Question re: dying a dress

[Pariah]

I have a dress that my mom bought me a few years ago for an event that I want to dye. It is a very light peach color, and I'd like to dye it a dark jewel-tone blue. It is 100% silk. Is it possible to do this with a RIT dye? It is for an event next weekend, so I don't have time to order anything online. I'm worried that it may come out purple-ish since I'm starting with peach fabric, but it is very light, and I want to go very dark with it. Any suggestions? I'm kind of nervous about this since it is a favorite dress that I love, so I don't want to mess it up.

[gardenmom]

I'm not experienced enough with color blending to make color suggestions, but I think that acid dyes would work better on silk than rit. Acid dyes (which strike using vinegar) would make a permanent bond on the silk.

Kool aid (unsweetened) would work, but might need too much rinsing to get the smell of fake fruit out , or try food colorings since you're short on time. Wilton cake dyes also work and have a wider range of colors, but I found them harder to get the actual color (some of the dyes drop out of the mixture or rinse out in my experience).

I will add that I find it difficult to get solid colors that aren't cloudy or textured using acid dyes. You need a really big pot with lots of water and to try to distribute the fabric evenly but quickly so the dye strikes evenly everywhere on the dress at once/the same way.

[cristeen]

100% silk will take dye fairly well. You want a protein dye, so food coloring, Kool Aid or any acid dye.

But, keep in mind the basics of color blending. How bright/dark of a peach color is it? If you add blue to orange, you'll wind up with brown. You may be better off trying to take it to red or yellow and then maybe from yellow to green or from red to purple... I don't know that achieving blue is realistic. But, if it's a light enough orange, it may be.