Name: Marianne
Message: My mom made me a wedding dress of silk and cotton alencon lace.  She used cotton covered polyester thread.  We would like to dye the dress red so I can wear it as a formal gown using Procion dyes.  Do you think the thread will take any dye at all?  Will this be a disaster?  The cotton lace has all been hand applied to the silk.

Cotton-wrapped polyester thread will probably take the dye nicely. The polyester core, which will not take the dye, is covered by the dyeable cotton. Aa long as the thread was not waxed before use, it will probably dye well.

Both silk and cotton will take Procion MX dyes nicely. A potential problem will be if you use a pre-mixed dye color. Because silk and cotton are completely different, chemically, they react a little differently with each different dye color. This means that the color produced by a mixture of dyes can shift markedly in hue, on one fabric as compared to another. A red dye mixture will  come out a little more orange on the cotton and a little more blue on the silk, or the other way around, which can be a horrible shock. I would advise you against dyes labeled with such names as scarlet, chinese red, or fire engine red, as they contain mixtures of different dye colors.

Your best results by far will result from selecting  a single-hue, unmixed Procion MX type dye. The best choices for a red would be red MX-5B or red MX-8B. Red MX-5B is closer to a true red; though it is on the magenta side, it is not as bluish a red as red MX-8B. To see what names and catalog numbers this dye is sold under, by the various dye retailers, see my page of "Which Procion MX colors are pure, and which mixtures?".

If you know that the Alençon lace is made of cotton, it will probably dye well. Most lace of unknown fiber content is nylon. Nylon can be dyed with Procion MX dyes if you use an acid dyeing recipe, but not with soda ash. It requires vinegar or another acid. Cotton can be dyed only in the presence of a base such as soda ash, but not in the presence of an acid such as vinegar. Silk can be dyed either way.

You will have to do a lot of washing to get the excess unattached dye out after dyeing. Hot water is more effective than cold water at this. You can reduce the wear on the fabric by allowing the fabric to soak in the hot water for some time before completing the washing. A silk and cotton dress should be washable if the fabric was prewashed before it was sewn together, as my mother did when she made my wedding dress, but if the fabric and lace were not prewashed, the different fabrics may shrink to different extents, ruining the garment. If the fabric was not prewashed, you must avoid hot water for fear that it will shrink the lace a lot more than the rest of the dress. In that case,you may be able to get by with washing only in cool water; not all of the excess loose dye will be removed unless you wash it a great many times, so be careful about keeping the dress separate from everything else when it is washed or when it gets wet.

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Name: Lorna
Message: Searched your site, did not see answer to this: I'm using bleach to make decorations on dark Tshirts, but when rinsing bleach out it gets all over. Is there a home remedy solution that stops the bleaching action? Tried vinegar, didn't work, perhaps didn't use enough. Thanks.

Warning: Don't use vinegar to 'neutralize' chlorine bleach (hypochlorite), because one product of the reaction is deadly chlorine gas. Never use any acid, such as vinegar, with hypochlorite bleach.

The normal way to neutralize bleach after discharging dye is to rinse it with water as soon as the color as lifted sufficiently, and then immediately soak the fabric in a bleach neutralizing solution (see below). If your bleach is getting all over during the rinsing stage, you may be using far more bleach than you need to. Try using bleach that has been diluted with three times as much water, or use a Clorox Bleach Pen, which contains thickened bleach and is ideal for discharging fabric.

Always prepare your bleach neutralizing solution before you even begin to apply your bleach to your fabric. After rinsing, you will soak your garment in the bleach neutralizing solution for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. There are three main choices in what you can use to neutralize your chlorine bleach.  The best and cheapest bleach neutralizer is Anti-Chlor, which you can order by mail from PRO Chemical & Dye. It is a powder, sodium bisulfite (or perhaps sodium metabisulfite), which is economical because just under one gram of Anti-chlor is required per gallon of neutralizing bath. (They recommend 2.2 grams for 2.5 gallons of water; 1 level teaspoon of ProChem's stuff is 2.2. grams.) You can buy potassium metabisulfite at wine-making supply stores anywhere for extremely similar results. Another good alternative is Bleach Stop from Dharma Trading Company; it is more expensive because have to use a lot: one ounce (28 grams) per gallon of water (4 liters). For those who have not planned ahead by purchasing Anti-chlor or Bleach Stop, and who want something to neutralize their bleached items TODAY, drugstore 3% hydrogen peroxide, which is sold as an antiseptic, can be poured over the bleached item, after rinsing in water. This is very effective and it is safe, but it is usually not as economical as Anti-Chlor. 

Be very careful when using hypochlorite bleach. It is quite toxic, far more so than the dyes we use. Always use sturdy waterproof gloves to prevent any skin exposure, and use a good respirator, not a dust mask, to protect yourself from extended exposure to the fumes, and/or work out-of-doors or in a chemical fume hood. Overexposure to chlorine bleach can cause chemical burns to your skin as well as serious systemic effects.

For a lot more information on neutralizing hypochlorite, see the page "How can I neutralize the damaging effects of chlorine bleach?"

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[updated February 23, 2008]

Name: Danyaz
Message: Is there any way to dye white fabric 52% polyester 48% cotton a deep red or paprika color? If I can only achieve a pastel (pink) from using scarlet red tintex dye, would re-dyeing it in coffee deepen the color?

There is a way, but the expense and bother are unlikely to be worth it. The 48% cotton in your fabric can be dyed in one step with a fiber reactive dye such as Procion MX dye, or an all-purpose dye such as Tintex Hot Water dye, but the polyester cannot be dyed with regular dyes. The result of dying only the cotton, and not the polyester, would be a color half as intense, which would be a pink color. You could then dye the polyester in your fabric with a different kind of dye.

Polyester can be dyed only with special dyes made just for synthetic fibers, known as disperse dyes. No cotton dye of any sort can produce any deep color on polyester. Typically, all of the cotton dye will wash out of the polyester, leaving the polyester its original color. 

Disperse dyes can be applied only with very high heat, the temperature of boiling water or higher; getting a deep red on your polyester fiber would require not only disperse dyes, but also a carrier chemcial such as ProChem's PRO Dye Carrier NSC or Aljo's Hi-Conc Polydeveloper. This carrier chemical compensates for the fact that boiling water is not really hot enough for efficient dyeing of polyester. Without the carrier chemical, you can achieve only pale to medium shades at best.

The greatest expense in garment dyeing polyester is probably the equipment. You will need a non-aluminum dyeing pot that is large enough for your garment to move freely. If you are planning to dye only this one garment, buying a dyeing pot is expensive. Typically it would be less expensive to just buy another garment. 

Boiling the fabric in coffee for an hour would give the polyester a light tan color, insufficient to darken the overall color effect by very much.

There is one remaining possibility, which is pigment dyeing. Pigment dyeing is not true dyeing at all; it does not involve the use of any dye. Instead, pigment dyeing is the coloring of a garment by immersing it in a fabric paint, or a combination of a colored pigment plus a binder that holds it to the garment. The great advantage of this method is that it can be done at room temperature, with no requirement for expensive equipment. Pigment dyeing produces a color which tends to wear quickly, producing the effect of instant age. It is quite difficult to get a smooth even color with pigment dyeing, but the uneven effects which are usually obtained instead are preferred in some cases.


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Name: kiran
Message: polyester who is dieing to have the colour changed to black. a 'machine wash black dye' was used but unfortunately there were no changes made. could you please help me fix this big problem!!!!! thanks!

Polyester is completely different from natural fibers. Your Washing Machine Dye will work great on cotton, silk, rayon, or linen, but it can never do a thing to polyester.

The only kind of dye that will work well on polyester is called Disperse Dye. Disperse Dye can be used only on synthetics; it will just wash out of natural fibers such as cotton, silk, or wool.

Unfortunately, Disperse Dye is rather a pain to use for dyeing whole garments. It cannot be applied in merely hot water; it must be boiled, at length, say for an hour, with a special carrier chemical that makes up for the fact that even boiling water is really not quite hot enough.

You can buy disperse dyes from mail-order dye suppliers in many locations, including such companies as Fibrecrafts in the UK; I am not sure whether they sell the carrier chemical as well, which is required in order to get dark or intense shades when dyeing polyester. However, it is not enough to just buy the right kind of dye. You will need the right equipment, as well. You have to buy a very large non-aluminum pot, several gallons in capacity, large enough for your garment to move freely as it boils in the dyebath. Such a pot can be quite expensive, and yet you should not use the same pot for dyeing that you use for cooking, because textile dyes are not safe in food. Buying a large pot just for dyeing is a large expense for a dye novice, though it's an excellent investment for anyone who is serious about dyes.

You can make Disperse Dye iron-ons to add designs to your garment, but, although this is a great project in itself, it will not work for dyeing an entire garment a solid color.

The only other alternative for coloring polyester is to use a kind of fabric paint called pigment dye, which is not a dye at all. Like real dye, this can be used only to darken, never to lighten fabric. Look for any good fabric paint which claims to leave the fabric soft after painting; dilute the paint with a little water to immerse your garment in it. You will not be able to obtain a single smooth color over the whole garment with fabric paint, however; some parts will show the paint more, while others will show the original color.

For more information, see: "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes" and "Fabric Paints: a different way to color fibers".

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Name: Briana
Message: I have a shirt that is 90% polyester and 10% spandex, I was wondering if I would be able to disperse dye it anyways. It's a red almost satin-looking material and it is corset style shirt that has plastic boning in it, zipper in front and ribbon ties in back. Thank you.

No. I'm sorry, but polyester/spandex is an impossible fiber combination to dye. These two types of fibers must be dyed separately, before they are ever combined together into one piece of fabric.

Dyeing polyester requires boiling the garment for an hour with disperse type dyes and a carrier chemical. However, according to the care labels for spandex clothing, spandex blends should not be subjected to even hot tap water, which is not nearly as hot as boiling water. I am not sure how damaging hot water might be to spandex, but it seems certain that boiling spandex will destroy the fabric.

The only option for changing the color of polyester/spandex clothing is fabric paint. Perhaps pigment "dyeing" will meet your needs. Be careful in your color choice, though. Most fabric paints, like dyes, are transparent. You could use a darker color on your red satin polyester/spandex, but you cannot use a lighter color, unless you specifically purchase some fabric paint that is clearly marked 'opaque'. Metallic and pearlescent fabric paints will also show up even on a dark background, and can create spectacular effects. If possible, do not limit yourself to the fabric paints available in your local crafts store, unless it's an exceptionally good one; check the list of different companies that sell dye supplies by mail-order for sources for Jacquard Lumière metallic fabric paint or Neopaque opaque fabric paints, PROFab Textile paints, Versatex fabric paints, and so on. Please note that while Pearl-Ex Pigments make the very best metallics, they do not include a binder to attach them to your fabric; to use them, you must buy some clear extender medium for fabric paint, such as Versatex or Lumière, and mix the Pearl-Ex pigment with the binder for use as a fabric paint.


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Name: karen

Message: another source for Alter Ego Dyes - for Devore scarves -  Dharma is out and they are not sure when their shipment will come - and tis almost the season!!! 

Alter Ego Dyes are made by H. Dupont (not DuPont). They are (or were) imported from France by Atelier de Paris, in Los Angeles. Try calling Atelier de Paris, at (310) 553-6636. Perhaps they can give you the name of another retailer whom they supply. I do not know of any other US sources; Fibrecrafts, in the UK, carries them.

I've never used Alter Ego dyes because they are very expensive for what you get. They apparently include your choice of an acid dye, for silk, and a direct dye to dye the rayon. Reportedly the cellulose dye in Alter Ego does color both silk and rayon, as is typical of direct dyes, while the silk dye does not color the rayon. I wonder whether Dupont has managed to select direct dyes that are relatively less effective on silk, or if they are the same as any direct dyes. Both acid dyes and direct dyes are available from many dye sellers. Because direct dye is not very washfast, a special dye fixative is also required to prevent it from running when washed.

Another interesting option for dyeing the silk and rayon fibers in devoré scarves different colors is to buy a premixed color of fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. Premixed dye colors, such as black, produce different colors on silk than they do on rayon. For example, the same black mixture might produce black rayon pile on a dark green silk backing. (I have an online list of the pure single-hue unmixed Procion MX dyes; for mixtures, just look for any colors not on the list.)

Alternatively, you can dye the scarves in a lighter color of fiber reactive dye first, which will color both the rayon pile and the silk backing, then, in a separate step, overdye with a darker color of acid dye. Acid dye is not supposed to color the rayon, except perhaps as a temporary stain, so only the silk should fully show the acid dye. (Unfortunately, when I tried this once with Lanaset Jet Black, the rayon was stained badly enough to make the overall effect much more subtle than I wanted, though it was still gorgeous. Will other acid dyes stain the rayon less?)

Holly Brackman's new book, The Surface Designer's Handbook: Dyeing, Printing, Painting, and Creating Resists on Fabric, contains beautiful examples of devoré made from fabric woven of cotton-wrapped polyester. She includes full instructions for a fascinating technique in which the cotton is burned out and the polyester dyed with disperse dyes, in a single step. The remaining cotton is dyed with fiber reactive dyes.


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Name: Brian
Message: My toddler son has a navy blue 100% cotton light weight unlined blazer that I would like to dye a light grey for a Halloween costume. Is this possible, and if so what is the best/easist way?

Your first and biggest problem, in this project, is that no dye can turn a navy blue to any light color. Dye is transparent and can only make fabric darker, never lighter. You will have to remove the dye that is in the blazer first, by bleaching or discharging the blazer. Fortunately, it is unlined and 100% cotton, so this might work. Only cotton garments should ever be bleached with chlorine bleach. How well it will work depends on what dye is now in the navy blazer, which we do not know. Some dyes will bleach out, and some will not. I prefer a product called Rit Color Remover, or other brands of the same thing such as Jacquard Color Remover, Carbona Color Run Remover, or Dylon Colour Stripper, because these products are gentler to the fabric than chlorine bleach, and can be used in the washing machine. You can often find Rit Color Remover at the local drugstore, or try a fabric store. Since the blazer is cotton, you could try chlorine bleach instead.

It is impossible to predict what color the blazer will be after bleaching or discharging. It might remain navy blue, it might go all the way to white, or it might end up any odd color in between. After you lighten it, if the color comes out pale enough, then you can think about redyeing it, unless the color you get after bleaching is good enough. It will be less trouble if you decide the bleached color will do. (If the color is still dark after bleaching or discharging, then there is no way to dye the blazer to a light color.)

Will he ever wear this again, for real? The best and easiest way to dye the blazer would be to use a cool water dye, such as Procion MX dye. The only difficulty lies in obtaining the dye. Does your local sewing store or crafts store carry Dylon Permanent dye, or Dylon Cold Water dye, or Tulip dye? These are all good cool water dyes. 

Serious dyers prefer to mail-order dyes, because they cost much less per garment and you can get better, easier-to-use dyes. If you happen to live near one of the stores listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page, you'll want to drop by there. If you have time to order by mail, choose any of those stores, or take a look at the Jacquard Procion MX dyes you can order from Amazon: see my color card page to help choose which color to order.

If the blazer will never be worn again, then it will not matter if you use a poor quality dye, such as all-purpose dye. All-purpose dyes are poor quality dyes that require a lot of heat to apply properly, and then they still tend to run horribly when washed. For a single-wearing item, though, this does not matter; even using water that is not hot enough, such as hot tap water in a bucket, will be okay for a garment that will never be washed or worn again. You can find all-purpose dye anywhere in the US, it seems, often at your local grocery store or pharmacy; it is much easier to find than any cool water dyes, though the cool water dyes are much superior.

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Name: Lisa
Message: My question is; I would like to make home made natural dye fixative.  Vinegar? Rubbing Alcohol?  I mostly use procions, and plain fiber reactive (Dharma brand) dyes and go through way too much of the dye fix.  Also, I am in to natural remedies and the like. Any information or suggestions.  I have searched the net with several different search terms but mostly come up with hair dye stuff.

You want an all-natural fixative for synthetic dyes, is that correct? That's something I can help with. You don't make it yourself, but instead buy it from a swimming pool supply store or hardware store. What you want is pure sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, also known as soda ash, and sold under brand names such as "pH Up" or "pH Increaser". Check the label carefully for sodium carbonate; do not accept sodium BIcarbonate, which is baking soda.

Sodium carbonate works extremely well as a fixative for fiber reactive dyes, including Procion MX dyes as well as Cibacron F, Drimarene K, and Remazol type dyes. The stuff we buy at the hardware store is exactly the same stuff that Dharma sells as "Soda Ash Fixer", but buying locally can save a lot of money in shipping.

We usually buy 5 pound jugs of sodium carbonate at the hardware store. I like the jugs because they are easy to handle, keep the powder dry, and have child-proof caps. You can also buy larger quantities, but be sure not to buy more than you can keep dry, because if water gets into it you will have difficulty knowing how much to measure out. Soda ash will stay good forever, but cannot be stored in used milk jugs, because the plastic used to make milk jugs is weak. 

Washing soda contains the same chemical as soda ash, but with a lot of water molecules included in the dry powder, so it weighs three times as much. We used to advise against the use of washing soda, because Arm & Hammer used to put optical brighteners in it, which are not desired in dyeing. Now it appears that they have gone back to the all-natural sodium carbonate decahydrate, so you can use washing soda if it's handier for you to buy; just use three times as much as you would of the pure sodium carbonate.

The only substitutes for soda ash as dye fixer are high-pH chemicals, such as trisodium phosphate or sodium hydroxide. Soda ash is the best choice, however. Note that sodium carbonate is of no use in dyeing with natural dyes, nor with all-purpose dyes. For more information, see: What is soda ash, and what's it for in dyeing?.

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Name: Alicia
Message: Hi there,
Stumbled on your wonderful site!
 
Question! What dye should I use to dye fleece? It's polyester. Love the jacket, but the colour is fuchsia type pink!! Would like to change the colour to a wine, brown or even black. Plan on using my top load washing machine. What is your recommendation?

I'm afraid that my recommendation may disappoint you. You cannot dye polyester in the washing machine! You will have to buy a special dye called disperse dye, and buy a large non-aluminum cooking pot, and boil your garment in the dye for an hour, along with a toxic carrier chemical. Other dyes, which are made for cotton, silk, nylon, rayon, or wool, will NOT work on polyester, and "all purpose" dye does not include polyester among its purposes.

See my page on "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

The only reasonable option, as I see it, would be the pigment "dyes" which are really fabric paints. They will not give a smooth single color, and there's a risk that the binder in the fabric paint will make the fleece stiffer, less soft, but on the other hand the stuff will stick to polyester, and it doesn't require boiling, and the effects can be pretty interesting. The biggest problem with buying that expensive dyepot is that you should never use it for food afterwards, only for dyeing. It's too much of an investment for a casual dyer.

You cannot buy pigment "dyes" in stores. You'll have to purchase by mail-order. See the stuff at this link. Like dyes, the paints in pigment "dye" are transparent, so choose a color (or several colors) that will mix with your fuchsia to make a color you'll like. Try a dark color, since the fuchsia is very bright, perhaps their purple, blue, or black. Unfortunately, Dharma Trading Company does not ship to most countries outside of the US. Where are you located?

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Name: Marion

Message: Thank you for your wonderful info. Based on your post about reverse tie-dye (http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/dark.shtml), I would like to use RIT Color Remover for my daughter's soccer team's t-shirts.

If I understand correctly, you're suggesting that the kids tie & knot the shirts, and then I wash them all in the washing machine, with the RIT Color Remover.

Can I instead have the RIT Color remover in a vat of some sort, and have the kids dip sections of their shirts into the vat?  Would that work?

Are these commercially dyed shirts? I have to warn you that not all dyes can be discharged at all. Some will just stay the same color, and it's generally impossible to predict without actually trying it. Also, if the shirts are not 100% cotton, they probably cannot be discharged.

 

Here is the Rit Color Remover recipe, from the inside of the box:

"Stove-top method. Wash items as usual. Do not dry. Fill large stainless steel or porcelain enamel pot (not aluminum or non-stick) with water, allowing room for items. Heat water to simmer [190°F or 87°C]. Carefully add Color Remover, pouring just above water level. (AVOID BREATHING DUST. USE WITH ADEQUATE VENTILATION.) Stir to dissolve thoroughly. Carefully add wet items (avoid crowding); stir continuously with a long-handled spoon or stick, 10 to 30 minutes so color will be evenly removed. DO NOT BOIL. Carefully drain solution into sink. Using rubber gloves, thoroughly rinse items, first in hot water, then in warm water (RINSING IMMEDIATELY IN COLD WATER MAY SET CREASES). Squeeze gently to remove excess water. Rewash items with detergent."
 
The washing machine method seems easier, doesn't it? Rit Color Remover works best with heat, but I have used it with hot water in the washing machine, which is only 140°F at most, and that worked. Perhaps you could get the water in a bucket very hot by adding some hotter water to very hot tap water. However, very hot water carries risks around children, of course. Also, they should not be allowed to get any Color Remover on the hands—they'll have to wear reusable-type rubber gloves, not the thin disposable latex variety—nor splashed into their faces. I think I prefer the method of having the kids tie the garments and toss them into the washing machine.

Here is a link to the safety information for Rit Color Remover. This product is certainly safer to use than chlorine bleach, but it is not as safe to use as dissolved dyes. I would not like for young or rambunctious kids in my care to be using it. The safety sheet says "Skin contact may produce irritation and possible skin burns", and "Contact with the eyes may produce severe irritation, burns, and possible permanent eye damage." The latter is no problem if you have the children wear goggles or safety glasses of the sort worn in chemistry lab. You can usually buy goggles or safety glasses at the hardware store.  

Also, do any of the children have asthma? "Pre-existing pulmonary diseases (e.g., bronchitis, emphysema) may be aggravated by inhalation of the dust of this product. Individuals who are sensitive to sulfites may experience hypersensitivity reactions from inhalation, eye or skin contact, or ingestion of this substance." (Don't worry about the warning about heating it above 130°F, as that warning is for the dry product, not a problem after it is dissolved in water.)

I don't mean to alarm you. Safety sheets are almost always scary, since they have to deal with worst-case situations. I believe that this product is safe for adults to use, especially with the washing machine method. How safe it is for children depends on how old they are, and how well-behaved.

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Name: Millie
Message: I need to dye a stuffed toy for my grandson but I am worried because he likes to suck on it, much to my dismay but I can't break him.  What dye if any is most safe to dye his stuffed comfort stuffed tiger? 

What's it made of? Nylon and wool can be dyed with 100% safe food coloring, but cotton, as well as synthetics other than nylon, cannot be. 

When fiber reactive dyes are used to dye cotton, they are pretty safe, as long as all of the excess unattached dye gets washed out, because the attached dye is very permanent indeed and will not come off when chewed upon. However, it is extremely unlikely that your grandson's stuffed toy is made of cotton, unless you have sewn it yourself.

Most stuffed animals are made of synthetics, such as polyester, which are very difficult to dye. It's probably best to just accept whatever color the tiger already is. Sorry. If you decide to sew a new toy for him, a 100% natural fabric made of mohair or wool would be the easiest to dye with food-safe dyes.

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Name: Grace
Message: Dear Paula, So good to be on your site again, WOW, it has really grown! I have a question on Procion MX on Silk with Citric Acid. 

I am trying to get a better Red color than scarlet. I need a very deep red. It took me a lot of research to get scarlet, I obtained this by mixing 80 % Magenta with 20% lemon yellow and adding chemical water of a drop of synatrapol, Urea, a tad of Ludigol and a tsp per cup of citric acid. I let it batch a minimum of 24 hours.
I also have had No sucess getting Navy on Silk this way. I am assuming black is still impossible.
Any advice?

Exactly what dyes have you used, Grace? You must buy a pure unmixed dark navy dye to have success in dyeing dark blues on lightweight silk, I think. If you are buying Procion MX dye from Dharma, buy their #22 cobalt blue. If you are buying dyes from PRO Chemical & Dye (ProChem), buy the same dye, which they call #402c mixing blue, and also try their #414 deep navy, which is a different navy Procion MX type dye. If you are buying Jacquard brand Procion MX dyes, which is the only type you are likely to find in an art supply store, get their 078 navy, which is a premixed color but very useful, in addition to their unmixed 076 cobalt blue which is the same as Dharma's cobalt blue and ProChem's mixing blue. 

Have you gotten any of ProChem's boysenberry Procion MX dye? It is a pure unmixed red-violet dye which makes a great blood red when mixed with a little yellow. This was discovered by our Dye Forum poster, Chaos; see this link:
"Reds," July 16, 2006
I think it is well worth ordering directly from ProChem. They have a good selection of dyes.

I have not used ProChem's Silk Black mixture, but it's a good idea. Unlike all other Procion MX premixed colors, it is mixed in the right proportions for use on silk, instead of cotton. For a good pure black, I recommend that you instead use either the Remazol liquid reactive black or, for the deepest richest blacks, use the Lanaset Jet Black, which is sold by ProChem. I have used the Lanaset Jet Black dye on silk and found it very easy to use and very satisfactory. It does need to be steamed, but it's an easy process - you just wrap the dye-damp silk in plastic wrap and steam it like a vegetable for half an hour, no more.

Also, can you tell me how to figure out MX CODES for the normal procion mx dyes that only have the Color and number and not the code listed. Is there a chart somewhere that lists MX CODES for the normal line of Procion mx that you find in an art store?

No, if the Procion MX dye does not appear on my table of "Which Procion MX colors are pure, and which mixtures?", then it does not have an MX code. Most of the Jacquard Procion MX dyes that are sold in art supply stores are mixtures made from just a dozen or so different pure unmixed colors. These mixtures do not have codes. They are listed in my pure versus mixed dyes chart under "Rupert, Gibbon, & Spider", the seventh vendor listed from the left.

Here is a link to a good chart of color chips for the Jacquard Procion MX dyes, on my web site. Only the ones with asterisks are unmixed dyes. Only the unmixed dyes will perform predictably on silk. The others, premixed from several different colors, may be very nice, but the color they make will not be the same as the color they make on cotton.

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Name: Payne

Message: I am currently trying to tie dye t-shirts for a school science project. Do you know of any formulas for tie dying t-shirts that I can make myself at home?

If you want tie-dyed t-shirts that hold on to the dye throughout a number of launderings, you will need to buy a good kind of dye. It's better not to buy all-purpose dye; instead, buy some fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. The best way to buy this dye is by mail-order, but if that is impractical due to being in a hurry, you will need to try to find a local source. If your local crafts store or sewing store does not carry Jacquard Procion MX dye, look for Tulip brand tie-dye kits, or Dylon Permanent Dye, or Dylon Cold Water Dye. Avoid tie dye kits that contain all-purpose dye.

Having purchased good fiber reactive dye (not all-purpose dye!), you can then follow any of the cool water fiber reactive dye recipes on this site, such as How to Dye with Fiber Reactive Dye, How to Batik, How to Tie Dye, and How to Dye with Low Water Immersion.

If you are determined to dye your t-shirts at home without buying a good quality synthetic dye, you have set yourself a much more difficult problem. You can dye wool yarn with food coloring (which makes a fine science project), but you must not try to dye cotton with food coloring. It will not stick to the fabric; you will not be dyeing your shirts, only staining them. If you want to try dyeing with food coloring, go and buy some wool yarn, or at least a silk scarf. You could compare how well wool yarn takes food coloring dye to how poor a cotton yarn takes food coloring dye, for a better science fair project.

You should avoid trying to dye polyester or acrylic. These synthetic fibers cannot be dyed with the same dyes that we use on cotton, silk, or wool. Rayon, although it is semi-synthetic, is dyed exactly like cotton, and nylon, although it is a true synthetic, can be dyed like wool. Do not attempt to dye any synthetic fiber besides rayon and nylon, or you will be disappointed.

Natural dyes require a complex process called mordanting to be done before you attempt to apply the dye to cotton. The best method for cotton is a three-day process. On the first day, you boil the cotton t-shirt for half an hour with alum, prepared according to a reliable natural dyeing recipe; on the second, you boil the same shirt with tannins; on the third day, you repeat the alum procedure from the first day. On the fourth day, you then boil your premordanted shirt with an equal weight of a natural dyestuff, such as tree bark or flowers, or the recommended (smaller) quantity of a dye extract such as cochineal.

As you can see, using synthetic dyes that you have purchased is a vastly simpler procedure, far more suitable to a beginning dyer. Natural dyes are aesthetically pleasing, just knowing exactly where you got the dye, but they require more skill and more practice.

An exception to the rule that cotton must be premordanted before dyeing with a natural dye is turmeric, a yellow spice used in curries and in mustard mixtures. A jar from the spice department of your grocery store should be sufficient to dye one or two shirts. Just boil them for half an hour in water containing a large amount of turmeric. The reason why turmeric is not commonly used as a dye is because it fades in the light. Dyeing two shirts with turmeric and exposing one to bright sunlight for several days, while hiding the other away in a dark place, might make a nice science project. You should see a difference in color after a few days of sunlight.

If you are going to dye cotton t-shirts at home using natural dyes, you will need to acquire a good book of recipes that tell you exactly how to do it. I recommend A Dyer's Companion, by Dagmar Klos, for its excellent mordanting recipes.

Also see "FIXING NATURAL DYES FROM WALNUTS, GOLDENROD, SASSAFRAS AND POKE WEED IN COTTON - DO I USE UREA OR SODA ASH?", answered in this blog on October 5, 2006.

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Name: Mark
Message: Do you have any tips how to make good "crinkle" style shirts? Something like this link.
I tried once by making just a random bunch and tieing it here and there. It was a complete failure.

If you keep trying, I am sure you will succeed. Crinkle style dyeing seems like one of the easiest styles to me. The Tie Dye Wiki has a good tutorial on how to do the scrunch or chaos fold. The secret is to apply dye to only one side of the flat-crumpled and tied fabric, or a different color to each side. This is difficult to do with full immersion dyeing, which is the normal way to dye with hot water dyes, but if you apply very concentrated dye directly and then steam the dye to help it bond to the fiber, you can use very similar techniques to those we use with cool water fiber reactive dyes such as Procion MX dye.

This alternate method to try with your hot-water dye requires that you dissolve it in only a relatively small amount of water. It does not matter what the temperature of the water is, as long as the dye dissolves. Including salt might help in the dyeing process, though it makes it more difficult to dissolve the dye. Put it in plastic squeeze bottles such as ketchup and mustard are sold in, or try a rubber bulb of the sort sold for cleaning babies' ears, perhaps. Apply the dye to the different sections of your tied shirt, as described in the instructions you have seen online for cold water dyes. You will always need to make an effort to get the dye in between the folds of the fabric. After you have done this, wrap the shirt in plain paper, fasten it with string so it does not unwrap itself, and then steam it, just like you are steaming vegetables. There should be water in the bottom of your cooking pot, some sort of rack to hold the shirt out of the water, and a lid to hold the steam in. I think that half an hour of exposure to a good amount of steam should do the job. This may take take some testing to get it right. Most hot water dyes are not very washfast; if you can, use an after-fix dye fixative treatment like Retayne; if not, launder only in cool water.

I hope that you will be able to acquire a good cool water fiber reactive dye, which makes it a great deal easier to tie-dye and produce long lasting, bright, pretty results. [See previous blog entry on where to buy fiber reactive dye in Finland.]

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Name: Marko
Message: Do you know where I can buy those fiber reactive dyes without paying million dollars in shipment? As far as I know, here in Finland there are no actual shops selling them. 

I believe that there are some types of fiber reactive dyes sold in Finland. For example, I have heard of Dylon Washing Machine Dye being purchased in Finland; it contains mostly Drimarene K dyes, which are good fiber reactive dyes. I think that the high-pH dye fixers, either soda ash (Na2CO3) or trisodium phosphate, are already included in the dye mixture. The same is true of Dylon Hand Dye and Dylon Permanent Dye; Dylon Cold Water Dye is mostly made of Procion MX dyes. If you can find a Dylon brand dye but are not sure of the type of dye it contains, you may have found some of their Multi-Purpose Dye, which is a hot water dye, similar to Rit and Tintex all-purpose dyes.

Have you ever seen dyes being sold under the name "Furian"? I have heard that Levafix fiber reactive dyes are available in Finland with this brand name. They can be used at room temperature, but they will work best if you place them in a very warm place to react. In 2002, a DyersLIST mailing list member from Finland posted this, about Furian dyes:
I got mine from Seriväri paying for the Matkahuolto-postage myself. Later I found out that I could have ordered them through a local hobby shop just as well. If you contact Seriväri, I am sure they will let you know if someone sells Furian close to you. Seriväri only have primaries for dyeing, but you can mix them beautifully.

Another person from Finland who wrote to me found that her family's sauna was an ideal place for fiber reactive dyes to react with fabric. I imagine that she wrapped each in plastic bags or plastic food wrap before placing them in there to react.

Olli Niemitalo, who made the Dye Mixer Applet, has ordered Procion MX dye from Quilt & Art in Germany (www.quiltundart.de). Prices are lower at PRO Chemical & Dye in the US, and they do ship internationally; it might actually be more economical to order from there in spite of the greater shipping costs.

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  Love your website, it's very informative!!!!  Next weekend, about 10 or 12 women I work with (operating room nurses) are going camping.  We are going to tie dye on Saturday.  I purchased a Tulip one step dye kit, cold water dye because it seems easiest for camping.  We are going to use squirt bottles.
     I have two concerns.  First, there is no soda ash treatment required, or urea.  Just squirt and wrap in plastic for 4-6 hours.  Second, the temperature forecast is low- to mid-50's. Do you think there will be any problems?  Any advice would be great. Simple is best.

I was just looking at the Tulip one-step Tie Dye Kit in the crafts store yesterday. (Congratulations on avoiding the big-name-brand all-purpose dye tie dye kit, if your store carries it as well, as it is much harder to use and produces very much inferior results!) The Tulip One-Step kit contains good-quality fiber reactive dye, but the soda ash that is required is already mixed with the dye. This means that it is essential that it be kept absolutely dry until it is ready to use (seal the boxes in an extra ziplock bag if rain might get into your supplies), and it must be used quickly after the dye powder has been mixed with water. The dye and soda ash in Tulip One Step Dye will begin to react together immediately, as soon as they become wet; they must be applied to the fabric right away, because the dyes' reactivity will be used up within an hour, at room temperature. It is the dye itself, not the soda ash, that goes bad quickly. The brightest effects from the dye may be available only in the first ten or fifteen minutes after the water is added!

Be sure you have purchased enough kits for the size of your group. Each Tulip One Step Tie Dye kit claims to dye from eight to fourteen "projects" per kit, depending on which of their kits you choose {"Ultimate dyes make up to 14 projects per kit—Primary, Classic & Vibrant dye make up to 8 projects per kit"), but keep in mind that, as the kits appear to be being marketed to teenagers, they might dye half as many garments in adult sizes. It might be best to get twice as many kits as you expect to need, and use all of the dye. Tie-dyed clothing usually looks best with a lot of dye, although more shirts can be dyed if a lot of white is retained. When you apply the dye, be sure to probe deeply with a gloved finger into the folds of the fabric, to make sure that enough dye has penetrated. Usually beginners will not get enough dye into the folds and are a little disappointed at how much white they have in their end product. Insert the tip of the squirt bottle right down in between the folds of fabric.

Have everything ready to go before you mix the water into the dye+soda ash. The shirts should be prewashed before you leave on your trip. They should be 100% cotton, not polyester, as polyester will stay white, and they should not be stain-resistant, which would make them dye-resistant as well. (100% cotton white scrubs dye very nicely.) Do any tying before you add the water to the dye powder. Have the shirts laid out and ready to go, then add the water to the dye at the last possible moment.

The temperature will be a significant problem on this trip. "Cold" water dye, in the textile industry, means that the required temperatures are cool enough not to scald you; it does not mean truly cold. Procion MX type dyes, which is what are found in the Tulip dye kits, do not react much at temperatures below 70°F (21°C). The dye reactions will take far, far longer at 50°F than at 70°F, at least three times as long, and may not take place at all; the turquoise color in particular will be extremely pale at such low temperatures. You will need to do something to increase the temperature of the fabric while it is still wet with the dye. If you are car-camping at a site with an electrical outlet, you could bring an electric blanket or a heating pad; if it's a very sunny day, a closed car parked in the sun would be the perfect place to put your bagged garments to react. Closed black plastic garbage bags sometimes get fairly hot in the sun, if insulated from the cold ground. If you place the shirts near your campfire, be careful that the plastic bags do not get hot enough to melt. 70°F is adequate, but 100°F is an even better temperature for the dye reaction. At 70°F, it is best to leave the dye to react much longer than four hours; overnight is the usual. 

Since you will be not be at home or at work, you must think of everything you might need in advance. Take a box of latex or similar gloves, a roll of paper towels, and pitchers or bottles as a convenient source of water. Do not breathe the dye powder when mixing it with the water; wear a dust mask during this step. Take extra plastic bags, and be sure to wear clothing and shoes that will not be a loss if they become permanently stained with the dye. 

The shirts will look much lighter in color after they are washed out, so be sure that you apply enough dye to make them appear darker than the results you want. After the dyes have been allowed to react with the fabric, the last and very important step is washing out. I always do the initial washing in cool water, but after that I find that washing in hot water is the best way to remove the excess unwanted dye. I usually pop the shirts directly into the washer for one run with cold water and then two runs with detergent with the hottest water available. If the washing facilities at the camp site are inadequate, as seems likely, you can just take the carefully bagged damp dyed items home and wash them out there on the following day.

I would love to see a picture of your group in your matching shirts after you've returned from your outing.

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Name: Deanna
Message: I read in the archives the question about fiber reactive dyes and heavy metals, but wanted to ask about acid dyes and heavy metals, particularly the lanaset dyes, a few of whom, according to your table do contain heavy metals.  In particular Jet black contains chromium.  

I was wondering if you could explain what it means when a dye is premetalized with chromium or some other heavy metal and also talk about what the risk of exposure might be from using a dye that is premetalized with chromium.  I am primarily interested in dyeing wool. 

In premetallized acid dyes, such as many of the dyes in the Lanaset series, each metal atom, usually chromium, is complexed to either one or two molecules of the dye. The metal improves the fastness of the dye considerably. Dyeing with premetallized dyes is superior to mordant dyeing, in which the metal is applied to the wool as a separate reagent from the dye, because the dye is more predictable in color, and the process less harmful to the wool. Health and environmental hazards are also lower with premetallized dyes than with chromium mordants. Colors for premetallized dyes tend to be slightly brighter than those of mordant dyes, but less bright than those of non-metallized acid dyes. (Reference: Wool Dyeing, edited by David M. Lewis; published by the Society for Dyers and Colourists.)

As you know, chromium can be very hazardous when misused industrially. Overexposure and poisoning can result from breathing chromium fumes, such as from chromium-plating operations; less efficiently, ingestion and skin exposure can also result in chromium poisoning. Hexavalent chromium is much more easily absorbed than trivalent chromium and is considered more dangerous as a result. Hexavalent chromium has been classified as a human carcinogen, primarily due to a significant increase in lung cancer among those chronically exposed to high airborne levels, while trivalent chromium has not. Chromium used in dyeing is usually trivalent. However, trivalent chromium is not harmless in overdose, so it is wise to limit exposure for any form. Oddly, a form of trivalent chromium is also considered an essential part of human nutrition, in very low dosages; the requirement is between 50 and 200 micrograms per day.

Obviously, when working with Lanaset dyes, we should follow the usual good housekeeping procedures: no use of food preparation surfaces or equipment in dyeing; all food preparation surfaces must be covered; wear a properly fitting dustmask when working with  dye powders; wear gloves throughout use; keep dye powder containers closed except briefly when removing dye; no eating or smoking in the presence of dye powders or solutions.

It is useful to look at MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets) provided by dye suppliers. You should be able to obtain an MSDS for every potentially hazardous substance from the company from which you purchase it. PRO Chemical & Dye's MSDS for Lanaset Jet Black is not at all alarming, but it does indicate the appropriate precautions to be taken. Another MSDS page (at another site) indicates that Lanaset Black B dye powder contains 3.2% chromium, in the form of a Cr(III) organic-metal complex. Therefore, a dye painting solution of 1 teaspoon of Jet Black Lanaset dye that contains 2.5 grams of dye, dissolved in one cup (250 ml), contains 0.08 grams (which is equal to 80 milligrams or 80,000 micrograms) of chromium. After being diluted with 50 gallons of uncontaminated water, this dye concentration would meet the US EPA standard for chromium content of drinking water in the US, which is 100 micrograms per liter.  

All in all, I'd say you can go ahead and use as much Lanaset dye as you wish, without fear of hazard, as long as you do not breathe dye powder, eat or smoke around the dyes, get much skin exposure to the dye powder or solutions, or spill dye without cleaning it up properly. Just be careful to take the usual precautions.

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Name: Donna
Message: Hi- I am collecting walnuts, goldenrod, sassafras and poke weed to use on 100% cotton (white and natural) petite canvas bags.  The handles are polyester so they will probably not take the dye. We are going to sell these to raise funds for our local animal protection agency. What is the best way to obtain the colors from these natural materials and what is the best way to fix the color into the material.  I was told 2 different things- use urea or use soda ash.  What do you recommend? Thank you for you help !!! 

Please don't sell anything you make until after you have tested it for washfastness! Make absolutely certain sure that dye does not rub off when dry, nor bleed when wet, before selling anything. As a general rule, natural dyeing requires a lot of experience; the application of natural dyes is much more demanding and labor-intensive than that of synthetic dyes. A beginner's first experiments with natural dyeing do not usually result in professional-quality goods that are suitable for sale. 

Neither urea nor soda ash will fix your natural dye! Urea is a humectant used to retain moisture during reactions of synthetic dyes. Soda ash, which is the main ingredient in washing soda, merely increases the pH, which is essential for using synthetic fiber reactive dyes on cotton, but will not assist in setting natural dyes. Whoever told you to use urea or soda ash to fix natural dyes is not an expert in the dyeing process.

In order to set natural dyes in your cotton, you must pre-mordant it. I recommend that you acquire a copy of Dagmar Klos's book, The Dyer's Companion, which contains detailed recipes for mordanting cotton and other fibers. The  Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing, by J.N. Liles, contains recipes for mordanting cotton, as well, but it is not as easy for a beginning dyer to understand. Use the alum-tannin-alum method of mordanting for best results. Boil your (prewashed) cotton bags for the indicated time in the indicated strength of alum. Next, repeat the process with tannin. For your third step, repeat the alum treatment again. Only after this three-step premordanting process has been completed can you apply the dyestuffs. You will need to find a good recipe for dyeing cotton with each of your natural dyes, as well. Most natural dyeing books contain recipes only for wool, which is vastly easier to dye than cotton; wool recipes cannot be used for cotton. As a general rule, you will need one to two pounds of natural dyestuff for every pound of fabric, and, in most cases, you will need to boil or simmer the dyestuff for some time. Weigh your canvas bags so that you have an idea of how much you will need. If your stack of bags weighs five pounds, in general you should collect ten to fifteen pounds of dyestuff to use on them. It is only dye extracts and synthetic dyes that can be used in smaller quantities than the weight of whatever fabric you are planning to dye.

Walnuts are probably the best and strongest of the dyes that you propose to use. Because of the tannins in the walnuts, you can omit the tannin step in mordanting cotton to be dyed with walnuts, though the alum is still important. I have seen recipes that call for grinding the hulls of green walnuts and letting them rot for a week before using them in dyeing. Lile's book The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing contains recipes for dyeing cotton and linen with walnuts, but warns that pokeberry gives only non-lightfast results, and that only on wool, not cotton. This book includes a recipe that says that a half-pound of goldenrod flowers is sufficient for one pound of cotton, mordanted with alum/tannin/alum.

Interestingly, when my son used turmeric to dye various fibers for a science fair project, the polyester which had been mordanted with alum did take the dye, a nice yellow. (He boiled the fiber in the alum and then in the turmeric, I think for half an hour each.) If you try turmeric, which is a rather easy-to-use natural dye—only a few spoonfuls are needed—be sure to label your goods with a warning that the dye is not lightfast and will fade with time. Unlike most other natural dyes, turmeric can dye unmordanted cotton, which makes for a much simpler procedure.
 
The idea of natural dyes is very appealing, but, as you can see, this is no beginner's project that you have undertaken. You should obtain recipes in a trusted dyeing book in order to have any hope of success, and you will need to allow plenty of time for trial and error as you learn to correctly use mordants and natural dyes. 

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Name: Toby
Message: Hello.
I just came aacross your web site and thought you may be able to help me.
I am interested in purchasing a inflateable Hayack but I can only find them in bright colored fabrics. I need them to be a dark/drab color like green or brown. I'm trying to find out what type of dye to use for such a thing. Here is a link to the Kayack I want to purchase.

I was hoping you coould look at it and sell me the correct dye or recomend what type and what meathod to use to dye it.

(You may find a lot more information if you spell the word "kayak" when you do your searches.)

This is a very difficult question to answer, because it is impossible to know what dye to use unless you know the identity of the fiber to which you will be applying it, but the material used to make the inflatable boats is not listed. It would be best to contact the seller and ask for their advice. They might tell you that it is not a good idea to dye it yourself. Perhaps they can direct you to a suitably drab-colored model.

Inflatable kayaks are probably made with a coating which will repel all dyes and paints. If that is so, you will not be able to dye one satisfactorily.

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You wrote this [toward the bottom of your page on All Purpose Dyes]: "(DyersLIST member Doug Wilson has shown us that it is actually possible to dye both types of fiber in a mixed-fiber garment with the same fiber reactive dye, but this requires a two-step process with two different pH levels.)" How can I find this post of his?

If you are a member of the DyersLIST mailing list, you can access all of the archived postings by going to their web page at http://list.emich.edu/~dyers/. (In this case, trying searching for "cotton nylon blend".)

The DyersLIST mailing list sends out a copy of your password every month, which you will need to log in, immediately after entering your first set of search terms. If you cannot find your password, you can change it on the following page:
https://list.emich.edu/mailman/listinfo/dyerslist

The DyersLIST archive is an amazing treasury of information and experiences about all sorts of dyes. I think that all serious dyers should join this mailing list.

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