Rit Dye will work, it's what I as well as many other users have used. The key is that the dye must be warm. Get the dye warm, and dip the canopy into it, keeping the dye moving all over the canopy so that it doesn't sit in any one place for a long time. Just kind of slosh it around for a few seconds, remove the canopy and rinse with cold water. Repeat until you get the darkness you desire. Use black liquid rit dye. Use most, if not all of the bottle in your pot of water.