Name: meredith

Message: ok I am a total tye dye virgin.

Very simple, probably stupid question....

When I start out with the three colors (magenta, yellow, turk) and want to make additional colors do I mix the LIQUID dyes or do i mix them as powders?  If as powder, how do I know how much to use?

I was going to prepare the 3 colors and them just squirt appropriate amounts into the additional squeeze bottles. 

It's not a stupid question. The answer is that you can do it either way, but I think it's easier to mix the liquids, after you dissolve the dye powder. It's especially easy if you have extra plastic bottles (look for these in a beauty supplies store, or order them from  a dye supplier).

To get green, mix yellow and turquoise. I like to use twice as much turquoise as yellow, but it's obviously a matter of personal taste, and you can use different proportions to produce different shades of green. To get a true blue, mix a small amount of fuchsia with a large amount of turquoise. To get purple, mix equal amounts fuchsia and turquoise. For a true red, use just a little bit of yellow with a lot of fuchsia.

Here's some more information about color mixing which you can ignore for now, but you might want to know for next time:

If you really get into this dyeing, you can order additional colors. You'll probably want to try black next to your bright colors, because it really makes them pop out by contrast. Some of the hundred different colors of Procion MX dye sold at PRO Chemical & Dye or Dharma Trading Company are premixed; about fifteen of them are actually unique unmixed colors, with slightly different properties from other dyes of the same color. I have a list of which they are, if you're interested.

When you mix fuchsia and yellow to get a true red, you'll notice yellow halos around the edges; this look great in tie-dye, but if you want to avoid it for some reason, you can buy a true orange and mix it with light red or mixing red to get a true red with no haloing at all. Same thing with purple, which often gets blue halos at the edges if you mix it from turquoise and fuchsia; you can use a true single-hue purple, called "grape" by most dye suppliers, that won't separate out at all, and looks great in mixtures, as well.

Be sure to use only 100% cotton or rayon or other natural fiber for your tie-dyeing. Don't get stain-resistant shirts, because they resist dye as well as they do stains. Don't use the Rit tie-dye kit, because it contains all-purpose dyes which give poor results; almost any other brand of tie-dye kit will be excellent, though.

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