Is there any dye that would leave a metallic shininess on cotton crochet thread?

Name: Zen

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Shiva Metallic Gold/Silver/Copper Paintstiks

Country or region: NJ, USA

Message: I have some cotton crochet thread that I'd like to dye a metallic bronze or brass color. Is there any dye that would leave a metallic shininess on the thread? Could the effect be achieved by adding metallic pigment to a regular fabric dye? Could I use metallic faux finishing waxes or paints meant for wood, or would that be dangerous (some I've seen have warnings against prolonged skin contact, and the item I want to make is for wearing)? Or is there just really no good way to achieve this effect?

There is no true dye that will give a metallic effect, but that doesn't mean the effect is out of your reach. In order to get a metallic or pearlescent effect, you must use pigments, usually in the form of fabric paint. Fabric paint is a mixture of particles of pigment with a binder that holds the pigments to the fiber.

Fabric dye will not work to bind metallic pigments to thread. You need to use something that will act as a glue to attach the pigments to the fiber. If you want to use a pigment that has not had a binder mixed with it, such as the wonderful Pearl-Ex pigments, the best choice is to add it to a colorless clear fabric paint. A good choice to use would be the colorless Neopaque Flowable Extender, which is made by Jacquard Products.

Another good choice would be Jacquard Products' metallic and pearlescent line of fabric paints, Lumiere. Like the Neopaque extender, the Lumiere fabric paint can be diluted with up to 25% as much water. After you apply it, allow it to dry, and then heat-set with a hot iron or a heat gun. Fabrics and clothing can also be heat-set in a commercial clothes dryer, but home clothes dryers are likely to not get hot enough to use for this purpose.

Still another good choice would be Shiva Artist's Paintstik Colors, which are available in a wide range of metallic and pearlescent colors. Other brands of similar products are not as highly recommended for use on textiles. After application, the colors from the paint sticks must be allowed to dry for several days before heat-setting with an iron.

When you use fabric paints on thread, be careful not to glue the different strands of your threads together. The binders in fabric paints are much more glue-like than any fabric dye is. All fabric dyes merely provide color, however, not the reflectiveness that is an essential part of the metallic effect. You must use pigments, either in the form of a commercial fabric paint, or in the form of fabric paint that you mix yourself using metallic-effect pigments plus a binder, in order to get that sort of effect.

If you are going to be combining dyeing with the use of any sort of pigments or fabric paints, you must complete the dyeing steps before using the paints. The binders in fabric paints will act as a resist, which will prevent later applications of dye from reaching the fibers. It's important to use your fabric paints only after you're done dyeing. Wash out any excess dye and allow the thread to dye before proceeding to use the paints. Combining dyes with paints can result in wonderful effects.

I do not recommend using any product intended solely for wood on any fibers that will be used for clothing. Even without considering possible health issues, we can expect that the wood waxes and paints are not designed to withstand the stresses that clothing is subject to, such as laundering or dry cleaning. There are many excellent and relatively non-toxic products that have been tested for how well they work on threads and fabrics.

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Posted: Saturday - September 11, 2010 at 09:47 AM

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Is there any dye that would leave a metallic shininess on cotton crochet thread?

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