Dyeing a linen shirt

[QueenMabby]

Hi. DS has a lovely white linen shirt which he got sun cream all over on holiday. It now has some rather rusty-orange stains on it. Would dyeing cover them? Was thinking of dyeing it navy blue for him.

If it would work, what is the best way of doing it? Is Dylon in the washing machine still the best way?

Thanks in advance.

yes it will work, and yes use that dye
linen takes dye well
BUT- the shirt is probably sewn with white polyester cotton which won't dye
so it depends really on how much visible/topstitching there is and how much you are bothered by this being visible.
you could try as an intermediate step dying it a mid tone, like grey, then the contrast stitching won't be so obvious but I wonder if that will cover the stains so well

I would try dealing with the stains rather than dyeing the fabric.. I find that pouring Ariel liquid onto the stain, rubbing it and leaving it for a few hours then washing on 60 usually works. Then dry in the sun.
Dyeing a fabric that is stained will affect how it dyes, it may well come out looking blotchy if you don't get rid of the stain first.

I think the dye would react differently over the stains and still look blotchy.

Also you would need to use a dye suitable for polyester as the thread is most likely a white poly and will stay white if you just dye the linen.

I've not tried a hot wash (would linen not shrink?) but I've tried stain remover, white vinegar and washing up liquid (three different occasions not all at once!) and nothing. I've read that the sunscreen oxidises with the iron in the water which is why the stains go that rusty colour but not sure if that's right.

yes, there's a whole thread somewhere about sunscreen and white fabric...
honestly I have done exactly what you suggest for the same reason and the dye (navy) worked well, it's just that the stitching was a contrasting white!

I don’t think linen will shrink, but try it at 40 if you’re worried. I’ve just got tanning lotion ( not sun cream, I know) off a white pillowcase using Ariel.. rub it on, leave it for a few hours, maybe even overnight. It works for me when everything else has failed.

Sun cream usually comes out at 60. Linen should be fine in a hot wash.

As pp said, linen dyes well too but strong likelihood of stitching being in poly thread which doesn't dye well so that would be likely to show up if you go for a dark dye,

Ok. I'm going to get some Ariel (biological??)) and try that this weekend with a hot wash. Of that doesn't work then I'll go down the dyeing route.