Dyeing baby clothes?

[EauRouge]

Sorry if this has been done before, I tried doing a search but the search engine doesn't distinguish between 'dyeing' and 'dying'

Anyway, I'm expecting DC2 in a few months and while I don't need to buy many new clothes, DD's old cotton sleepsuits and vests were white but are now a bit grey and could use brightening up a bit.

Is it safe to dye baby clothes and if so, what dye should I use? I've never dyed any clothes before so something simple would be preferable although I'm open to new ideas.

I'd like to go for bright colours like green and yellow, absolutely no pastels or baby pink/blue!

TIA :)

[LarissaFeodorovna]

Yy, you can do tie-dye too, for that hippy baby look.

I used to do them in the machine with a load of dylon, alternatively you can do smaller quantities in a washing-up bowl with the cold-water dye. Essentially, if you have a decent-sized batch of stuff to dye, then use machine dye, if it's just one item, then it'll be cheaper to do it with those little round pots of cold water dye. Much more faff, though. You'll need salt as well, the instructions are pretty clear.

Anything that is 100% cotton will come up fine, though the stitching may not take colour and the poppers obviously won't.

If you are tie-dyeing in the machine, then just use string or rubber bands for teh patterns, don't tie in stones or beads or anything hard, as it'll rub against the inside of the washing-machine drum and make holes.

Also very good for grubby sheets, greying towels and nonky old muslins.

[jennifersofia]

Wot LarissaF... said. Though be sure to give them an extra wash on their own before you wash with other things to be sure there isn't any excess dye in them that might leak onto other clothes. Don't know how old your dc1 is, but I did it with my other children when I was expecting. They helped choose where to put the rubber bands / what colour dye to use / stir in the dye, and they really enjoyed it.

[Eglu]

I did this for DS2. I wanted nice bright babygros and there weren't really any around. I tie-dyed some cheap white babygros and they looked great. I use Dylon washing machine dye. It is very easy to use.

[EauRouge]

Thanks everyone :) Good idea for the muslins too, they don't seem to stay white.

[4madboys]

i tie dyed loads of babygrows for my boys and muslins too, its easy to do and very effective, i always get asked where i got my home dyed clothes from :)

[Eglu]

Oh yes, I forgot that I dyed muslins too. DS2 uses them as comforters and white realy wasn't practical, so I did bright green and other colours. Was also handy at his nursery where several other children also used muslins as comforters.

[LarissaFeodorovna]

Excellent for white cotton bedlinen too -- you can do really nice pillow cases and duvet covers for kids' bedrooms out of plain ones that have gone a bit grey and nasty.

And if your older dc is older than about 2, you can bring them into it as an edjucashunal project, innit.

[EauRouge]

Ah yes, good plan DD just turned 2 and I'm sure she'd love to help. I might let her loose with the fabric pens so she can have a good old scribble on some of them.

[thell]

Ooh, fabric pens!!
DD would love to decorate baby clothes. And she loved it when I embellished some plain white vests for her too, just with a little heart or star on the front.

I think I'd like to have a go with the dyeing too - I think I've got some white bamboo nappies that could help bulk out the machine dye loads. I did all DD's muslins and the flannels I used for wiping her up after meals - they are bright green and age much better. And the flannels were hideously grey - my friends would have thrown them away! - but were given a new lease of life.