apart?
Which natural dyes work best with cotton?
Is this just a totally stupid idea???

thanks so much for any suggestions!
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  • Viki...
    Vikinggirl
    offline 90

    Re: dyeing sneakers

    Wed, June 20, 2007 - 6:42 AM
    The lady who I did some dyeing with told me that you should never let it come to a boil.
    First we did 90C to extract the dye. Then let it cool off.
    When it is cooled, put in your wool/ objects and heat it up till 75C.

    Don't know how anybody else does it. And I am by no means an expert in dyeing.

    And yes, cotton shrinks.
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  • Sabrina
    Sabrina
    offline 37

    Re: dyeing sneakers

    Thu, June 21, 2007 - 11:20 PM
    google dharma trading company and you will find out about dyeing cotton. Cotton does use a cold dyeing process. I have not dyed cotton yet, so I can't tell you much. But you don't want to use dyes that are meant for protein fibers, cotton is a cellulose fiber and will not take up the dye for protein fibers. I will talk to a friend and get more information.
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  • Re: dyeing sneakers

    Wed, July 11, 2007 - 6:57 AM
    I used the juice from a jar of pickled beets, figuring that the salt and vinegar in there would help set the color. I painted the juice onto the canvas with a brush so that I didn't soak the inner lining and non-removable footbed. Worked like a charm!! I was a bit concerned that painting the juice on might result in streaks and blotches, but that didn't happen. Now my sneakers are a lovely shade of pink, prettier than I dared to hope for. Yay!
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    • rebekah
      rebekah
      offline 28

      Re: dyeing sneakers

      Wed, July 11, 2007 - 11:14 AM
      That's so fun!!!!!!

      I painted my sneakers. They were red and tan, but I painted the tan stripes orange and purple with acrylic cloth paint. Now they match EVERYTHING!
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    • Viki...
      Vikinggirl
      offline 90

      Re: dyeing sneakers

      Thu, July 12, 2007 - 1:50 PM
      YAY!!
      Let me know what happens when you walk in the rain :-)
      Because I tried dying my wool with beets. Looks pritty in the beginning, but it washes out.
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      • Re: dyeing sneakers

        Thu, July 12, 2007 - 11:20 PM
        well, did you use PICKLED beets?
        and, I figure, if it fades in the sun or washes out in the rain, I can just paint it on again.
        It took me about half an hour...

        time will tell! and I will dutifully report back.
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