Baystate as Clothing Dye?

[Brilliant Bill]

I'm wondering if I can dye clothing with Noodles Baystate Blue ink.

I got a new bottle of Baystate to replace the plastic one from a few years ago. Now I'm looking for interesting things to try with the old ink.

I have a blue shirt that has become discolored/faded over some years. Thinking about dying it with the Baystate. I've never dyed anything so this should be interesting.

Any other ideas to try with the Baystate. Maybe a wood stain?

[Pterodactylus]

I’m not sure if you really mean this serious.

Sounds like not a good idea for several reasons:


You cannot chemically fixate the color, so it will change (fade) in the washing machine
The color will fade very fast when it is exposed to light (especially Baystate Blue is known to fade rapidly badly
I‘m sure you don‘t want your skin exposed to a unknown chemical cocktail which was never intended to have permanent contact to skin which could lead to toxic or allergic reactions.


If you want to recolor cloth I would strongly recommend to use a product which was designed for such an use case (and it would also be cheaper)

[Brilliant Bill]

Thanks, pter. I'll let you know how the shirt dying works out.

[oldstoat]

I'm sure there are many who have dyed their clothes with BSB, but not all will be intentional...

[Sammyo]

Try it as a hair dye ;)

[Marsilius]

Well, posted this before, but couldn't resist:
36093

[Brilliant Bill]

Rustle me up a few more hairs and maybe we'll give it a shot!

[Glandon]

Try it, it should work. Many bloggers have shown how they color clothes with this substance

[Orstep]

Why repaint faded clothes when you can buy new ones? I understand this clothes may have some value, but if it already looks bad, it is better to buy a new one. I had a similar case. I really liked one dress, but it was pretty old. It had holes sewn up in some places, and it didn't look great anymore. After a while, I decided to buy a new infinity dresses (https://www.infinitydressusa.com/) and didn't regret about this. The new dress looks much brighter and more beautiful than the old one. Don't be afraid to part with your old clothes.

[Jon Szanto]

Why repaint faded clothes when you can buy new ones?

One reason would be that many people find it beneficial to reuse and recycle rather than just trash something and get something else. This particular instance might be a radical example, but your question was broad enough to answer with the basic thought.

[Brilliant Bill]

Funny, over three years later...

The old bottle of BSB still resides over there on the shelf. The old shirt still hangs in the closet.

While I suspect the orstep comment was an attempt at humor, there are many people who cannot "buy new ones." My heart is always with the afflicted rather than the comfortable.

[empliau]

One time I dropped my favorite white sweater in the leafy gutter (it was fall) and didn't find it till the next day. I washed it on hot with bleach but there were still irregular tan splotches that I couldn't get out. When I was young, I read a children's book set among immigrants on the Lower East Side where they dyed something stained with tea an even ecru - with more tea. So I used boiling water and lots of tea bags to make a tea dye bath, soaked the sweater in it - and it worked, and was fast. I enjoyed my ecru sweater for years afterward. Maybe BSB isn't as fast or reliable as Lipton's ...

[Yazeh]

I've done spot dyeing, with other inks. I had a new navy sweatpants which had two discoloured spots thanks to a few drops of wayward bleach. I used Kung Te-Cheng to remove those ugly spots and it worked....
I have also have sage shirt, which I love but it was stained with a wood stainer. On a whim I drew some flowers with Noodler's General of the Armies. It's not the exact colour but it's much better than the ugly brown... :)

[Chrissy]

One time I dropped my favorite white sweater in the leafy gutter (it was fall) and didn't find it till the next day. I washed it on hot with bleach but there were still irregular tan splotches that I couldn't get out. When I was young, I read a children's book set among immigrants on the Lower East Side where they dyed something stained with tea an even ecru - with more tea. So I used boiling water and lots of tea bags to make a tea dye bath, soaked the sweater in it - and it worked, and was fast. I enjoyed my ecru sweater for years afterward. Maybe BSB isn't as fast or reliable as Lipton's ...
On BBC TV's The Repair Shop the "teddy bear ladies" always use tea or very occasionally coffee to colour their new mohair type materials to match up old versions. They never mention whether or not their tea dye is permanent or not, but people do wash teddy bears.

[Ole Juul]

Because the tannins bond with the fiber there is not even any need for a mordant in some cases, though people do use vinegar and such (for the mordent) when they use tea. So yes, it should be washable.

[empliau]

Because the tannins bond with the fiber there is not even any need for a mordant in some cases, though people do use vinegar and such (for the mordent) when they use tea. So yes, it should be washable.

Interesting - the gutter in question was filled with oak leaves, which (if Google is to be relied upon) contain tannins. Probably why the splotches wouldn't come out. And the tea never came out through multiple washings - I should perhaps specify that the sweater was 100% cotton and took the dye easily. Amazingly, strong Lipton tea was the same color as oak leaf stains - you couldn't tell where the stains had been.

[Cyril]

I am one of them.
I have a spoilt trouser within the big patch of ink and I am always careful with this ink.
This ink is my least favourite too as this ink is very hard to remove from any Pen.
I think it is good for wall Graffiti and no one can remove it.


I'm sure there are many who have dyed their clothes with BSB, but not all will be intentional...