Name: Heather
Message: I am using Royal Blue Procion MX dye but when I dyed some white fabric there were some splotches of red specks on it. They were randomly placed so that it could have been only one small area that had the red and I am wondering why this is happening?

I've seen a number of reports of this problem with mixed dye colors from some dye suppliers. When customers complained, they were told that the problem was their own fault, for not filtering their dye solutions before use. This seemed rather harsh to me, since they did not at the time include advice to filter dye solutions in their instructions. Now they do.

The problem always seems to be the result of including a bad batch of fuchsia (reactive red #11, or Procion red MX-8B). Mixed blues may contain red dots, while mixed yellows may contain orange dots. Bad batches of fuchsia are less soluble than they should be. You may be able to use your package of pre-mixed royal blue dye, if you mix very thoroughly by stirring, then leave it to rest for an hour or so, then stir thoroughly again, and finally strain it through some pantyhose material or a coffee filter, held in a strainer. Throw away any particles that do not dissolve. If you refrigerate your dye mixture to keep it a few days, return it to room temperature, and refilter if necessary, before using it. This filtering method usually works, but in some cases the red specks appear even after careful filtering of dye solutions.

Or, you may prefer to find a similar dye which does not contain the bad fuchsia. Some batches are better than others. You might try ordering a similar blue dye from Prochem, or Jacquard Products. Sometimes they may have the same problem, however. It is a common problem with fuchsia, especially old batches of fuchsia.

The best alternative is to use a blue that does not contain any fucshia at all. Either find a pure blue that is the color you need, or mix your own, using one of the common greenish blues plus a different red. I prefer red MX-5B (reactive red #2), which is called 'light red" by Dharma, "mixing red" by Prochem, and called "magenta" by Jacquard Products. It is very similar in color, but behaves better. See my chart of pure unmixed MX dye colors, which has names and catalog numbers for different pure MX types dyes from some of the bigger suppliers.

For a pure royal blue I recommend that you try using a double dose of the pure blue MX dye that is sold as "sky blue" by Dharma, as "basic blue" by ProChem, and as "medium blue" by Rupert, Gibbon, & Spyder. (Most other dye sellers will use one of these names.) Another very fine unmixed royal blue is Cibacron F or Sabracron F-GF Sabracron Intense Blue, which wa sold by ProChem until the manufacturer discontinued it; it's not the best color for mixing other colors, but it is the most beautiful rich bright deep royal blue dye I've seen.

[updated April 8, 2008]