Name: Mary
Message: we purchased some tiedyed tshirts that faded quite a bit after the first washing. I thought I heard soaking in vinegar could help set the color. Is this true?

No, it won't help a bit.

If a tie-dyed shirt fades when you wash it, it was dyed improperly and should be returned to the dyer. Either they used the wrong kind of dye (all-purpose dye is not suitable for room temperature tie-dye!), or they omitted an important step in what is really a very easy process.

See the answer to this question in the FAQ section of my website, under "How can I set the dye in the clothes I just bought?".

Name: patty
Message: paula help !! my husband bought me this very expenisive jogging outfit from von mour well apprntly i sat in a booth at a resturant that had some type of cleaning solutuion that discolored the fabric i have tried everything but this fabric will not dye its 65% polyester and 35% cotton i even used the take color out before u dye didn't touch it . right now i'm trying stove method with ritz black dye so far no luck , the suit is purple . can u help ???

Your problem is the same as that addressed on the page in my website's FAQ section on "Help! I ruined clothing by spattering bleach. How can I fix it?". It's worse, though, in that polyester can be badly damaged, not just in color, by bleach.

It's unfortunate that your outfit is made of polyester, because polyester dyeing is not a job for amateurs. See "Disperse Dye for Polyester". It is also highly unlikely that you would want to pay a professional to dye your outfit, because the only company I've found that will dye polyester garments is located in Alaska. They do accept jobs from far away, but the service may be expensive. The 35% cotton portion of your outfit should be dyeable unless it has been treated with a stain preventative. The fact that you've had so little success suggests that it probably has been. What a pity it did not prevent the bleaching!

Rit dye is a brand of all-purpose dye. All-purpose dye works poorly on cotton, but, like most dyes, it does not work at all on polyester. I recommend against its use. Another type of dye, fiber reactive dye (e.g., Procion MX type dye) works much better on cotton. You can mail-order it from any of the dye suppliers on my page of Source for Dyeing Supplies.

The best solution to your problem is likely to be either a fabric marker or a permanent marking pen, as recommended on the bleach spatter page. This might not work, though. Bleach is very hard on polyester.

Is there any "true" black dye that you have come across?  I tried the 602A from Pro-Chem and it came out a kind of greenish grey instead of a true black which is what I am trying to find.  Any suggestions?  Thoughts?  Advice?

Was this on 100% cotton? Different fabrics will turn different colors when dyed with mixed colors. Did you use enough dye? ProChem's instructions say to use 8 teaspoons of black dye mix (20 grams of dye powder) per cup of water, for tie-dyeing, or 12 teaspoons (30 grams) per pound of fabric for immersion dyeing. This is twice as much dye as you'd use for a dark color other than black, four times as much as for a medium color, and twelve times as much as for dyeing a pale color.

Black Procion MX dyes, which like all cool water fiber reactive dyes are so easy to use since they do not have to be boiled or combine with highly toxic chemicals, are always mixtures of other dyes. ProChem's 602A will work well if you use a lot *more* of it, and use a slightly higher temperature (over 70°F), and give it plenty of time to react. I think that their Cibacron F "Rich Black" might be more satisfactory, though it requires warmer reaction temperatures, ideally around 122°F (50°C). Black fiber reactive dye is certainly much better than any all-purpose dye.

Another excellent black is the Remazol reactive black 5, which, unlike Procion MX colors is an unmixed single-hue black with a slightly bluish tinge. This dye is sold as Dylon Permanent 12 Black and as PRO Chemical & Dye's Remazol Liquid Reactive Black dye, and is also found in Jacquard Red Label Silk Colors Black. This dye is best used in warm to hot water, between 104°F and 140°F (40°-60°C), or even higher.

If you want to dye silk black, or any other animal fiber (even nylon which tends to work well with silk and wool dyes), I recommend that you use the Lanaset black. ProChem sells Lanaset dyes under the brand name Sabraset, and these dyes are also sold under the brand name Telana.


[entry corrected May 31, 2006 and updated November 8, 2007]

Name: Denise
Message: my friend spilled some bleach on his black shirts, can i re dye them black?

Dye is transparent, so the bleached spots will still be lighter. For different solutions to this problem, see the answer to this question in the FAQ section of my website, under "Help! I ruined clothing by spattering bleach. How can I fix it?".

Please read the FAQ before sending question that have already been answered in it.

Name: Deb
Message: I am trying to dye with kool-aid and am using tights that are a cotton/lycra blend. I realize the cotton will not hold the color but will the lycra? I need them to be bright yellow for duck legs. Will I use vinegar? Please advise.

Instructions for dyeing with Kool-Aid, such as the How can I tie dye with Kool-aid? page from the FAQ section of my website, specify that you cannot use it to dye anything but animal fibers or nylon, but your tights contain no animal fibers and no nylon. This is not a good idea for a project! Vinegar won't help, because acid dyes, such as Kool-Aid, will not dye cotton OR lycra even if you add vinegar. Plus, acid dyes require heat to work on even animal fibers.

If you are using acid dye on cotton, you might as well be using watercolor paint. It will never attach to the fiber, and, if you don't wash it out, it will bleed all over the legs of whomever is wearing the tights.

On the other hand, it *is* safe to apply food coloring to the skin, since food coloring is safe to eat, so having the Kool-Aid run onto the skin not a bad thing in the way that letting all-purpose dye run onto the legs would be. Perhaps you should just paint the legs of whoever is going to wear the costume with food coloring! I had a costume like that once.

If you want to dye cotton/lycra, the best advice is to buy some decent dye. There are many different companies that are good sources of high-quality, safe, fiber reactive dye, listed on my web site under Sources for Supplies. If you were to buy all-purpose dye, you would have to simmer the tights in the dye for an hour at close to a boil, which is not at all good for Lycra. It might fall to shreds. In contrast, fiber-reactive dye can be used at room temperature, and, if you follow the instructions, and wash out all excess dye afterwards, it will not bleed onto the wearer. Tie-dye kits are generally good.

Alternatively, you could buy some nylon tights and dye them with acid dye, even Kool-Aid, since that is a form of acid dye.

Name: Ryan
Message: I have only a very trivial question. I want to tie dye a peace sign and am wondering when to put the shirt in soda ash. Do I sew the sign and then put it in the ash and let the ash dry before pulliny the strings together and dying or do I do all the folding and then put it in the ash?

All of these will work. I'd pull the strings tight right after sewing with them, though. Soda ash solution can get into tightly tied garments, if you let it soak for a while. You can presoak the fabric before or after tying; if you do it before tying, you can line-dry it before folding, or tie it wet. I don't like to tie wet garments, personally, but many prefer it that way. Try not to breathe much of the dust from dried presoaked garments, as the soda ash is somewhat irritating. You can use a face mask if it's a problem.

I would recommend that you sew an outline of the design, leaving white in between the lines. That is, sew one circle that is the outside of the peace sign, two big ones that are the larger openings, and two small circles that are the smaller openings at the bottom, as in the drawing attached below. Then use rubber bands or artificial sinew to hold tightly in the same places that the thread goes. You might want to add a little thickener, such as sodium alginate or Superclear, so that the dye doesn't creep across the lines too easily, or you might prefer not to do so.


Also see How to Tie-Dye a Peace Sign.

Name: Irene
Message: Hello from Perth.
I would like to dye a Turkish Kilim rug. It is approx 3m x 2m, weighs 2 kgs and is wool. It's old, in reasonable condition and I just want to change the colours. It has a lot of yellow, mustard and pale green with red and black as the background. It's the yellow and mustard that I'd most like to change. Can you recommend dye and quantity and method and how I can purchase the dye from you. I'm not looking fora perfect rug by any means, any colour change will be an improvment. Many thanks

You can't purchase any dye from me; I don't sell dye. However, you can find a great many different dye supply companies, including some in Australia, on my page listing Sources of Supplies for Dyeing.

Are you planning to dye the rug one color, or apply dye by carefully painting it in some places? If you dye the whole rug with red dye, the red and black will remain approximately the same color, the yellow will turn orange, the mustard will turn brownish orange, and the green will turn brown. If you want to keep the red and black the same color as they currently are, I would not recommend any other color than red.

Wool dyes well with acid dye, as long as there is nothing such as a stain-resistant coating on it to prevent the dye from reaching the fiber. Generally, heat is also required; however, there are a few recipes that, very conveniently, use the heat of the sun to do this; for example, see "Cold Batch Dyeing of Wool with Reactive Dye" (it's a PDF file). You can substitute Procion MX type dye for the Cibacron F dye called for in that recipe. If you prefer to use acid dye, consider the instructions for "Rainbow Dyeing with the Power of the Sun".

Name: Bessie
Message: You have a delightful site. I have enjoyed it so much. My question is "strange", does anyone tie-dye sweat shirts?? Or is it the wrong time of the year? I have not been able to find a word about sweat shirts anywhere on the www.

That's not a strange idea at all. I've dyed several sweatshirts. The key points are to 1, get a 100% cotton sweatshirt to dye; 2, use fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX type dye, never all-purpose dye; and 3, prepare more dye mixture for a sweatshirt than for a t-shirt, because it is much heavier and more absorbant.

You can buy white 100% cotton sweatshirts from Dharma Trading Company and Cheapestees, among others; see my page of contact info for sellers of supplies for dyeing. 90% cotton will also dye quite well. 50% polyester will produce pastels, and 100% polyester will not dye at all.

Name: Sarah
Message: I do batiks for pleasure, and use Dylon cold water dyes. After ironing out most of the wax, I send it to the dry cleaners. Unfortunately, the batik comes back faded. Will I get the same result if I boil the batik myself? My dyes are mixed with salt to aid the perminence of the dye. Should I be doing something else? Your advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks, Sarah

Properly fixed fiber reactive dye, such as Dylon Cold Water dye, should not fade when dry-cleaned, although some unreacted dye will wash off in any case. Did you fix the dye with soda ash, or whatever name Dylon packages this chemical under? Did you allow enough time, at a warm enough temperature, for the dye to react? Generally, 24 hours is sufficient at temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 C.). You do need to produce a darker color on the cloth than you will want to have after the excess dye has washed out, especially given that dye looks much darker when wet.

Salt makes little difference to the permanence of the dye; it merely encourages a bit more of the dye to leave the water and attach to the fiber. This is important in vat dyeing, but not in direct dye application, such as batik. Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate, is the real key. See "How to Dye".

I find that mail-ordering fiber reactive dye, from almost any of the companies listed on my Sources for Supplies page, saves quite a bit of money, in the long run, as compared to buying Dylon dye, and allows more control, because then you can be sure of exactly which dyes you are using. I recommend the Procion MX, Cibacron F, or Drimarene K dye types for use on cotton without steaming. You must follow a good recipe closely, to be sure to fix the dye properly to the fiber.

Recently I have purchase a cotton bed sheet but I was not able to sleep on it for the color is not fast and it has already destroy my night suit and my skin color also becomes the color of my bed sheet.
Please let me know how can I treat to make it color fast. I shall be grateful if you also give me the name of dye/color/chemical name.

There is no possible way I could even begin to guess what kind of the thousands of different dyestuff was used to dye your sheet. However, it was not applied properly, or it would not be rubbing off. Crocking of dye, as this is called, is a sign of incompetent dyeing; the sheet should be returned to the manufacturer and replaced with one that is properly dyed.

You might be able to salvage the sheet by washing it many times in hot water, and then treating it with a cationic fixative such as Retayne, which, at least in the US, is generally available from quilting supply stores, and may also be purchased by mail-order from many of the companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. Also see "Is there anything I can do to "set" the dye on purchased fabric?".

The one dye that is most likely to be misapplied so that it rubs off is indigo, whether natural or synthetic. It is essential, when dyeing with indigo, to subject the fabric to multiple dyeings with small amounts of dye, rather than one dyeing with a great deal of dye. However, any dye will do this if it is not applied correctly and excess unattached dye is not washed out before use. It is the reponsibility of the dyer to make sure that this is done, or else give instructions for fabric care that will prevent problems.

Name: Jenn
Message: Hello I hope you can help me. I dyed a beige dress yesterday (50% polyester, 40%linen 10% rayon) using a Jacquard tie dying kit. I wanted to dye it an orangy-brown. I mixed red with yellow and let the dye sit over night and rinsed it out this morning. It was the colour I wanted until I washed the dress and it turned more yellowy. I need it darker. Can I just re-dye it? any help would be great! Thank you.

The polyester will not dye at all, unless you buy an unpleasant special dye made just for polyester, and boil the garment in it for an hour - but that would probably destroy the dress, so I doubt you want to try that. There may also be a wrinkle-resistant coating on the fabric, which will make it more difficult for dye to reach the fiber. Sometimes, it can be very frustrating to dye a dress that is not sold as PFD (prepared for dyeing). Other times, it happens to work well. You just have to try it.

You can redye, as the linen and rayon will probably take up more dye on the second go-around. Mix the dye up more concentrated than you would use for 100% cellulose. (Rayon, cotton, and linen are all different forms of cellulose fiber.) If the dress is an unwearable color now, it's worth trying. Don't forget the soda ash.

Normally, dye looks much darker when wet than it will look after the fabric has been washed out and dried. You must obtain a darker color than you like, while the garment is wet, in order to obtain the color that you want after washing and drying. This is doubly true when the fabric is 50% polyester, because the polyester will look dyed when it is only temporarily stained, and will turn back to the original color when washed out.

Name: Lori
Great website. Very informative. I would appreciate any help.
I have several pair of black pants that have faded from lots of washing. I would like to dye them back to a rich black. The fabric is 90% cotton and 10% spandex. I can not use HOT water or they won't fit me! Also the manufacturers label says to wash in cold water. Any suggestions? Thank you, Lori

The perfect answer to your problem is cold-water fiber reactive dye. (Note that the definition of 'cold' in the textile world includes temperatures up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit - 35 C. - or even higher.)

A very nice cold water black dye is Cibacron F, which you can buy from ProChem under the brand name of Sabracron F. See "Sabracron F/Cibacron F Reactive Dyes". There are links to instructions at the bottom of the page; I recommend "Home Washing Machine Dyeing", for your purposes. Avoid using the hot water suggested there for washing out excess dye, of course; it works better than cold water, but I'm sure you're rather have less efficient dye washout, with temperatures that are kinder to your clothing.

Other types of "cold" water dye include Procion MX and Drimarene K, which will work fine, but the Cibacron F line has a better black.

Name: Heather
Message: I am using Royal Blue Procion MX dye but when I dyed some white fabric there were some splotches of red specks on it. They were randomly placed so that it could have been only one small area that had the red and I am wondering why this is happening?

I've seen a number of reports of this problem with mixed dye colors from some dye suppliers. When customers complained, they were told that the problem was their own fault, for not filtering their dye solutions before use. This seemed rather harsh to me, since they did not at the time include advice to filter dye solutions in their instructions. Now they do.

The problem always seems to be the result of including a bad batch of fuchsia (reactive red #11, or Procion red MX-8B). Mixed blues may contain red dots, while mixed yellows may contain orange dots. Bad batches of fuchsia are less soluble than they should be. You may be able to use your package of pre-mixed royal blue dye, if you mix very thoroughly by stirring, then leave it to rest for an hour or so, then stir thoroughly again, and finally strain it through some pantyhose material or a coffee filter, held in a strainer. Throw away any particles that do not dissolve. If you refrigerate your dye mixture to keep it a few days, return it to room temperature, and refilter if necessary, before using it. This filtering method usually works, but in some cases the red specks appear even after careful filtering of dye solutions.

Or, you may prefer to find a similar dye which does not contain the bad fuchsia. Some batches are better than others. You might try ordering a similar blue dye from Prochem, or Jacquard Products. Sometimes they may have the same problem, however. It is a common problem with fuchsia, especially old batches of fuchsia.

The best alternative is to use a blue that does not contain any fucshia at all. Either find a pure blue that is the color you need, or mix your own, using one of the common greenish blues plus a different red. I prefer red MX-5B (reactive red #2), which is called 'light red" by Dharma, "mixing red" by Prochem, and called "magenta" by Jacquard Products. It is very similar in color, but behaves better. See my chart of pure unmixed MX dye colors, which has names and catalog numbers for different pure MX types dyes from some of the bigger suppliers.

For a pure royal blue I recommend that you try using a double dose of the pure blue MX dye that is sold as "sky blue" by Dharma, as "basic blue" by ProChem, and as "medium blue" by Rupert, Gibbon, & Spyder. (Most other dye sellers will use one of these names.) Another very fine unmixed royal blue is Cibacron F or Sabracron F-GF Sabracron Intense Blue, which wa sold by ProChem until the manufacturer discontinued it; it's not the best color for mixing other colors, but it is the most beautiful rich bright deep royal blue dye I've seen.

[updated April 8, 2008]

Name: Vonda
Message: I am confused as to how much Turqoise and Kelly Green to use per 8 oz cup of dye. I was under the impression that I needed far more of these 2 colors in particular, but Dharma (who I bought the dye from) says to only use 4 tsp per 8 oz. You also state to use double, in this case would be 8 tsp per 8 oz. My girls want bright colors, how much color should I use? We are also using Midnight Blue. Only 3 colors.

Dharma's instructions include an asterisk by some colors, such as turquoise, kelly green, and midnight blue, and specifically states that colors that have one asterisk require twice as much dye, while those with two asterisks require four times as much dye. See the notes at the bottom of that page. Most colors lack any asterisk, but Dharma applies one asterisk to turquoise, kelly green, and midnight blue. For no-asterisk colors, they recommend 3 teaspoons of dye per cup of water, so they are recommending 6 teaspoons of dye for the colors that have single asterisks.

For the most predictable and repeatable results, it is better to weigh your dye, instead of measuring teaspoons; Dharma's chart of "Fiber Reactive Dye Yields (How Much Do I Use?)" will tell you how much to use. However, if you are less particular, it is certainly easier to use a teaspoon to measure volume, instead of a laboratory scale to measure weight. I myself prefer to measure by volume, when it doesn't matter, just to reduce exposure to dye powder.

How much dye you really should use all depends on how dark or intense you want your colors to be. 4 teaspoons per cup will work, unless you prefer colors that are more intense. It's a matter of taste, and only trial and error can tell you which you prefer. It also depends on your fabric. Rayon and mercerized cotton both produce much brighter sand more intense colors than cotton that is not mercerized.

If you want lighter colors, use less dye, or more water. If you want darker colors, use more dye, or less water. If you want your midnight blue to be darker than your turquoise, use a similar amount per cup of water. If you want it to be closer in intensity, either use twice as much turquoise, or half as much midnight blue. A lighter shade of midnight blue, obtained by using less dye, will probably be a duller blue than some others. Using a dark midnight blue might make a very nice contrast to lighter turquoise and kelly green.

Name: Leah
Message: I've seen people walking down the street with a tie-dye like no other I've seen. When I asked a gal sporting one how she did it, she replied it was like a shaving cream foam type that spread around where you want it to go. Do you have any idea what this is, how to do it, or where to find it?

This technique, which produces results that can resemble marbling, was popularized by John Choma, but now instructions for it can be found on the Dharma Trading Company web site. Dharma's instructions are better written and easier to follow than Choma's were, so this is a very good thing. See their page on "Shaving Cream Dyeing".

Name: Bev
Message: I am trying to dye a mint green and pink formal yellow for a Halloween custome and the fabric will not take the color. I think the material is a light-weight brocade and satene. I have also tried to bleach it, then color, but no luck. Thanks in advance, Bev

What fiber is it made of? A lot of satins are made of acetate; both acetate and polyester are extremely difficult to dye. To dye them successfully requires the use of a special type of dye called Disperse dye; see "Disperse Dye for Polyester", at http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dispersedye.shtml . This is neither pleasant nor easy, and the hour's worth of boiling required might destroy the dress.

Since it's for a costume, it probably does not have to be as nice as regular clothing. You could try fabric paint, or even diluted artist's acrylics. Acrylic paint will leave fabric very stiff and hard. High quality fabric paint will do the same, but to a lesser extent.

An excellent source of fabric paints is Dharma Trading Company; see their page on fabric paints at http://www.dharmatrading.com/paints.html . Perhaps the type of fabric paint that is commonly known as pigment dye (though it is not a dye) would meet your needs. Note that even fabric paint, like dye, will only add to the color that is already there, rather than covering it up, unless you go to a great deal of effort to get an opaque fabric paint. You can never turn green or pink to yellow, because yellow is a lighter color. Opaque fabric paints include Lumiere, Neopaque, and some of the Jacquard Textile Paints (only those which specifically say "opaque" on the label). Diluted artists' acrylics will probably cost less than special fabric paint.

Name: Paneeta Salee
Message: I want fomular of direct red23 and direct blue201 for my research study
(Thank you)

Sorry, I don't know them. Try looking at the Colour Index, which is an invaluable publication from the Society of Dyers and Colorists. It is too expensive for individuals, but universities often have a copy.

Name: Michael
Message: Hi I want to dye a white painters suit a lime green color. I would like to know if you could give me any tips on any certain dyes to buy and what the painters suit should be made out of.

PS: How much dye should I buy, I need enough for three suits.

It is easiest to get good results if you buy 100% cotton for dyeing. (Note that the stitching will probably be polyester, which will remain white after dyeing.) The best dye to use on cotton and other cellulose fibers is cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX type dye; see PRO Chemical & Dye's MX dyes.

Once you have bought the garments, weigh them. You will need about 8 grams of MX dye per pound of fabric for a medium color intensity, or about 15 grams of MX dye per pound of fabric for a dark color intensity. You will also need a large quantity of ordinary non-iodized salt, plus soda ash. You may also wish to buy Synthrapol, a special detergent for use in washing out dyes; its use is optional, but it works particularly well.

The easiest method to use, if you want a single color overall, is the washing machine method; see, for example, ProChem's instructions.

If the garments you buy are not PFD (prepared for dyeing), it is possible that some sections of a garment will dye lighter or darker than other sections; this is unpredictable. Be sure to pre-wash with soda ash and synthrapol as indicated in the instructions linked to above, to reduce the likelihood of problems.

Name: christine
Message: How can I add tie dye to any other curriculum in school beside Science? Please response as soon as possible.

Try art class, or Japanese or Indian history. (See http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/history_tiedye.shtml for some starting points.)

It's better to focus on dyeing in general, rather than on only tie-dyeing. Anyone who is seriously interested in dyeing will see tie-dyeing as only part of a wide spectrum of textile art.

Name: Kathy
Message: Hey Paula!
I was going to post this on Micheal's forum, but it seems to be down at the moment and curiousity is killing me. I am finding with my Raspberry MX dye(from Dharma) that it seems to be congealing as if it has thick print paste in it when stored in the fridge after a 24 hour period. This is not occuring with the other colors, even Turquoise which is a component of the Raspberry.
Honestly, I am just curious as why this is happening to this color and not the others. It is something new that has happened recently.

I've heard, though not recently, of this sort of thing happening for other people with fuchsia MX dye (red MX-8B, aka reactive red #11). Of course, it seems likely that your raspberry mixture contains a lot of fuchsia!

This fuchsia seems to cause most of the problems I hear about with MX dye. It refuses to dissolve, often, so that, for example, people machine-dyeing with Dharma's "Midnight Blue" end up with little red dots all over, unless they go to the immense bother of filtering the dissolved dye through pantyhose, and sometimes even then. It is also more reactive than other MX dyes, so it strikes the fabric more quickly, and goes bad in solution more quickly.

Personally, I think that it is usually better to substitute the very similar Light Red (Dharma's name) or Mixing Red (ProChem's name), which is red MX-5B or reactive red #2. Like red MX-8B, it is on the blue side of red, though not *quite* as blue. This dye always seems to perform more consistently with the other MX dyes. I don't like most purchased dye mixtures, because of the heavy reliance of the dyehouses on mixtures prepared with red MX-8B. I usually like to mix my own colors, for maximum control.

I have some old Procion MX dyes. They are just short of three years old, but for about one of those years they were stored (by mistake) in an unheated, unairconditioned storage barn. I've tried them on bleached muslin and they seem to be okay, although the colors may be a little less intense than we would have achieved when they were new. Is there anything else I should be looking for regarding washfastness or lightfastness? I would hate to send my grandson a tie-dyed onesie that will bleed forever! Thanks.

The issue in your case is that some, but not all, of the powdered dye has probably hydrolyzed, which means it can no longer react with cellulose. However, it can stain cellulose by its substantivity (the property of loosely associating with the fiber). Fresh dye can also do the same thing.

Substantivity is the property that binds 'direct' dye (such as that found in all-purpose dues such as Rit) to cellulose. It works best if dyed in hot water, with plenty of salt, and afterwards washed only in cold water. By reversing this, and making sure not to use hot water until all salt has been washed out, you can avoid the problem of loosely-associated dye that bleeds forever. Note that salts can come from the reaction of soda ash with acid, or from their use as a diluent in dye powder (usually as sodium sulfate). Sodium chloride is not the only salt that matters, here.

You should be fine if you dye at room temperature (or not hot, anyway), then wash quite thoroughly in cold water (with or without Synthrapol, but certainly without other detergent, which usually contains soda ash) to get rid of all of the soda ash and any salts that may be present, then wash two or three times in HOT water with detergent (preferably Synthrapol). Only the dye that reacted properly with the fiber should remain, when you are finished.

To test your dyed items after completing washing out, dampen them and iron them onto a white cloth. If no dye transfers, all of the unreacted dye is gone. If dye does transfer, do another wash cycle in hot water.

I believe that lightfastness will not be affected by the age of the dye.

HELLO MY NAME IS STEPHANY I, AM, ATTENDING MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE IN BROOKLYN. THE ASSIGNMENT FOR MY SPEECH CLASS IS A DEMONSTRATIVE SPEECH. THE TOPIC I CAME UP WITH IS "HOW TO DYE EASTER EGGS" AND I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IF YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME IDEAS. ALSO THE SUPPLIES THAT I NEED. Thank you
p.s the demonstrative speech has to be 4-5mins :-)\

I don't have any information to offer on dyeing eggs, other than to remark that the dyes usually used are edible acid dyes - see the food dye sections on my page at http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/proteindyes.shtml - but there are many other web sites with all sorts of information on egg dyeing. Don't neglect the possibilities of using food products such as beets and onions to dye the eggs, and be sure to look up information on the wonderful Ukrainian art of pysanky.

Name: Linnea
Message: I am interested in trying low-immersion dyeing on wool. I have both acid and reactive dyes, but from what I have learned on your site, both will require the application of heat in order to dye to wool. Can you give me some tips on wool dyeing? I'm hoping to get some vareigated tones of single colours. Thanks!

There are some good links on my page of Other Sites with Instructions for Hand Dyeing that you might find useful. In particular check out Rainbow Dyeing with the Power of the Sun and Cold Batch Dyeing of Wool with Reactive Dye.

Name: Jackie
Message: WHat type of white t-shirt is best? 50/50 or 100% cotton? My daughter will be doing this at school and I want to buy the right kind of shirt. Thank you!

100% cotton. Polyester is very difficult to dye and will remain white with most fabric dyes.

The result of dyeing 50% cotton/50% polyester is a combination of dyed cotton and undyed polyester, producing pastel colors. This is not necessarily a bad thing, so if you have a 50% cotton shirt, there's no harm in using it. For very bright or intense colors, a higher content of cotton or other natural fiber is desirable.

Name: karen
Message: I have a lot of procion dye that I bought in the UK in 1966. Some packages are a kilo and have never been opened. Are they still good and is there a place where I can sell them?

What kind of Procion dyes are they? Are they Procion H dye, which must be steam-set on fabric, or are they Procion MX, which can be used at room remperature without steaming?

Procion H dye has a longer shelf life than Procion MX dye, since it is less reactive, but Procion MX dye will certainly have lost all of its reactivity by now. I wouldn't expect even Procion H dye to work after nearly four decades, though.

The shelf life of fiber reactive dye is normally considered to be about one year, though even Procion MX dye can often be used up to five years after purchase, if it has been stored under controlled temperature and humidity. Fiber reactive dye that is nearly forty years old will not have maintained its reactivity or original value.

However, even very old fiber reactive dye can be used as an acid dye, on wool and other animal fibers, if an appropriate recipe is used, such as ProChem's "Immersion Dyeing Wool using PRO MX Reactive Dyes" instructions at http://www.prochemical.com/directions/MX_ImmersionWool.htm . The use of these dyes on wool does not require that the fiber reactive dye maintain its ability to react so even fully hydrolyzed fiber reactive dye can be used to dye wool.

I doubt that anyone would want to buy old fiber reactive dyes for this purpose, but you could donate them to the nearest educational institution that has any interest in making a project of dyeing wool.