how to FIX splotchy dye job on viscose?

[hejin]

I tried dyeing 4 yards of off-white viscose jersey with three tins of Dylon, because that's the only brand we have here. I wanted a vintagey, washed-out, dusty rose pink, so I used Elephant Grey, Rose of Paris (light pink), and Desert Dust (khaki-ish). I know it's an odd mix, but the colour turned out how I wanted it so that's great. Only problem is that it's now splotchy. I did everything wrong: used tepid water (my washing machine doesn't have a hot water mode and I only had one kettle of hot water!), added the dye AFTER the fabric is already in the water, and more or less neglected the fabric after that. I did use about a cup of salt.

I've now placed the fabric in a tub of hot water in the hopes that it will salvage the situation, but what can I do to fix the existing fabric? Is it advisable to strip the colour, or just dye it something idiot-proof like black? Thanks!

[ptarmic wumpus]

Splotchiness really can't be fixed. It will probably retain at least some splotchiness even if you overdye in a dark color. Personally, I would attempt to salvage it by making the splotchiness into a virtue - get more of any or all of the three dyes that you used. Rumple the fabric up into a ball and wrap string or yarn around it to hold it in that shape. Dye it in a darker bath of one of the dye colors. Untie it, see what it looks like, and optionally repeat with the other colors. That would give a sort of low-water immersion dye or tie-dye effect that coordinates with the color that your fabric is now.

If it happens to be cold-water dylon, you can do actual low-water immersion dyeing. http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/lowwaterimmersion.shtml