Has anyone ever dyed clothes in a washing machine?

[Destinysdaughter]

I've got a lovely white cotton skirt I want to dye turquoise but am a bit nervous about ruining it/ it coming out patchy. Anyone done it and have any tips?

Lots - yesterday in fact. The problem is that when they say 100% cotton they don't always mean the thread, which might stay white (same goes for the zip if there is one).

Yup, I used Dylon and it came out fine. BUT be careful of any polyester trim (including hem) as that won't hold the dye as well as cotton. I've found it works better when redying something faded, rather than a total color change. Patchiness was never a problem though.

I've done it plenty of times.
Revived colour when pale yellow towels went a bit grey.

I've even successfully dyed a dozen machine washable wool jumpers. From tired looking pale pink to a stronger pink.

One dyed white jeans navy to hide a stain. Jeans were fine but my machine kept on spitting out navy gunk for months afterwards.

Wow - flashback! I used to dye clothes all the time when I was younger. Often tie-dyed (the shame...!) They always turned out well and evenly dyed, particularly using washing machine dye.

But beware of the threads on hems etc! If they are not actual cotton but polyester for example, then they don't always take the colour so will stay white. It might look OK against turquoise but on really dark colours it's not always that nice...

Lots of X posts about the thread...!

The dark colours do stain your washing machine seal too. But otherwise very successful. Excellent for reviving faded blacks etc. Like PP says though, beware of threads. Jeans for example, chances are the thread won't change colour so the contrast can be quite heavy.

X post on thread

Like others have said, yes, Dylon machine dye works really well but you will have contrasting thread - doesn't look bad imho. The other thing is you have to run the machine on a hot wash after to clean it, plus make sure to clean the door and the rubber seal (stretch it out and get into all the nooks and crannies) so the dye is cleaned off. I use baby wipes, works fine.

Wow lots of replies, thanks! I used to do tie dying in my teens in a big metal tub, not going for that effect now tho. Is Dylon the best dye to use and do you need salt? Also, I read that you have to do a hot wash using bleach afterwards to clean the machine?

Yes, I dyed some cream linen trousers black. It worked absolutely perfectly, apart from the thread which stayed cream. Oops

You can buy an all-in-one type dylon in a box that doesn't need salt with it. Ive always just ran a hot wash afterwards in case of any extra dye in the machine but I don't think there ever is any in there. I usually buy from Wilkos as its the cheapest place I can find.

I always dye my jeans when they start looking a bit faded on the knees! Thread is always a bit of a pain though as others have mentioned.

Re-dyed black jeans (and red) with Dylon loads of times with good results. Once re-dyed a grey pair and they went a horrible green colour....

Re-dye my black jeans regularly. Love the bloody stuff. It is addictive.

But do an emoty wash with bleach after and make sure to clean the rubber trims.

emoty wash?? Empty, obv. Although I was a bit empty-ional when I saw my dappled-with-black-solid goes white sheets.

My former housemate. Its 15 years ago, but its still a subject we don't discuss ...

I do this a lot - I have an ancient Dorothy Perkins shows age black denim skirt that gets dyed black again when it fades. It was new in 1989

I did it and it worked!

( it was white before ). Yes the stitching at the bottom is white but you can't really see it. Am v inspired to do more now, thanks all for your tips!

That looks beautiful, OP. I am laughing at this because when I saw your title I opened it to say 'yes but the thread will stay the original colour' and that is exactly what everyone else has posted!

One other thing, I always wet a corner of the clothing in hot water then wring it out before I wash it. Dye may or may not come out, depends on the strength, and just handwash in a bucket with bubble bath or something then do a separate rinse and spin in the machine.

I have dealt with the stitching before by finding a Sharpie pen in the same colour and literally just colouring the stitching in. It works well!