Dying clothes?

[mom_to_zoe]

I volunteered to make a Halloween costume for my new nephew. I made my DD's costume last year when she was a bunny and am making her zebra costume this year. With DD's costumes, I use white onesie and tights as the base and add on from there. But notice how a bunny and a zebra are both white! My brother and SIL want me to make a lion costume for my nephew, so I am about to venture into the world of clothes-dying. I plan just to buy Rit dye at the craft store and follow their directions, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and could offer any tips.

[bunnybeth]

I only have a little bit of dyeing experience, but here's a couple of tips. Make sure the cloth to be dyed is all-natural, not a cotton/poly blend. Poly won't take the Rit dye very well. And, if you use a deeper color (tawny yellow/brown, I'm guessing) when you do the initial washing do not wash it in hot water. For some reason I did that with my red dyed cloth and it turned the most hideous shade of pink. (It was either the instructions said to use hot, or I read it wrong.)