Question for Dyeing Brown Wool Purple (For TDK Joker coat)

[Master Valon]

Here there RPF. I recently went in to a local thrift shop for some pieces for a Joker Halloween costume (originally the bank heist version) but ended up finding all the pieces needed for the main TDK Joker costume, for insane prices that I couldn't pass up. I got all the cloth pieces head to toe, and insanely close shoes, for $70. Only thing is, the overcoat, while perfect material/structure-wise, is brown wool. I've read/heard that I will have a tough time dyeing the brown "Joker" purple, as it's a medium brown (Seen here)




I understand that just submerging it in cold purple dye will result in a purplish brown. Far from ideal. So, I was wondering if a.) bleaching the wool lightly, to lighten the color as much as possible without completely ruining the fabric, before dyeing purple, would result in a nice hue, or failing that, I could b.) make an "acrylic wash" of sorts of acrylic purple paint and water and apply that? I know both of those methods sound pretty bad, but for the bleaching, I don't think it'd matter if the coat wasn't pristine, as it's obviously pretty heavily weathered on screen. And with the acrylic wash thing, I know it'd probably stiffen the material quite a bit, so I hope the bleach might do the trick. Again, it's just for Halloween, and I spent a grand total of $22 on the coat (super nice Ralph Lauren...thrift shops are awesome!), but I'd *really* like to not mess this up and get a nice plum purple, or close at least.

Also, I got the only vest they had, a patterned blue polyester one (I know, wrong material). So, I'd also like to know how to get that to be a hunter green like the movie vest? Here's what I have:




I have no idea how to change polyester. Maybe an acrylic wash...?

And for the record, here are the rest of the pieces.

Shirt (it photographed super white, but it's definitely blue. Light blue, maybe a tad lighter than the screen used, but not as bad as the pic)(obviously no pattern. I figured it's okay for a basic idea)




Shirt with tie (tie is actually a muted green, pretty good match to the movie. Dunno why it's straight up brown in the pic)



Grey blazer




Pants (yeah, solid, and yeah, black-but again....$70 total)




And, the most insane deal of the day. The shoes. Paid $3 for these.




Anyway, I'd love to know how to 1.) get that coat purple, as close to movie purple, anyhow, and 2.) get that vest hunter green (or close). After that, I can focus on details, like lining the coat and blazer with orange polyester, getting the gloves and chain, etc...Then, only really have makeup/prosthetics, wig, and hair dye! And maybe a FEW props, like cards, knives, etc. (Got the Glock covered, just need the extended mag).

 

[Risu]

Tomorrow night I'm going to do a test with that cheap purple spray fabric paint from Jo-Ann's on some wool. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Master Valon]

Sweet, man! How lucky for me, haha. I would really appreciate that.

 

[Risu]

Sorry, took longer than I expected to set up the test. So the stuff wasn't actually an aerosol, more like a squirt bottle. I freaked a little because getting paint on that thick is game over. But it ended up soaking in quite nicely. The problem was, it just made the brown darker. The purple really doesn't show up at all, even with a flash. The stuff is really just meant for white fabrics. Now, if you're feeling really bold and you have a big enough pot, you can boil the coat with Rit color remover (it only works at boiling point) to strip out all the color. A wool coat though, it's going to change big time. Size, texture, everything.

 

[Master Valon]

Hm...okay. I had already arrived at the Rit Color Remover idea, and actually just got some (and one bottle violet, one purple) today. I was gonna attempt it tomorrow, but according to what I found online, you can use the Remover in a hot laundry wash. If it needs to be boiled, I'm kinda screwed, but I don't think you need to. Just the hottest water that the fabric can handle. But, my plan is to use 2 packs of the color remover to lighten the coat as much as I can, then use 1 whole bottle of violet and one of purple, to make it as vibrant a purple as possible as it's already gonna be an uphill battle. I will post pics as I go along.

 

[Shendorion]

Is it just the picture, or is the brown relatively reddish? If so, blue dye over the existing color would be far gentler than stripping it first.

I've used the RIT color stripper with hot water that wasn't boiling (I just ran it to the edge of my tolerance for sticking my hands in,) and it works. It's really harsh, though. You might want to try other techniques first, as the stripper will just as easily strip whatever dye you add to the brown along with the brown if you don't like the result.

 

[Master Valon]

Hey! Sorry, I just saw this post. I actually was able to get it an okay color using the Remover and dye, and the material is still pretty good. The sleeves just shrunk a bit. I posted the pics on the RPF Facebook page, but I forgot to update here. I'm on break at work on my phone right now, but here's the coat post-dye, and my poor attempt at the makeup: