Before you start...

• Check that your washing machine can heat to 90°C.
  • (If not, use Lady Dye COLD WATER dyes or dye manually)
• Remember, single and twin-tubs can NOT be used for hot water dyeing
• Check that your machine's drum rotates automatically during heating.
  • This is needed to ensure an even distribution of heat (and thus shading), and helps the dye to penetrate creases and folds.
  • If your machine's drum does not rotate automatically during heating, you will need to do this manually. To do this, interrupt the cycle periodically, and turn the switch to rotate. After a few rotations, resume the heating stage.

Follow the normal preliminaries...

• Prepare the fabric. Note that the fabric still needs to be wet & clean for washing-machine dyeing
• Make the dye solution. Note that you will NOT make a dye bath, you will only make the first-stage dye solution - the dye bath is created in your washing machine when the additional water is added in the normal wash cycle.
• Make up the salt solution

Dyeing the garment

• Strain the dye solution through a cloth into a jug
• Pour this into your washing machine drum
• Pour the salt solution into you washing machine drum
• Run through the longest and hottest cycle. Note - ensure you do NOT include a pre-wash in the cycle.
• When the cycle is complete, you can dry your fabric before fixing to confirm that you have achieved the desired shade.

Fixing the colour

• Once satisfied with the shade, you can fix the colour. Note - if you have dried the garment to check the shade, you will need to wet the article again.
• Re-programme your machine to wash at 40°C
• Add the wet fabric to the drum
• Dissolve the sachet of fixative in 250ml of warm water
• Add the fixative solution through the detergent chamber of the machine while the machine is running
• Run for 15 minutes
• Rinse and spin-dry