Recipe for a basic flesh toned fabric using doe suede.

I use my washing machine for the process.  It has not seemed to cause any harm.  For good measure, however, when I am finished dyeing the fabric, I run a normal wash of clorox, detergent and water to get rid of any residue.

You will need one bottle liquid Rit Dye and 1/2 bottle liquid rose pink.  You will also need one full cup of salt to set the dye.

Fill your washer with hot water.  Before it begins to agitate pour the tan and rose dyes into the water and add the salt.  Close the lid and let it agitate for a couple minutes.   This will let the salt dissolve.  Then stop the cycle.  Add your fabric, easing it into the water.  It is a good idea not to dye more than two yards of fabric at a time. I have found that sometimes adding more fabric tends to create streaks in the fabric.  Also be sure the salt is dissolved completely, it will Ieave spots. ( I just ignore it, most of the time, the freckles and age spots that it creates, sometimes makes for a more interesting doll anyway. )

I use this method to dye white fabric, tan fabric, it makes for a more ruddy complexion, and the off white fabric that is not quite cream, but not white either.  I have also used it on the light brown and a gray doe suede and got some really great skin tones.

Be sure and let the wash cycle run, then stop it before the rinse cycle and set it again to wash.  It will take a good 20-30 minutes to get the dye into the fabric, simply because it is not a natural fiber.

I check my dye bath about every fifteen minutes, keep in mind that the skind tone will be one to two shades lighter than what you see before the fabric goes through the rinse cycle.

When you have gotten the desired effect, let the washer finish it's cycle and dry the fabric in the dryer on low heat. 

Experimenting is the key.  When I first started dyeing my own fabrics to get more realistic skin tones, I got out my color chart.

We all have one somewhere.  I found that I could even dye an olive green doe suede in this solution and have a great body fabric for my Gypsies and Belly Dancers.

Be adventuresome.  Use taupe instead of tan, and pink instead of rose pink sometimes.  Use light brown or khaki with rose pink for a deeper skin tone.  Use a camel brown with a rose pink solution.

You may even tone down the darker shades of doe suede by adding scarlet to it, for that wonderful cinnamon ethnic skin tone.

Practice, use just 1/4 yard of the fabric or smaller in bowls  in your sink until you get the color you want.  Be sure and write the proportions of each color you use on a scrap of paper.  That way when the fabric is dry, you can make your own color sample, and know how to achieve that same color again.  Just pin the scrap of paper to the fabric swatch.  By dyeing 1/4 yard, you will even have enough left over after cutting the swatch to make a doll.

Also do not be afraid to over dye.  If the tone is not quite right.

Just re-dye it.  I tend to get more rose than I like sometimes, so I just do it over in a tan dye bath.  If it is too tan, then....of course, I add more rose or pink. 

I also, and this is more likely for me, dye my fabric in 1 yard lenghts.  That way I can remove 1 yard at 15 minutes, another at  20  minutes, and so on.  I get a variety of colors, and though it is messy, the dye comes out of my hands after a couple days, and I really did not like the shirt I was wearing anyway.