OK, so I'm almost finished dyeing stuff, but, I've dyed a bunch of
cotton shirts in some colors that are a bit too bright for my taste.
They are all oranges, yellows, peaches, or pinks. The ones that were
totally blecherous, I've already redyed in different, much darker
colors. These are ones that almost work from my point of view; but I'd
like to tone them down a little, to more earthy shades of the same
thing, rather than making them a completely different color.
I've just read a very interesting book on historic costuming for film.
It contains almost no information on how to design or make clothing, but
a great deal on how to organize the process of obtaining enormous
quantities of garments, keeping track of them, and interacting with the
many other people involved in film making. The author does mention that
pure white often looks too bright on camera, and so he overdyes with a
weak solution of Rit tan to make it a shade that "looks" white, or just
off-white, when filmed. There is a hint that he may use this process to
"soften" other colors, but I'm not sure that can be done without making
the color look "dirty," an effect he sometimes consciously strives for
to "age" clothing. He doesn't go into details on the process. And an
aged or dirty look is not what I'm striving for. Just less bright.
So, does anyone know if a weak overdye of tan will soften a strong
yellow, orange, peach, or pink without making it look dirty, or turning
it into a very different color? And, is there a Procion dye they can
recommend for this, since Rit is not very fast? If so, what strength
should be used?
(I'm not thrilled about the idea of using tea because of the tannin, and
I suspect tea [and coffee] is not all that fast either.)
I already have some Procion MX ecru from Dharma Trading, which when used
in the strength directed produces a pleasant light beige on a pure white
shirt. Will that do? If so should be it be made a little weaker? If
not, is there another color I should buy?
Thanks for any info.
Fran
Lavolta Press
http://www.lavoltapress.com
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