It is well recognized that the wicking of liquids in a textile fabric takes place mainly through a capillary system composed of the individual fibers. Considering typical dyeing stages, it is thought that a high dye uptake on the fabric probably depends on the wickability. Three kinds of barely water soluble ketones, acetophenone(A), 2-pentanone(2P) and 3-pentanone(3P) were separately dissolved in methanol(M) and then each was mixed with aqueous solution of C. I. Red Acid 114. Wicking heights of dyeing solutions were measured under such conditions that the effect of gravity was negligible. The result could be graphed as a series of straight lines having the form s = $kt^{1/2}$, where s was distance traveled by the solutions, t was time, and k was slope of the line. The surface tension(${gamma}$) of the ketones had more signifcant effect on the wickability compared to the viscosity(${eta}$) of them. The greater wickability resulted in the higher dye uptake on the fabric and the order of wickabilty was equal to that of the surface tension(${gamma}$) and dye uptake on the fabric, A>3P>2P>M.