I would like the white to actually remain as white as possible...is there a trick to doing this?

Name: AJ

—ADVERTISEMENTS—

Country or region: Spokane Washington, USA

Message: Well, I am new to the art of tye dying . . .have had a blast exploring the artistic side of this art form. I do however have a question regarding keeping white areas truly white if that is possible. After untying each project, it is such a cool discovery of the beautiful piece of art just created. There are times when working with white t-shirts, that I would like the white to actually remain as white as possible...is there a trick to doing this??? I would really appreciate your response....Thanks a bunch

The trick to keeping your white areas really white is to avoid backstaining.

It's impossible to avoid backstaining if you don't use fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion dyes. People who do tie-dyeing with all-purpose dyes, such as Rit dye, invariably see their other colors run onto the white when the shirt is washed.

To avoid permanent backstaining with Procion dyes, it's very important to allow more than enough time, in a warm place with moisture present, for the reaction between the dye and the fiber to complete. If you wait long enough, then all of the reactive dye molecules will have time to react, either with the fiber in your fabric, or with the water itself. Once all of the dye molecules have reacted, any dye that transfers from one part of the shirt to another will be unable to react again to form a permanent bond to the fiber, which means it can be washed out. Allow at least twelve hours, or longer, at a temperature of 70°F or higher, for this step, after applying your dyes (and the soda ash); maintain moisture for the entire time, either by wrapping each item in plastic, or by including urea in your dye mixtures (use one tablespoon, or 15 ml, of urea per cup, or 250 ml, of water).

After you've allowed more than enough time for all of the dye reactions, when you first rinse out the dye, you may see some color transfer from a dark section to a light section. Don't worry; this dye is not permanent, since you have already allowed the dyes to lose their ability to react with the fiber before this step.

Start your washing-out of the excess unattached dye by rinsing with cool water; some prefer to rinse carefully before untying, and continue to rinse by hand, but I like to untie everything and put many items into a single washing machine load, already full with cool water, for the first washing. In this cool water step, color may transfer temporarily.

The remainder of the unwanted dye then gets removed in the next step of washing. For this step, you must use HOT water. Many dyers like to use Synthrapol as the detergent at this step; it's a good choice, but it's not essential. What is essential is making sure that the water is hot enough. Put a thermometer into your water supply where it comes into the washing machine (or into your sink if you are washing by hand), and make sure that your water is 140°F or warmer. 140°F is the standard for water heaters in the US, but it is common to turn down the thermostats on water heaters to only 120°F in order to reduce the risk of scald injury. (If you turn up your water heater for your dye washing, be sure to let everyone in your household know to be careful, and don't forget to turn the thermostat back to your preferred setting when you are done.) The hotter the water is, the more efficiently it will remove the unattached excess dye. Fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion dye, bond so permanently to a natural fiber that even boiling water will not remove them; in fact, some dyers prefer to use nearly-boiling water for the most efficient washing out.

You will probably find it necessary to repeat the final hot water wash twice; in some cases, three repetitions are needed. When you are done, your white areas, wherever you had no dye at the end of your "batching" time for the dye reaction, will be white again.

My own washing machine, as a supposed "energy saver" feature, adds cold water to even the hot setting, resulting in water that is too cool for efficient dye wash-out (which results in a requirement for more wash cycles, thus canceling any savings). I turn off the cold water faucet that leads to the washing machine while I am filling the machine with hot water, then turn it back on afterwards.

Sometimes additional difficulties in washing out can be caused by washing with hard water. The calcium ion can cause the dyes to form larger complexes that are more inclined to cling to the fiber, in spite of the fact that they have not bonded to the fiber. To avoid this, if your water is hard, either use a water softener system, or add the water softener sodium hexametaphosphate to both your dye reactions and to your wash water. See "Dyeing with hard water: water softeners, distilled water, and spring water".

All of the above will keep your whites as white as possible. In order to have more white in your designs, you can thicken your dyes so that they do not creep as far into the fabric. See "Sodium alginate, Superclear, and other dye thickeners". It's often helpful to place additional ties or rubber bands to reinforce the first ones you place; it's especially helpful to add a firm rubber band or tie on top of hand-sewn resists.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)

Posted: Monday - August 22, 2011 at 07:35 AM

Follow this blog on twitter here.
Tweet

getBlogName(); > getCategoryName("<$EntryCategoryFolder$>"); >

I would like the white to actually remain as white as possible...is there a trick to doing this?

> >