Dyeing a pair of cords - how to tell if stitching is polyester?

Question

I have dyed an item in the past and the stitching stayed the same colour. In this case it didn't bother me, but now I'm considering dyeing something and don#t want the stitching to say the same colour.

The only thought I've had is to find a loose piece of stitching and cut off a tiny bit, put it in bleach for 2 nights and see what happens. Assumption being if it bleaches easily it might be cotton. I have done this and it has gone from red to a orange, but not much of a change really.

The cords are by Ralph Lauren if that helps and the label says 100% cotton but i have seen this on other things where the stitching didn't dye.

Thanks in advance for any advice etc,

Regards

tHatDudeUK

mamahays · Accepted Answer

You'd be better off to find a small piece of the thread that's lose, cut it off and burn test it.

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That will give you some ideas how this works. Never tried to burn test thread before. But I would imagine it would work just fine.

Good luck! Sharon

tHatDudeUK · Answer

Thank you. Unfortunately looks like it's polyester, chemical smell and black beading. Will have to forget about dyeing them, oh well...

gabrielle · Answer

Lame...I hate that. I dyed a cream shirt for the SO that was labeled 100% cotton. Came out of the dye bath green with cream stitching. :P (Of course I re-stitched it all, I'm crazy that way I guess.)

I recall from your original post that the label on your cords also said

100% cotton. Anybody know how the manufacturers get away with that? Does it have to have a certain percentage by weight of a fiber for them to include on the label or what? (I am in the US, so whatever the problem is probably applies over here as well.)

gabrielle

mamahays · Answer

Sorry can't dye them the way you wanted.  :(  But glad I could help youfigure out what the thread was BEFORE you went through all the trouble ofdying.  ;)Sharon

Dyeing a pair of cords - how to tell if stitching is polyester?

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