Should I be worried about...

lovetruly06

 Using normal fabric dye for napkins??? I'm kinda having my own version of sticker shock when it comes to napkins, i mean really come on it's just cloth square.

 However, as a fashion student I have an endless supply of muslin on hand and with all the coupons I get for jo-ann I can always buy some at discount. And we have a rolled hem machine at school. And while it might be more time consuming for me it would be sooo much less money to make my own napkins.

 My question is should I be worried about using RIT dye for them since people will be suing these to wipe their faces?? Or should I try food coloring instead?

 I know it seems kinda silly since its for dying cloth and wearing it but it some how to me seems bad to use it by your face.

MMRoberts11

My first guess would be to try out food coloring since I know RIT dye can bleed but I feel there is something even better out there, though I'm not sure what.

rcj2rcd

Are you buying or renting the napkins? It might cost as much to rent as to make. RIT has never worked for me. It always comes out the wrong color, bleeds, or both.

Sue-n-Kevin

I"m like you, I think it's ridiculous what vendors get for cloth napkins. However, based on my caterer's quote, I'm only paying 60 cents each for rental. Should they be less? Sure. But considering the amount of trouble you will go to, it doesn't seem like it's worth it to do yourself.

However, to answer your question, I would definitely trust Rit Dye, I've used it many times for things, but never for something people are putting to their face. If you have access to a washing machine, you will be dying them in that, (run it through one time afterward with nothing in it so any residual dye is washed out), then washing them afterward. I think it matters what your fabric is made out of, as some fabrics (non-natural, man made) take color differently than cotton. The issue then becomes whether the color you get in the end is exactly what you want. Color fades, and I would recommend washing them at least twice after you dye them to make sure all the color is out. Then dry them and press them.

Good luck.

matuofm

First, I would make absolutely sure that you're getting 100% cotton muslin, and not a polyester/cotton blend.  Polyester's almost impossible to dye well, and it'll make your job that much harder. 

Second, rather than RIT, I would invest in a good-quality fiber-reactive dye (I like the ones sold by dharmatrading.com and have had great results with them).  Because they require the use of some other chemicals (like soda ash and calsolene oil) it could get slightly more pricey than RIT, but I've had too many tie-dye t-shirts dyed with RIT crap out on me to go back. 

Fiber-reactives are available in a million colors, are relatively inexpensive, and I've never had the slightest bit of dye loss from them after the initial wash, even after intense sweating and/or rubbing.  They're specifically formulated for use on vegetable fibers.  RIT, on the other hand, is forumulated to be able to work on both animal and plant fibers, but it ends up doing neither amazingly well.  Just my two cents, of course.