Temporary dyes for marking embroidery designs

Name: Hana

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Country or region: London, UK

Message: I've got a rather peculiar problem I'm struggling to find a solution to. Came across this website and it seams to be the place to come with 'dye' issues...

I'm looking for a temporary fabric dye (ideally spray) to use in embroidery. Is there such a thing?
This would be used while embroidering a fabric with a thread of the same colour. It is often difficult to see what you doing and it would be very helpful to be able to dye the fabric while working on it and then wash the dye out once finished. I have tried turmeric but it doesn't wash out clean.

Have you got any suggestions?

Yes, there are temporary dyes used for marking embroidery patterns. There are several types. All are far superior to turmeric for this purpose, since turmeric is a direct natural dye that bonds fairly well without mordanting to both animal fibers such as silk and wool, and to plant fibers such as cotton. Turmeric is highly susceptible to light fading, so it does not make a good permanent clothing dye, but its color will certainly last long enough to interfere with washing it out.

All of the inks most commonly used for marking embroidery patterns are available in only one or two colors, and are typically available only in the form of marking pens. Your local sewing supplies store should carry a variety of these products. These are the most popular types:

The first type fades in the air, so it's very useful only for work that will be completed soon after the transfer. The actual fading requires moisture; fading occurs more quickly under humid conditions, and instantly upon wetting the markings with water. The markings fade even more quickly on thin fabrics than on heavier fabrics; reportedly the markings may last as little as five minutes on some fine silk fabrics. Examples include the purple Collins Vanishing Fabric Marker (see it at Dharma), or the Dritz Disappearing Ink Marking Pen.

Another type of marker sold for use in embroidery washes out quickly in water. Examples include the Washable Wonder markers (see Dharma) and the Jacquard Auto Fade Pen. The latter brand washes out even if it has been subjected to high heat, used to set other dyes or fabric paints, and is safe to use even on silk (see Dharma). Silk is a fiber that is able to bond to many different types of dyes, so it's more difficult to be certain that a specific type will wash out of silk than cotton.

A third type, the iron-on transfer pencil or marker, is based upon the disperse dyes used to color polyester and other synthetic fibers. Since disperse dyes do not bond to natural fibers, these markings will wash out if they are used on 100% cotton or other 100% natural fibers. However, these dyes are permanent on fabric that has a significant synthetic fiber component, such a polyester or acrylic, and there is a possibility that they will cause some staining even on natural fiber. The huge advantage of this type of dye, when used on cotton, is that you can trace over published designs, or make your own designs, and then iron them on to the fabric. You can even buy ready-made embroidery transfers in various colors that are made using this idea. The easiest and cheapest way to buy disperse dye, for making your own iron-ons, is to buy Crayola Fabric Crayons, or another brand listed as "transfer crayons" or "transfer markers"; for temporary use on 100% cotton, check to make sure that the label tells you that permanent use requires that the fabric contain at least 50% of a synthetic fiber such as polyester.

All of these temporary inks are most widely available in the form of marking pens. For large areas, you say you'd like to be able to use it in the form of a spray. You can find instructions online on how to make your own disappearing ink by dissolving the chemical thymolphthalein in water and adjusting its pH to 10 or 11 (see Steve Spangler Science) , or, as that site points out, you can go to a toy store and simply buy cheap bottles of disappearing ink.

Your description makes it sound as though none of these disappearing inks quite suit your needs, though, since they each come in only one or two colors. If you want to paint each of the different colors of your design in the same color as the embroidery floss that you plan to use, you will need a wide variety of colors. An easy to find type is the sort of washable marking pen marketed for children's drawings on paper, but it can be relied upon to be temporary only on cotton; when used on silk, these markings may, rarely, become permanent. I would be afraid to trust them on silk.

It's best to keep the washable marker colors on the fabric for as short a time as possible, preferably only a few days or weeks, instead of starting a project, setting it aside for a year, and then expecting the inks to wash out as well as ever; though it will probably work fine, well-aged marker designs may not be quite as reliable for washing out completely. These markers will not disappear without washing, as in the first type of embroidery marker I listed above; instead they must be rinsed out with water, so they are suitable only when you are using washable, colorfast embroidery floss. They may be just what you are looking for, from your description. You can buy them with fine points for detail work, or broad-tipped markers for covering large areas quickly.

Incidentally, I have heard of a few sad cases in which the supposedly permanent color in embroidery thread turned out not to be washfast, and bled onto the background when washed. Always test a bit of each color of your embroidery threads before you start on a project! If your embroidery floss has been improperly colored with dyes that tend to run, the best thing to do is to look for another supplier, or you can wash the floss in hot water until all excess dye is removed. If the dye in your floss still runs after washing, you can treat it with a commercial dye fixative such as Retayne. All washing and dye-fixing should be done before use, with each of the different colors separated; once the embroidery has been completed, it is impossible to satisfactorily stop improperly applied dyes in the embroidery thread from bleeding.

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Posted: Tuesday - March 08, 2011 at 08:01 AM

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Temporary dyes for marking embroidery designs

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