Muslin cloths are usually made of cotton. Normally cotton itself can be dyed well, but the results with hydrophilic cloths are variable. With some hydrophilic cloths it works well, with others not.

These varying results have to do with the processing that the substance receives to obtain the hydrophilic character in the substance. On the one hand, the cloths must be able to absorb a lot of moisture, and at the same time they must not allow “dirt” to adhere to the fibers. These properties can make it difficult to dye the cloths.

The most common complaints are the long release of the color, sometimes after 5 or 6 washes at 90 degrees. In other cases, we hear from customers that, for example, the purple and rosette tones such as lilacs and cyclamen pink color well and yellows don’t.

If you are considering dyeing your muslin cloths, you would do well to test it with a single cloth first. If you wash a small piece of white fabric after dyeing, you can see if and for how long the cloth will continue to release.

We certainly do not want to discourage the dyeing of hydrophilic cloths, in many cases it works fine. It is good to take into account a less good result.