Name: Nate
Message: Hello, my name is Nate and I am a high school senior.  I am hoping to find a tie dye graduation gown to spark some attention.  I would be willing to tie dye it myself, but all the gowns I can find are made from polyester which I hear is quite difficult to dye. My question is if you know of anyone with pre-made tie dye gowns or any who make them in cotton?  Any help you could give would be very appreciated.  Thank you. 

You're quite right that polyester is difficult to dye. I can't recommend it, except for iron-ons, which you can make yourself using disperse dye crayons or paints. I don't know of a source for dyeable gowns or gowns that are already tie-dyed, but don't lose hope....

An alternative that would probably be just right for you is *pigment* tie-dyeing. Pigment "dye" is actually a fabric paint, not a dye at all. (See "Fabric Paints: a different way to color fibers".) There are several different brands of high quality fabric paints that you can consider. Dilute the paints, tie your gown just as for tie-dyeing, and pour on the diluted paints. Untie and allow to dry thoroughly, heat setting if the manufacturer recommends doing so, before washing. Allowing extra time before the first washing is probably wise. Start with a white gown, and prewash it thoroughly before you begin.

It is fairly likely that you will be unable to find the fabric paints you want at your local crafts store. If you cannot find one of the brands listed below, you should order by mail. Try the companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page, or a general art supply company such as Dick Blick online. The type of fabric paints you use may be called airbrush ink, textile paints, or screenprinting ink. One good brand is Setacolor; dilute the paint with four times as much water as you have paint. Dye-Na-Flow is another very good fabric paint to use for this purpose. Versatex Air Brush Ink is sometimes used for pigment tie-dyeing. Liquitex Soft Body acrylic paint can be used; dilute it with an equal quantity of water or up to eight times as much water, depending on what turns out to be necessary to get the paint to penetrate the fabric. Liquitex may produce a harsher feel on the fabric than the more expensive Setacolor and Dye-na-flow, but it does not require heat setting. Avoid the Golden brand of acrylic paints, as it does not work well when diluted. Another brand of fabric paints that is recommended for use in tie-dyeing is Dharma Trading Company's Dharma Pigment "Dye" System.

Renowned tie-dye artist Michael Fowler likes to use Liquitex Soft Body acrylic paints (formerly known as Liquitex Medium Viscosity acrylic paints) for his tie-dye tapestries, diluting with eight times as much water. He demonstrates his techniques very clearly in an excellent DVD called "The Art of Tie Dye". (Here's a link to buy this DVD at Amazon.) He says that the colors he likes to work with are: Naphthol Crimson, Brilliant Orange (Cadmium Orange Hue), Yellow Medium Azo, Phthalocyanine Green, Phthalocyanine Blue, Dioxazine Purple, and Mars Black. (He prefers to use Procion MX dye for tie-dyeing cotton clothing.)

In some cases you can get away without heat-setting if you do not wash the garment for at least one full month before washing it, even if the fabric paint's manufacturer recommends heat-setting. The curing takes longer at room temperature, but occurs anyway. Setacolor is the brand I have heard this about. You *should* go ahead and heat set, though, after the garment is thoroughly dry, by ironing on hot or in a very hot dryer unless this is likely to harm the fabric. If the fabric care label says "use cool iron only", heat setting could damage it and should be avoided.

When you next have a dye project that involves cotton, I strongly recommend that you avoid fabric paints, and instead acquire some Procion MX dye, which gives the very best results for tie-dye, but for tie-dyeing polyester, I recommend pigment dyeing with fabric paints instead.

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Name: Molly
Message: I hope this question isn't addressed on your web. I did look.  I want to dye a 80% cotton 40% rayon skirt. Washing instructions call for handwashing in cold water or dry cleaning.  I'm only familiar with hot water dying.  Do you have an idea for me?  Thanks

Yes, use only cool water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye. If you can't buy this dye locally, buy it by mail-order from one of the companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. You will also need ordinary non-iodized salt, plus soda ash to fix the dye.

If you choose to do the dyeing in the washing machine, which is the easiest method for dyeing solid colors, protect your skirt by placing it in a large net bag such as is sold for machine-washing lingerie, and use the hand-wash or delicate cycle as well.

Do NOT use all-purpose dye, because it requires very hot water (ideally 190° F. = 88°C. or above) to make a reasonably good attachment to the fabric. This could be very bad for your fabric.

Rayon, that is, viscose rayon, not rayon acetate, dyes beautifully with fiber reactive dyes, even better than cotton does.

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Name: Rachael
Message: Hi.  First off I would like to say thank for making such an informative website.  I found all of your info on dip dyeing very interesting.  I've never tried it before.  I used to do a lot of tye dye when I was a little girl and I think I got pretty good at it.  It was something that I always really enjoyed doing.  I haven't done it in years.  Now here comes my question.  I'm getting married in a year (so I have a lot of time).  I'm kind of a funky person and I want a one of a kind dress.  Here's my idea.  I want the bottom of the dress to be dyed like about to my knees in a very bright purple and MAYBE another strip of black, on the very bottom, about 3-5 inches or so.  I am worried that I'm gonna mess it up.  A wedding dress is an expensive thing, and I don't want to ruin it.  Do you think dip-dying would be the best way?  I don't want any lines like tye dying will leave behind.  Are there any tips you could give me on this?  I saw where you have listed what kind of fabrics are best to dye and they make wedding dresses out of very few of those.  What suggestions can you give me?  Or if you think this is a completey horrible idea (like everyone else) please let me know.  Thank you so much.

Whatever you do, do not try to dye a polyester dress. Polyester is not a good material for dyeing yourself; it requires special dyes and a lot of boiling. Most people agree that silk is much more beautiful and luxurious than polyester, anyway. Also, do not ever attempt to dye a dress that is truly dry-clean-only, regardless of its fiber content. I very much doubt that you will find a pre-made wedding dress anywhere that is both washable and made of a natural fiber.

I think you should get your dress hand-made by any good tailor or seamstress who sews formal dresses, using fabric that you have dyed yourself to be exactly as fabulous as you want. This might not be the *first* piece of fabric that you dye, since you want it to be just right. The stress level will be vastly lower if a mistake will spoil only yardage, rather than an expensive off-the-rack dress. A good source for PFD (prepared for dyeing) silk satin, silk charmeuse, silk taffeta, silk/rayon velvet, or silk jacquard yardage would be Rupert, Gibbon & Spider's Silk Connection. Silk can be dyed with acid dyes, which must be steamed but which leave the material as stiff and shiny as possible, or with soda ash and fiber reactive dyes, exactly as in tie-dyeing cotton, with softer, less shiny results. If you use all-purpose dye, you must steam the dress, because all-purpose dye requires heat to set; do not attempt to use all-purpose dye with room temperature water. Fiber reactive dyes are generally more satisfactory than all-purpose dyes. Look for a company to mail-order your dyes from on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. If you dye the dress by hand before sewing, you can use polyester thread to sew it, in a color that matches the final color of the fabric.

Before you dye the fabric for your dress, you should practice dyeing with dip dyeing, drip dyeing, or low water immersion, and see what you really like best, using ordinary cotton fabric from the fabric store, or even t-shirts to start with. You should use only fiber reactive dye on cotton, such as Procion MX dye, not all-purpose dye.

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Name: karyn
Message: Can you please tell me where I can buy good quality fabric dyes for rayon and cotton.  I am most interested in vibrant colours and particularly, turquoise.  Thank you,

I maintain a list of different dye supply companies around the world. Look there for the nearest good supplier.

For cotton and rayon, you will get the brightest colors using fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dyes or Drimarene K dyes. Fix these dyes with soda ash, and be sure to allow the reaction to occur with enough warmth (minimum 70 degrees F. or 21 degrees C.). This is the type of dye used in my How to Dye recipe.

The best and brightest turquoise dye, among the different classes of fiber reactive dye, would be Procion Turquoise MX-G, also known as Colour Index Reactive Blue 140.

What you really want to avoid is any sort of all-purpose dye. It tends to fade quickly in the laundry, and the colors are much less reliable. In addition, the very hot water it requires is not good for rayon. You will be much happier with good fiber reactive dye.

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Name: Wen

Message: I do low immersion dying and like the ease of the Createx dyes as they require no heat setting, no nasty powders to breathe, and little messing with chemicals. As you probably know, they have stopped making them THUS my question- Do you know of any other dyes out there like them?? Thanks for your time!

Createx® Liquid Fiber Reactive Dyes were Vinyl Sulfone dyes, also known as Remazol® dyes. These can be used with only slightly more effort at fixing the dyes than that required for Procion MX dyes, and the fact that you can buy them in liquid form is a great convenience, since it is hazardous to breathe dye powder. Although the color range will be slightly different from each vendor, you can still buy this exact same type of dye as Jacquard Red Label Fiber Reactive Dye and as PRO Chemical & Dye's Liquid Reactive Dyes. Jacquard Products has introduced a new line of this same type of dye under the name Vinyl Sulphon.

The Jacquard Green Label Silk Colors also contain these same dyes, but they are different to work with. They are acidified for use in silk painting, and can be set on silk fabric without heating or steaming by using Jacquard Permanent Dyeset Concentrate. Unlike the other formulations of vinyl sulfone dyes, Jacquard Green Label Silk Colors cannot be used to dye cotton, as their acid pH is suitable only for protein fibers such as silk.

For more information on this class of dye, see About Vinyl Sulfone Fiber Reactive Dyes. A copy of the old Createx Colors instructions is also available.

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[Updated February 4, 2009]

Name: Yasmin
Message: What is fuchsia or which colour is it? Is it possible to get a chart regarding colour mixing skills?

Fuchsia is a pinkish red, a very pure color composed of both red and blue wavelengths of light. The color fuchsia was named after a genus of flower, which in turn was named after a famous botanist, Leonhart von Fuchs. Fuchsia is an ideal red primary for using in mixing, analogous to the magenta in the cyan-magenta-yellow printing system. It is much brighter than any similar color you could mix by using a pure fire-engine red mixed with a purple, whether you are using dye, ink, or paint, and colors mixed using fuchsia as a primary will be brighter and clearer than those mixed using a true red.

You can view a color chart of dyes or paints at any online dye supplier. Of course, how true the colors you see will be depends to a great extent on your monitor; monitors vary in how they show colors. It is best to call your dye supplier and request a printed color chart, which they will have checked to see if the printed colors are correct. Until you receive your printed chart, however, you will find the online charts to be of some use. Here is a color chip from the old Tie-dyed.com web site for Jacquard brand Procion MX Fuchsia dye, which is the same dye as red MX-8B or Color Index reactive red 11; on my monitor, this color chip is not nearly as bright or blue as the real fuchsia dye.  For equivalent names and catalog numbers of other brands of this same type of dye, look at my page on "Which Procion MX colors are pure, and which mixtures?", at http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/pureMXcolors.shtml.

An excellent way to play with mixing different colors of dye is to use Olli Niemitalo's Dye Mixer Applet. In addition, the Jacquard Procion MX Color Mixing Chart that used to be posted on the Tie-dyed.com web site can be a very useful resource in thinking about color mixing, although it uses pre-mixed colors in many of its formulas.

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Name: Jackie
Message: Hi! I learned batik in Indonesia this year and hope to continue here at home. A few questions. The teacher used caustic soda in her dyeing, but I would like to use what we have here. What is sodium carbonate?  where would I get soda ash? In removing the wax after the dyeing proces, the teacher used tapioca powder in the boiling water to make it easier to remove. Is Rit okay to use for dyeing? Thanks for any help you can give me. HappyNew Year!  jackie fmm

Last question first: no, it is not okay to use Rit or any other brand of all-purpose dye in batiking. Any wax you use will be melted long before all-purpose dye can set. All-purpose dye is a hot water dye. It will not attach well to fabric if applied much below 190 degrees F. (88 C); to get bright or intense colors, with all-purpose dye, you should simmer at or above this temperature for thirty minutes or more. 

You must use a cool water dye when you do batik, to keep the wax from melting prematurely. In North America and Europe, we use fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. In Indonesia, fiber reactive dye may be used, but it is also common to use naphthol dyes, which are considered too dangerous for home use here, due to concerns about carcinogenicity. Vat dyes such as indigo are cool water dyes and can also be used, but the method is more difficult; I recommend vat dyes only for very experienced dyers. You may find it difficult or impossible to find fiber reactive dye locally; if so, you can mail-order it from the companies which are listed on my website under 'Sources for Dyeing Supplies'.

Caustic soda is sodium hydroxide, or lye. It is used with vat dyes as well as naphthol dyes. Although it is commonly used in all chemistry laboratories, it is quite dangerous for those not experienced in working with caustic chemicals. It can be used to adjust the pH of the dyebath when working with fiber reactive dyes, but soda ash is safer to use and much more forgiving of errors, since the pH will be close to correct even if you use half as much as you should, or twice as much. If you use even a slightly wrong amount of caustic soda with fiber reactive dyes, your pH will be wrong, so the dye will not work as efficiently. Soda ash is the common name for anhydrous sodium carbonate, readily available as a pH increaser wherever swimming pool supplies are sold. The same chemical is found in washing soda, but with more water in the formula, so you must use three times as much of the dry washing soda powder as you would use of dry soda ash.

It's interesting that your teacher used tapioca powder when removing the wax. I have tried only detergent and soap to assist in this process (and found soap to work better than detergent). It is possible to boil out wax without using any additive, and in fact wax can be reused for batiking if boiled out only in plain water, but the additive can make a great difference in how much trouble it is to boil out the wax. Natural beeswax may be easier to boil out than less expensive synthetic substitutes, since its melting point is lower. I've always used a synthetic microcrystalline wax/paraffin blend in batiking, myself, but have resolved to use beeswax instead of microcrystalline wax in the future.

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