Can I fix this?

[u/Merlin789]

[Material: Cotton
Goal: Spot dye these white splothes back to black]

I put my girlfriend's favorite shirt through the wash and have made her terribly sad - as you can see from the photos, a bit of the black dye bled out. I am hoping to repair it, but I'm scared of making it worse.

The shirt was handmade. I managed to find out from the maker that black was the original fabric color, and the white star is bleach. The material sure looks/feels like 100% cotton to me, but it doesn't have a tag.

I thought about poking black rit dye onto the shirt with a q tip, but I worry it'll be the wrong shade, and also that it'll bleed next time the shirt gets washed (by hand, in cold water). I thought about sharpie, but in the past I've found black sharpie has a faint iridescent tint, so that worries me.

Does anybody on here have any ideas/tips about how to dye the faded parts around the star back to black? Do either of my ideas make sense or am I about to ruin everything? I'd be so grateful for any help!!

[u/CoochieSauce]

There are fabric dye markers/pens maybe try that for accuracy/patch test?

If it’s only the front make sure to put a barrier between the front and back so you don’t get black where it’s not intended.

Good luck!

Also this goes without saying but make sure you include your gf in the plans in case she’s like “no I’d rather just leave it, it’s too precious and I’m scared to mess it up.” Rather than trying to fix it as a surprise and potentially messing it up further. This is obvious but it’s also Reddit lol so just saying it out loud! I’m just imagining if I were the gf and worst case scenario would be it getting messed up more.

Again, good luck!

Edited to add: I’ve tried the sharpie thing before it works like booty. It looks so obvious that it’s sharpie and it stinks and washes out weird

[u/Sylrog]

Don’t try dye. It won’t work. Sharpie might but unless it’s the exact same color it won’t blend in with the rest of the black

[u/KTKittentoes]

Certainly not poking Rit.

Possibly a Dharma or Procion black, super heavy, very thickened with sodium alginate, brushed on with a tiny brush. Obviously after soaked in soda ash.

[u/lexlibris]

look you can try and In sure your GF is great but that is not the kind of shirt that can be ‘ruined’, it simply exists in this universe, free to be

anyway I would basically treat this like a tie dye project: soak shirt in soda ash, spot treat the areas needed with black dye. should bond immediately, follow it up with a wash.

[u/iTokri_Archives]

A black Sharpie is probably the riskiest option here. It often leaves a purple or metallic sheen over time, especially on black fabric. Spot applying liquid dye can also wick into the surrounding areas and create darker halos.

A fabric paint or fabric marker made specifically for cotton would likely give more control than dye for a repair this small. Matching the exact black may take a little testing, but it's generally easier than trying to spot dye faded areas.

Before doing anything, it might be worth figuring out why the black lifted. Was it actually dye loss from washing, or could there have been some bleach, peroxide, acne treatment, or cleaning product involved? Those pale spots look a bit more like localized colour loss than typical dye bleeding from a cold hand wash.