Question about when to dye

G'day JPBill

You will get different effects from what I've found when dyeing clothing. For instance...I dyed a bra some years ago and discovered that poly thread had been used in the construction and also in the embroidery on the cups, this thread didn't take as much dye and ended up being a lighter shade, in that case a nice effect.

As you are making the shirts you have the choice of using cotton thread...buttons take dye in different ways too. If you are looking for interesting effects I think I'd make first....then dye.

Personally I prefer hot water dyes and have used them quite a number of times in the washing machine...just make sure you do a 'full' wash WITH bleach after the dyeing process has been completed, otherwise everything you wash for the next week will have varying degrees of the remaining dye.

Of course, you can always use natural dyes, some of these sound really interesting and give lots of beautiful colours. A google search would give best results.

D> I plan to make some men's shirts of some hemp and hemp/cotton blend

It is usually always better to dye material before making a garment rather than other way around. Trying to dye garments usually results in some uneven taking as thread and even different thickness of materials (as in hems) will usually take colour differently than main garment parts.

Not really required to dye all the entire length of material at one go. Cut off what you need to make a shirt or two, and remember to allow some excess for shrinkage.

Candide