This document provides an overview of garment dyeing, including its definition, benefits, popularity, and basic processes. Some key points: - Garment dyeing involves dyeing fully assembled garments and provides benefits like quick response to fashion trends and improved inventory control. - It is defined as dyeing cut and sewn garments, knitted fabrics, woven fabrics, or mixed fabrics. - The popularity of garment dyeing is increasing globally due to its lower costs and faster production times compared to traditional fabric dyeing methods. - The basic process involves pretreating garments, dyeing them using direct or reactive dyes, washing to fix the dyes, and applying soften

1. Introduction
In the recent years, the garment dyeing has been slowly emerging as a process to
meet the ephemeral fashion trends adopted by the consumers and new machines
and methods have made this process to wear a brighter future for it. However, the
garment dyeing is not coming without any strings attached to its, the cautions are
often pronounced in terms of fabrics and their preparation, accessories used in the
garments for safe operation. Along with raw stockdyeing, yarn dyeing and piece
dyeing, garment dyeing has also taken its place as another form of dyeing textiles.
In the case of garment dyeing, the volume of popular and unpopular colours can be
increased or decreased as envisaged from the market requirements. [1]
Garment Dyeing
Garment dyeing may be defined [1] as the “application of colour to fully fashioned
apparel articles, may be in the form of garments cut and sewn either prepared or
unprepared knitted fabrics and then dyed, garments and / or components knitted
from either prepared or unprepared yarn and then dyed, garments manufactured
from either prepared or unprepared woven fabric and then dyed and mixed fabric
garments i.e. woven and knitted fabrics manufactured from prepared fabrics and
then dyed”. The benefits of processing good through garment dyeing procedure
revolve around quick responseand improved inventory control. Differentiation is
made between garment dyeing and hosiery dyeing where socks and ladies
stockings have been dyed in the prepared form . Garment dyeing is the obvious
way to meet the needs i.e. quick responseto fashion change, lead times have been
reduced to 4 to 5 days from 2 to 3 weeks as minimum with other processing
routes.[2]
Popularity of garments dyeing is increasing in France, Italy, Spain, Germany,
Canada, North America, Turkey, Israil, South Africa, JaPAN, USA and Uk etc.
The garments which are dyed in garments dyeing techniques are as follows:
•Active wear.
•Jeans item.

2. •Panty-hose.
•Shirt.
•Slacks.
•Terry items.
•Dresses.
•Leisurewear.
•Pullover.
•Skirt.
•Socks.
•Sweater. [3]
Advantages of the garment dyeing:
–Comparatively lower cost of production for any item of any color and
shade.
–Comparatively less time is required to produce and supply the garments.
–No possibility of shade variation with in the garments.
–Small lots of different item could be produced at lower cost with in the
less time.
–Old garments could be redyed, hence becomes look new garment.
–Desizing, scouring, bleaching, dyeing, and finishing could be done in the
same machine.
–Comparatively lower capital investment cost to set up a garment dyeing
project.
–In some cases, lower liquor ratio in garment dyeing requires lower water,
steam, and chemical consumption, hence lower garment dyeing cost.

3. –During fabric cutting approximately 15 % fabric is cut out as wastage, if
this 15 % fabric is cut out as grey fabric rather than colored fabric, then the
wastage cost will be saved. [2]
The disadvantage of garment dyeing include:
• Labour intensive process and requires thorough checking of every piece
• Higher “seconds” rate
• Poor appearance
• Poor reproducibility of shades
• Special care in the selection of fittings
• More material handling [1]
Precautions to be taken before garments dyeing:
–Garments design should be made from engineering point of view.
–If garment is made after Desizing, scouring and bleaching of grey fabrics
and then dyed in garments form, then the possibility of problems will be
reduced.
–If possible, garments should be made from the grey fabrics of the same lot
and same source.
–The seams should not be too tight or too loose especially in the areas
containing elastic like waistband, cuff etc which may create irregular dye
penetration resulting irregular dyeing.

4. –The garments which are produced from woven and knitted fabrics
combindly, the knit fabric should be preshrunk; otherwise seam pucker
may develop after garments dyeing.
–If the garment fabric is of mixed fibers, during garments dyeing, dye
selection should be done carefully, having equal dye pick up to avoid
irregular dyeing.
–Poor quality metals should not be used as accessories in the garments,
which may be damaged during dyeing by the action of salt and alkali. If
any metal component is used in the garment should be made from nickel
and its alloy.
–Sewing thread used for making the garments should be of same fiber like
the garment fabric, otherwise color difference may occur between the
garment fabric and sewing thread.
–Button used in the garment should be selected carefully. Button made
from casin, cellulose, nylon etc. may be damaged during garments dyeing
but PET button is saved in this respect.
–If elastic is used in the garments and the elastic is made from the natural
rubber or polyurethane fiber like Lycra may create problem during
garments dyeing. To avoid such problem dye should be selected tobe
copper free. During bleaching, polyurethane fibers may be damaged by the
chlorine. PET type electrometric fiber is Safe in per oxide bleaching.
-Interlining is used in the most garments. Only those interlinings should be
used in the garments to be dyed only recommended for the garment dyeing.
Otherwise the performance of interlining may be destroyed.
–The garments made from compactly woven cotton fabric should be dyed
with hot brand reactive dyes; otherwise problem of irregular dye
penetration may occur.
–For some specific color, if specific dyes are used then the dyeing cost will
be lower. For example, navy blue and black color could be produced in the
garments by using sulpher dyes at lower cost.
–Presence of mineral impurities in the cotton fibers may vary which may
impede the stability of the peroxide liquor during bleaching with hydrogen

5. peroxide; even insoluble compounds may form during hydrogen peroxide
bleaching. Those insoluble compounds may redeposit on the garments
fabric, special chemicals are available to avoid such problem.
–Crease marks may develop in the cotton garments during dyeing. To
avoid such problem, special chemicals like “Imacol brand” may be used.
[2]
Basic theory of garment dyeing:
•Depending on the wet fastness requirement of the fabrics, garments made
from the cotton grey fabric are mainly dyed with direct dyes and reactive
dyes. Forlow color fastness direct dyes are used and for high color fastness
reactive dyes are used for cotton garments dyeing. If the cotton garments
are dyed with reactive dyes then two types of reactive dyes are available in
the market, namely:
•Hot brand reactive dyes.
•Cold brand reactive dyes.
•Among those two brands of reactive dyes, hot brand reactive dyes are
commonly used for cotton garments dyeing. Because cotton garments
dyeing with hot brand dyes facilitates easier and quicker dyeing process
with reasonably good dyeing quality.
Basic principle of garments dyeing with hot brand reactive dyes:
•Cotton garments may be dyed with hot brand reactive dyes as per
following line diagram of basic dyeing principle:
•At first load hot water in the dye bath and add salt, lubricant, sequestering
agent and maintain liquor ph at 7. Then load garments in the dye bath and
start machine running. Raise the temperature of the dye bath to 80°c with in
30mins. After 5 mins at 80°c, add dye solution in the dye bath with in 15
mins time. Continue dyeing for 30 mins after dye addition in the liquor.
Then add alkali to the dye liquor slowly with in 15 mins. After alkali

6. addition, continue dyeing process for 30-60 mins. At the end reduce liquor
temperature to 70°c and then drop the liquor.
•After completion of dyeing, the garments are to be washed thoroughly at
40°c to 45°c for 5 mins to remove the unfixed dyes from the garments
fabric surface. Then drop the liquor, again wash the garments only with the
normal water for 5 mins to clean the garments again. At the end of the
dyeing cycle, softener may be applied on the garments to improve the
softness properties of the garments. [2]
Some techniques used for garments dying:
1.Dip dyeing
2.Spray dyeing
3.Over dyeing
4.Cold dyeing
5.Tie dyeing
Dip Dyeing: In garments dyeing, dip dyeing is becoming more popular day by day
as the fashion trend and customer demand. Due to cheap and easy process it is as
popular to the manufacturers. It is also as called gradient dyeing. It is the process,
the fully fashioned garments are arranged to dip into a dye bath (vessel, bucket,
bowl etc) accordingly a pre-determined area or height. This process runs again and
again. According to demand, garments are to be soaked into dye bath up to a
certain limit for enough time. To dye up the garment as deeper shade to light shade

7. from bottom to top the gradient time will be maintained for certain area of the
garment.
Processflowchartfor DIP Dyeing
 Scouring (80°C)
 Neutralization (With Acetic Acid)
 Enzyme (At 45°C Temp and PH-4.5-5.5)
 Dyeing (90°C Temp for 3-5 Minutes)
 After Treatment (Fixing Agent)
 Softener (Commercial Softening Agent)
Normally garment dyeing runs with two types dyestuffs available in the market.
1. Direct Dyes
2. Reactive Dyes
a) Hot Brad
b) Cold Brand
For dip dyeing we use direct dye though it has low color fastness property,
moreover it takes less time for color fixation

8. NecessaryItems:
 Dye Bath ( Vessel, bucket, bowl or any other container)
 Hanger
 Washing Machine
 Stirrer
 Rubbergloves
Pretreatment: As the fabric is not ready for dyeing after making cloths, it is treated
with caustic sodaand peroxide solution to perform pretreatment process which
helps to make it more absorbent and free from natural color as well as other
impurities.
Recipe:
 Caustic Soda(NaOH)-2gm/l
 Per-Oxide (H2O2)-4gm/l
 Detergent-1gm/l
 Temp-80°C
 Time-15min
Working Procedure: A lot of garments are now taken into the dyeing machine for
easy performing the pretreatment process (Goodto know that, scouring, dyeing or
any normal wash can also be done into a washing machine). Now add Caustic
Soda, Hydrogen peroxide and Detergents according to the above recipe. Now
maintain the liquor ratio at 1:10 at 80°C. Now perform this treatment for 15
minutes. Well scoured garments are treated as more absorbent, where color
permanency will be high. In this process the garments are to be more absorbent,
removing the natural or unwanted colors to make genuine white, oils as well as
other impurities. Good scouring plays an important role during dyeing, color
fastness and appearance. The whole materials are now subjected to rinse wash to
remove the caustic and other chemicals. Now the garments are neutralized with
Acetic Acid so that any of the caustic sodadoes not exist with the material. The PH
of Acetic acid should be kept into 4.5 to 5.

9. Note: If the garments are made with zipper of cottontape frequently be torn during
the scouring process, so nylon or polyester tape is recommended to use here.
Enzyme: After scouring process the full quantity of garment needs to treat with
enzyme which will help to remove the hairiness and projectile fibers as well as
make the garments ready for dyeing. You can use Acid enzyme as 2gm/l at 45-
55°C for 15 minutes. After enzymatic treatment one or two rinse wash to be done
for washing it properly. (PH during enzymatic treatment keeps in 4.5 to 5)
Over Dyeing in Garments: When a fully fashioned garment is dyed for another
color though it can be used as wearing dress, this technique is so called over
dyeing. Usually coloration is performed over a consisting color on to a garment is
referred as garments over dyeing. As an example when a purple colored fully ready
garments are supposed to be subjected for red color it may call as over dyeing.
There is a common conceptamong the garments trade peoples, when a garment is
dyed with its whole area is known as garments dyeing but when color imparts fully
or partially over garments can be defined as garments over dyeing, because it could
be used as wearing dress before this coloration. In garments dyeing normally two
types of dyestuffs are used such as Direct Dye and Reactive Dye. The garments
which are required to dye up should be made of cottonfiber though many of them
are now produced with combination of other fibers as blends. Dyeing procedureof
over dyeing is as like as other normal dyeing arrangements but here some extra
precautions and care must be taken. At present the garments washing plants are
capable to make the garments over dyeing. If the garments which are white in color
and can use as dress are subjected for dyeing is also known as over dyeing.
Garments Tie Dyeing: Tie means make a knot to garments different places as if
they cannot come in contactwith dyes or chemicals during dyeing. It is as like as
batik printing method. A garment is tied at different places prior to dyeing; as a
result whole garments will be colorful remaining the tied places un-dyed. Indeed
this technique is known as garments tie dyeing and now is becoming so popular in
the world garments trade. [3]

10. Instructions
1. Wash Fabric and leave damp
2. Prepare fabric as per instructions for the selected Tie-dye method below
3. Using rubber gloves, dissolve dye in 500ml warm water
4. Fill bowl/sink with approx.6litres warm water (40 degrees Celsius)
5. Stir in 250g (4tbsp)salt. Add dye & stir well
6. Submerge fabric in water
7. Stir for 15 minutes, then regularly for 45 minutes
8. Without untying fabric, rinse in cold water until water runs clear, then untie and
wash in warm water
9. Dry away from direct heat & sunlight
10. Wash separately for first few washes to remove any excess dye
Tie dying is really a simple process:
 First, wash and spin out the white item to be dyed (make sure it's a natural fiber product like
100% cotton, hemp or rayon. Not polyester!).
 Next, soak it in a soda ash solution for 30 minutes or until fully saturated (1 cup to 1 gallon
water). Then, ring out excess chemical water or turn the water off on your washing maching
and spin out excess soda ash water.
 Tie it up any way you like using rubber bands, string, etc. (design ideas can be found in tie
dye books, DVD's and on the internet)
 Then dye it with Procion MX dyes (info on mixing dye and the ratio of how much dye to water
is available on the Dharma Trading web site)
 Once item is saturated with dye wrap in plastic or set on table to cure for 24 hours (make
sure it stays wet so the dye can react to the fabric).
 Unwrap, rinse in cold water and wash in Synthrapol soap 3 times to remove excess dye. Dry
in a dryer or hang to dry.
Tie-Dye methods:
CIRCLES
• Pinch centre of fabric and pull up into a coneshape
• Using string or elastic bands, tie at intervals from the top down
• Follow dyeing method – to use more than one colour follow the bottle method.
• Place fabric flat on covered surface. Pinch up centre and twist into a spiral
• Secure shape with 2 elastic bands, forming 4 sections
• Prepare dye solution and follow instructions

11. STRIPES
• Lay fabric flat
•From wide edge, fold into concertina pleats to form a thin strip
• Bind tightly at regular intervals with strings or elastic bands
• Follow dyeing method
TYING
• Tie grains of rice, buttons or stones into fabric at random, binding tightly with
string or elastic bands
• Follow dyeing method
MARBLING
• Crush dry fabric to form a ball and bind with string or elastic bands
• Follow dyeing method
• A second colour may be added by untying material, crushing into another ball
and placing in a second colour dye solution
PEGGING
• Fold fabric in concertina pleats to form a long thin strip
• Clip bulldog clips at intervals along strip, either straight or at angles
SEWING
• Mark out design onto fabric
• Using strong thread, follow design with small running stitches (starting in the
centre of spirals). Pull thread tightly to gather fabric and tie off (alternatively, use a
large safety pin to weave in and out of the fabric, following the drawn line. Gather
fabric tightly into pin)
• Follow dyeing method
• After rinsing, leave fabric to dry completely before unpicking stitches and
washing off
RUCHING

12. • Take piece of cord twice the length of fabric. Different thicknesses give
variations in size of pattern
• Tie end of cord together in a knot and place it along edge of dry fabric.
• Roll fabric around it, with the knot protruding from one end
• Pass the knotted end through the looped end and pull tightly to ruche the fabric
• Tie a knot in cord to hold fabric firmly in place
• Follow dyeing method
SPIRAL (for use with the bottle method)
ollow instructions
Spray Dyeing
This one's easy, but ingenious. (I got it from a bookby Sulfiati Harris: see my
Dyeing and Fabric Painting Books page. She has a number of unique projects that
are well worth the price of the book.)Put the same dye solutions into spray bottles
(Dharma sells some good ones), then either wrinkle or pleat the material, or place
objects on top of it, before spraying the dye. The dye mostly stays on the surface,
like printed material, but the occasionaldrip will soak through, so, if you're
working with a garment rather than unsewn fabric, you may wish to pin a piece of
a clean garbage bag between the front and the back of the garment.

13. COLD DYEING :
Reactive dyes are a class of highly coloured organic substances, primarily used for
tinting textiles, that attach themselves to their substrates by a chemical reaction that
forms a covalent bond between the molecule of dye and that of the fibre. The
dyestuff thus becomes a part of the fibre and is much less likely to be removed by
washing than are dyestuffs that adhere by adsorption.
The first fibre reactive dyes were designed for cellulose fibres, and they are still
used mostly in this way. There are also commercially available fibre reactive dyes
for protein and polyamide fibres. In theory, fibre reactive dyes have been
developed for other fibres, but these are not yet practical commercially. The dyes
contain a reactive group that, when applied to a fibre in a weakly alkaline dyebath,
form a chemical bond with the fibre. Reactive dyes can also be used to dye wool
and nylon, in the latter case they are applied under weakly acidic conditions.
The most important characteristic of reactive dyes is the formation of covalent
bonds with the substrate to be coloured, i.e. the dye forms a chemical bond with
cellulose, which is the main componentof cottonfibers.

14. Fiber reactive dyes are the most permanent of all dye types. Unlike other dyes, it
actually forms a covalent bond with the cellulose or protein molecule. Once the
bond is formed, what you have is one molecule, as the dye molecule has become
an actual part of the cellulose fiber molecule. No wonder you can safely wash a
garment that has been dyed in bright fiber reactive colours with white clothing, a
hundred times, without endangering the whites in the least - even if it is all
different bright colours, or even solid black! In contrast to all other dyes the
reactive dyes bind chemically to the textile fibres, significantly improving the
product's colourstability and washability. Thus reactive dying of cottonis
currently the most widespread textile dying process in the world.
Conclusion
Though the garment dyeing was started in those days, as a means to hide the shade
variations in the garments, by the dry cleaners, the process has gone through a long
way to establish itself as a viable one. In earlier 1980s, the efforts made to make
the garment dyeing through scientific approaches, today, have resulted in many
takers in this area, to react instantaneously to the market demands. The problems
faced in dyeing of fabrics in terms of economy of operations and other costfactors
can be, largely, optimized and reduced in the garment dyeing. At the surface level,
the garment dyeing appears to be very much attractive nevertheless stringent
conditions are essential while making the garments to address the problems related
to the seams, closures, interlining and the pleated areas.[1]

15. REFERENCES:
1. http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/textile-industry-
articles/dyeing-of-garments/dyeing-of-garments1.asp
2. http://textilecollection.blogspot.com/2012/02/garments-dyeing.html
3. http://textileaid.blogspot.com/2013/12/dip-dyeing-is-becoming-more-
popular-in.html
4. Step 1:Wash fabric
5. Wash fabric to remove any sizing or oils on the fabric that may interfere with the dye.
6. We include this instruction because it is a long standing recommendation in fabric dyeing.Unless you are
concerned about the fitness of the fabric or tie dye, you don’t need to bother washing the fabric first.
7. Step 2: Prepare fixer water
8. In a plastic bucket, or other suitable container, mix ¾ cup dye fixer per gallon of warm
water. Expand recipe as needed.
9. Dye fixer is a chemical called sodium carbonate or soda ash. Wear gloves to keep it from
irritating your skin and avoid splashing it into eyes to avoid irritation and burning; treat it
as you would a strong soap.
10. Step 3: Soak Fabric
11. Soak the material to be dyed in the dye fixer solution. Let the fabric soak in the solution
for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the fabric is completely saturated. You can reuse the fixer
water and treat several batches of fabric in the same mixture.
12. Step 4: Fold, Twist or Tie
13. Wring out excess fixer water back into the fixer water bucket. Place the “fixed” fabric on
dyeing surface and fold, twist or tie it into the pattern you want to dye. You can find
instructions on common designs later in this guide. The dye spreads on the fabric in
different ways depending on how wet the fabric is with fixer water. Wetter fabric causes
the dye to flow out into fabric in more feathery or marbled patterns. Dryer fabric yields
cleaner lines and less spreading. Different dye patterns look better with different fixer
wetness levels in the fabric. For example, marble patterns look better when starting with a
wetter shirt, and striped patterns look better on dryer shirts.
14. Step 5: Prepare Chemical Water for dyes
15. Chemical water consists of Urea, Ludigol and optionally Water Softener. The recipe for
Chemical Water is ¾ cup urea, 2 teaspoons ludigol, and an optional 1 teaspoon water
softener for every 1 quart of warm water. This will be the “Chemical water” you will mix
your dye powders with to make your dye colors. If you do not have the chemicals for
chemical water, you will mix the dye powders with plain warm water. Expand recipe as
needed.
16. Step 6: Mix dye colors
17. In this stage, you are not making big buckets full of dye. You will be mixing dye powder
with “chemical water” or plain warm water in cups, bottles, or other containers in small,

16. concentrated batches. You can control the shade of the colors you mix by using different
quantities of dye in your concentrated dye solutions. For bright, strong colors, mix 4 to 6
teaspoons dye powder per cup of chemical water. For medium shades, mix 2 to 4
teaspoons dye powder per cup of chemical water. For light or pastel shades, mix ¼ to 2
teaspoons of dye powder per cup of chemical water. Stir dye well to dissolve dye powder
completely.
18. Step 7: Apply the dye
19. With fabric on dyeing surface, apply dye to fabric by squirting dye onto the fabric with a
pipette, squeeze bottle, or other dye application tool. Most dyeing patterns call for
saturating the fabric with dye. The mistake most beginners make is to not squirt enough
dye into the fabric. Apply all the different colors at this time. Flip the fabric over and
apply dye to both sides of the fabric, saturating each side of the fabric.
20. Step 8: After you dye
21. After you are done dyeing the fabric, leave it alone. Do not untie it. Do not hang it up to
dry. Leave it tied up, and leave it alone. Let the fabric sit for 2-24 hours. The longer you
can let the fabric sit, the easier it will be to wash out loose dye from the fabric. The length
of time you let the fabric sit is not overly critical. If you are in a hurry, let the fabric sit
for as long as your deadline will allow.
22. Step 9: Wash loose dye from fabric
23. Wear gloves while handling the fabric, as the dye will still stain your hands until after it
has been washed. Place fabric under cold running water and rinse until no more dye
comes out of the fabric. We always say “rinse until you’re sick of rinsing.” A lot of loose
dye will wash out off the fabric. This is normal. The wash water may turn black or
brown, and the fabric may look discolored with ’dirty’ dye. This is normal as well.” After
rinsing, move to washing machine. You may wash several pieces at once, up to a full
load, even if washing different colors. From this point, you can continue with or without
Synthrapol SP Detergent. The best and easiest way to wash out loose dye is with
Synthrapol SP Detergent. Synthrapol SP is a very concentrated and sudsy detergent - a
little goes a long way. If you have a front loading washing machine, do not use
Synthrapol SP as it is too sudsy. Front loading or low water washing machines tend to not
wash out loose dye well, because they do not have enough water to dilute the dye and
carry it away.
24. With Synthrapol SP: Put your dyed shirts directly into a top loading washing machine,
adding Synthrapol SP detergent. On the first washing, use cold water. Use 1-2 tbsp of
Synthrapol SP if you have washed most of the loose dye out by hand, and up to ¼ cup of
Synthrapol SP for heavily dyed loads. The more dye you are attempting to wash out, the
more Synthrapol SP you will use. Use warm or hot water on subsequent washings. Add
smaller amounts of Synthrapol SP Detergent on each additional washing. Wash fabric as
many times as you need you’ve washed out all the loose dye and the water in the rinse
cycle is clear.
25. Without Synthrapol SP: If you do not have Synthrapol SP Detergent, use regular
laundry soap in amounts for a normal wash load. Wash fabric as many times as you need
to until you've washed out all the loose dye and the water in the rinse cycle is clear.
26. You are finished!

17. 27. Highcost of processing
28. A little complicateddyeing
Poorreproducibilityof shades
• Poorappearance
–Comparatively lower cost of production for any item of any color and shade.
–Comparatively less time is required to produce and supply the garments.
–No possibility of shade variation with in the garments.
–Small lots of different item could be produced at lower cost with in the less
time.
–Old garments could be redyed, hence becomes look new garment.
–Desizing, scouring, bleaching, dyeing, and finishing could be done in the same
machine.
–Comparatively lower capital investment cost to set up a garment dyeing project.
–In some cases, lower liquor ratio in garment dyeing requires lower water, steam,
and chemical consumption, hence lower garment dyeing cost.
–During fabric cutting approximately 15 % fabric is cut out as wastage, if this 15
% fabric is cut out as grey fabric rather than colored fabric, then the wastage cost
will be saved.