Message: Hello Paula, Firstly thankyou so much for your site... It is fantastic... I like the sounds of the Procion MX dyes you speak of... I think I will order them thru Dharma Trading... I have a question about mixing. I hope you can help me... I want to just buy the basic colours & mix myself... but I am confused.... I want to make Strong, Dark & Rich colours (I hate pastels)... I want to make a Dark Turquiose/Teal, Dark Maroon/Red, & Dark Purple.... I love really dense rich colours... What would be the best colours for me to buy in order to make these colours... From the dharma website I was thinking of a CLEAR YELLOW (PR3A), a ROYAL BLUE (PR95) & a FIRE RED (PR10)... Do you think these 3 colours will give me my desired colours? Can I use a black to make my colours darker or not? I look forward to hearing from you & welcome any advice you can offer.... Thanking you for your time...

I'm a great fan of pure unmixed colors to use as primaries. I think you get brighter colors that way, and you can always tone your colors down by adding the complementary color (e.g., red to green) when you want something less bright. This means that I do not favor Dharma's Royal Blue PR95, Fire Red PR10, or Clear Yellow PR3A for mixing, though they are fine colors to get in addition to your mixing primaries. They are each mixtures of two or more other colors.

Take a look at my page of "Which Procion MX colors are pure, and which mixtures?". Dharma's names are listed for their pure colors in the first vendor column. All of their colors that are not listed on that page are mixtures, with the exception of their new PR130 Strong Navy.

Most people use turquoise as a mixing primary, but cerulean blue (blue MX-G) is equally good for mixing, for somewhat deeper colors. It is expensive but definitely worth it. I am sure that you want it. You should also, in addition, get a navy blue, either their new PR130 Strong Navy or the old cobalt blue, PR22, which is blue MX-2G. You can add these when you want a darker and richer, but less bright, color.

I do not recommend using black to tone colors if you want deep, rich colors. Adding a black dye mixture will tend to make your colors grayer, and less rich. That does not sound to me like what you are looking for. I certainly do recommend that you buy a black premixed dye, but that you not rely on it much for making your colors darker. Instead, use more dye, or dye the same piece of fabric two or three times.

You can make an excellent dark purple by mixing a navy blue dye with either cerulean blue or turquoise, plus a bluish red such as red MX-8B (fuchsia) or red MX-5B (light red).

For mixing purposes, you must get a bright bluish red. I recommend that you get the color Dharma calls light red, which is red MX-5B. The only good alternative is red MX-8B, fuchsia, which is widely favored for this use. All less bluish reds are mixtures of a bluish red with either a yellow or an orange dye, and therefore not as suitable for mixing purposes. You should also get some orange MX-2R for mixing with your bluish red to get a true red.

If you get any yellow besides yellow MX-8G, your greens will be more olive toned and less emerald. (Yellow MX-6G nd yellow MX-4G, from other vendors, are also good.) If you want to mix any rich bluish greens, you will need this very bright clear yellow, which Dharma calls lemon yellow.

I love fabric to have MORE dye color, so I always use a lot of dye powder. If you do this, you will love the richness of any of the pure unmixed colors. Some of the colors Dharma sells are diluted with a neutral powder in order to make it easier to dye pastels; they are excellent for some purposes, but they are not the colors for you.

Since you are located in Australia, be sure to compare Dharma's prices, after you include shipping charges, to the prices at Batik Oetoro or Kraftkolour. Their prices for dye are significantly higher, but the cost of shipping to your location will be much less. They sell Procion MX dyes in the same basic colors. Though they do not sell nearly as many of the premixed colors, they do sell the colors you need most.

U R a Gem... thankyou so much for all your information. Yes I have compared the Australia prices with Dharma... Dharma will ship the dyes by the normal postal system now which makes it a lot cheaper than the shipping price on line.... To order 4lbs they are charging $30 USD... which is just great... but U can only do this over the phone not online... so yes using the postal system it works out cheaper to buy from Dharmas then buying in AUSTRALIA... Thanks so much for all your recommendations... I get it.. & I shall order soon...