Non-wool lovat blue hose?

[Tobus]

So, after seeing this thread:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...lt-hose-71512/

That AKScott linked to here:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...91#post1382491

I'm wondering: is there anywhere you can buy cable-knit (or at least strongly-patterned) hose in lovat blue which are not made with wool? Or is there a good recipe for dying acrylic or cotton hose to the right color?

Surely there are sources for non-wool hose in Lovat blue. I don't know where that would be, but still...

I had decent luck years ago in dyeing a pair of cheap synthetic off-white hose to what would be considered a Lovat green colour. To get to that lighter green colour, I had to use a dark green dye. Synthetic hose are basically made from petroleum-based products (aka plastics), and they don't absorb dye like a natural fiber. But the dye will stain the surface enough that some of it won't wash off. The key here is that most of the colour will wash off, and what remains is a lighter hue. If your goal is a medium blue, I'd start with a dark blue Rit dye, letting it soak for plenty of time and with enough agitation to work it into the weave. Then wash with cold water, heat dry it, and repeat the wash/dry cycle a few times. It will continue to bleed colour for a bit until it stabilises. And even after that, you may end up with some slight colour bleeding onto your feet when you wear them for a full day.

As an example, these are my light green synthetic hose that I used a dark green dye on.