dying fabric

[Auryn]

Not killing it
but rather changing the color

I need to dye some natural or white cotton(whichever you say will be the easiest) to a bright orange

What brand of dye and fixing technique would you suggest??

[Rowan MacD]

Not killing it
but rather changing the color

I need to dye some natural or white cotton(whichever you say will be the easiest) to a bright orange

What brand of dye and fixing technique would you suggest??

LOL, you beat me to it ^_^.
  Rit is the best and most colorfast that I know of, and you can get it anywhere.   Tie-dyers like it for the vibrant colors, and it dyes just about anything.
    Get a bottle and a swatch (or a couple) and test it first.  Rinse and dry the swatch to see the finished color.
    You may be able to lighten it with yellow, or darken it with a bit of red until you have the shade you want. It's been a while since I've dyed anything, but I believe it's lighter on the fabric once it's dry.   

[Cilean]

Go to Dharma Trading Company and look for natural dyes, and they have how to guides and the people are pretty knowledgeable on helping a novice or even an experienced, so check out their site: www.DharmaTrading.com

Cilean

[RenFestHQ]

Go to Dharma Trading Company and look for natural dyes, and they have how to guides and the people are pretty knowledgeable on helping a novice or even an experienced, so check out their site: www.DharmaTrading.com

Cilean

I recommend Dharma as well. When we dye wool to spin into yarn, that is where we get our from.

[Sunshine]

Note: this all assumes you're not after historical accuracy, just color.

Seems like every costume I make, I end up dyeing one piece or another. I always use RIT, and following the directions on the inside of the box works just fine. Make sure to include the salt and detergent, and while the universe won't smite you if you don't prewash, it's a good habit in case there's anything on your fabric that might block the dye. For bright orange, I'd start with white cotton, since it's easier to gauge what you're likely to end up with if you start with plain white, and you're going to want to double the recommended amount of dye to make it really bright.

If your fabric is only a yard or two, I'd go with the bucket method, particularly since it's easy to see how the dye is doing with your fabric, but if it's more than that and you don't mind coloring any plastic bits in your washing machine, the machine is certainly simpler. When I use a bucket, I either dye in my bathtub or outside, because some of that dye *will* end up slopping over the edges. (Both of these methods are detailed inside the box and are easy to follow.)

As Rowen says, make sure you do a test strip, and remember that it's going to dry lighter than it looks when it's still wet, and will probably lose a bit more color after that the first couple times you wash it. You can always dye it again if you think it's gotten too light, but if you're making more than one piece with your fabric you'll want to do them all together, to make sure they match.

I've never been able to wring out my fabric well enough to stave off initial color bleeding, but a few times through the wash and it'll probably be fine. I throw in a scrap of white muslin each time I wash a dyed garment (usually with dark jeans or old pajama shirts that I don't mind taking on a little extra color, since I hate to waste a laundry load) to keep track of how much bleeding is still going on, if any.

That all said, since you're planning to use cotton it might be easiest to just buy orange cotton at Joann's or your local fabric store. Orange any-other-kind-of-fabric is a pain to find, especially if you're after a certain shade, but plain cotton's usually easy enough to get in a rainbow of colors.

[Auryn]

Thanks guys
I will let you know how well it goes
or if I just toss the whole idea all together

[Kate XXXXXX]

I use Dylon machine dye for anything cotton or linen.  Works a treat.  They do a very tangerine orange!

[Auryn]

Kate, is that the powder that comes in the black pouches??

[DonaCatalina]

Go to Dharma Trading Company and look for natural dyes, and they have how to guides and the people are pretty knowledgeable on helping a novice or even an experienced, so check out their site: www.DharmaTrading.com

Cilean

Can I 'Third' this?
Rit dye is well enough, but the orange will most likely come out the color of orange sherbet. Mine did.

[Wickedvox]

I don't have a dye preference but a suggestion: I use a long strip and put the whole thing in. I pull out a couple inches after 1 minute, a couple more at 5 minutes, a couple more at 10 minutes, 20, 25, 30...Until I see a color I like. Dyed my own lacing ties to match my bodice that way. Worked great!