Dying fabric?

What I know from personal experience:

Follow the box or bottle instructions & the dye should not rub off onto your skin.

Usually the seam areas turn out darker; I suppose because those areas have double fabric.

You have to clean the inside of your washer quite thoroughly afterwards. Even then, I'd run few loads of rags or something until you're sure the dye's completely gone.

I have no experience with an HE washer, so don't know what effect, if any, the lower water volume has.

I think I'd test your least favorite shirt first, or something comparable in fabric & color.

All that said, I'd just put those in my "wear on weekends" drawer & get some fresh new ones to wear in public.

I tried to dye some black jeans that had faded several years ago. It was not worth the effort as they did not look much better. That was before I had an HE washer so I had a lot of control on how long the jeans stayed in the dye, etc.

I've dyed a few black items and the dye does not come off on me. When I wash the items, I must do them separately as they are not colorfast in water.

I dyed them in a tub as opposed to my washing machine.

Hubby likes to redye his around the house jeans from time to time. We follow the directions on Rit liquid dye and always add white vinegar (rem egg dying) to help with the color. It does color the washer tub somewhat, and I wash a load of darks after. I'm not showing the inside of the washer to company so I'm not concerned, after all, it's a tool to use.

Are there cold water dyes available now-a-days? Using hot water might shrink items, I'm thinking...........

Thanks all. Sounds like maybe more trouble than it is worth. My washer has a front window, so I don't want my washer discolored.

I think I'll skip it for now. Thanks again.

A million/billion dollar idea would be cold water dyes (if there aren't any so far)............no shrinkage.

I've dyed items using RIT dye, follow the directions and use a cup of salt to "set" the dye. Once something purple came out splotchy but I dyed it again and it looks perfect now. I always run a cycle through with bleach afterwards.

Years ago I used to dye tops a lot, like things I would splash bleach on or the color faded badly. I never used the machine, just a large stainless stock pot. I stuck to navy and black to cover and I don't remember any problems.