Archives for April, 2009

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Is it possible to tie-dye a running shirt that is 100% polyester?

Name: Rebecca

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Color polyester fabric with fabric paints

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disperse dye

Message: I am trying to tie dye a running shirt that is 100% polyester. Is this going to be possible? Your site is wonderful, thanks for sharing!

Yes, it is possible. Tie-dyeing a polyester shirt is very different from tie-dyeing cotton. You must use completely different dyes. No dyes that work on natural fibers will work on polyester; you'll need to use a special polyester dye called disperse dye, or else give up on dye altogether and use fabric paints.

You can buy disperse dyes (see "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes"), tie your shirt, and drop the shirt into the boiling dye for an hour or so. This requires that you use the traditional method of tie-dyeing, in which only one color is applied at a time. For multi-colored effects, complete the dyeing, then untie the shirt, retie it in a different pattern, and drop the shirt into another color of boiling dye. If you do this with two colors of dyebaths, you will get large regions that are a combination of the two colors, with smaller areas of just one color or the other, where the ties block one of the dyes from reaching the fabric.

Another method is to buy disperse dyes transfer crayons, and use them to make designs on paper. You can then iron the design onto the polyester fabric. See "Iron-on Fabric Crayons for Synthetic Fibers". The crayon look exactly like ordinary wax crayons, but they are made of a completely different material (don't confuse the two types of crayons!). You can buy these transfer crayons from a fabric store, or sometimes from large stores such as Target or Walmart, and you can also order them from a dye supplier such as Dharma Trading Company.

The third method is to use fabric paint instead of dye. This has the advantage of not requiring high heat, as the disperse dyes do, though some paints will need to be heat-set briefly as directed by the manufacturer. Be sure to use only those fabric paints that are claimed to be able to work on synthetic fabrics. Some fabric paints will work well only on natural fibers. I recommend that you use either Dye-Na-Flow, a fabric paint made by Jacquard Products to flow like dye, or the Dharma Pigment Dyes fabric paints sold by Dharma Trading Company. The latter are more economical. Dilute the fabric paints with water (up to 25% as much water as paint for the Dye-Na-Flow paints, or up to 400% as much water as paint for the Dharma Pigment Dyes), following the manufacturers' instructions, then dip the fabric into the paint, or squirt it on with plastic bottles or apply it with a paint brush. Allow the fabric to dry thoroughly before heat-setting.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

How much of a pain would it be to wash the shirts all out by hand?

Name: Wendy

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Message: Hi, Love your site, we'll be tie dying shirts for our sailing camp this summer, about 100 shirts. I was planning on buying the Tulip kits at Michaels. My question is about washing, we won't have laundry facilities, how much of a pain would it be to wash all them out by hand...or should we look for a nearby laundramat? Also, is the Tulip kit the best way to go with such a large quantity? Thanks in advance for your help!

I think that washing out by hand would be a lot of trouble! I'd rather wash them out in a laundromat. However, if you must do it by hand, it will doable, if you enlist your students in the washing-out. Washing a hundred shirts by hand yourself would be backbreaking.

If you take them to a laundromat, you'll want to throw them all together into one container, probably. If you do this, you must be very sure that all of the dye has reacted first, before you allow one shirt to touch another. The secret to making sure that the dye has all reacted is to give it plenty of time at a warm enough temperature. Otherwise, some of the dye from one part of one shirt might permanently stain a lighter region on another shirt. Leaving the shirts in a warm place, 70°F or warmer, overnight, will be sufficient. The dyes, if they are kept warm long enough, in the presence of soda ash, will all have reacted with either the fabric or the water. Fully reacted dyes will not stain permanently, because they can be washed out in hot water.

I recommend that you rinse the shirts, or run them through the washer without detergent, in cool water first, to get rid of the soda ash. Then you should wash in the hottest water available, one or two wash cycles, to remove unattached excess dye. There is always a lot of unattached excess dye.

If you hand wash the shirts, again you should start by rinsing in cool water, then use the hottest water available. Excess dye washes out much more efficiently in hotter water. You can pour very hot water over the shirts and leave them to soak for an hour or two if you prefer, to save on the amount of water required. It will still take a lot of water, however.

If you have time, consider mail-ordering a large tie-dyeing kit from PRO Chemical & Dye or from Dharma Trading Company. The kits from these companies are very high in quality, and they are more economical than the kits sold by Michaels. Like the Tulip kits, the kits from these suppliers contain good Procion MX type dye, plastic squeeze bottles and the soda ash needed to fix the dye. Don't forget to buy at least a hundred pairs of disposable gloves, and a dust mask to wear while mixing the dye powders.

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Can I dye indigo blue cotton to make it black?

Name: Allan
Message: Have a a garment that has been dyed indigo dark blue made from cotton fabric. The dye has not been set as yet. I would like to dye this garment BLACK. Is this possible????, and how???

If you do not properly fix your blue dye, it is apt to come out later on. If the blue dye is truly indigo, and not merely indigo-blue, then it should have been fixed in the original application. If too much indigo was applied at a time, or if the chemistry of the indigo dyebath was incorrect, then it will be impossible to fix the indigo dye, and it will continue to rub off of the garment no matter how you fix any additional dyes.

Normally it is very possible to overdye a blue fabric to black. Black fabrics that you purchase may start off as any color, if for example the manufacturer made a mistake in dyeing. Any color can be overdyed to make black.

The best black dye for hand-dyeing cotton fabric would be a fiber reactive dye, such as one of the Procion or Remazol classes of dye, because fiber reactive dyes are very resistant to washing and are very easy to apply.

A black sulfur dye or vat dye is more difficult to apply, but can also be very washfast, and often quite resistant to bleaching and to fading caused by light.

If you use a black direct dye, it is important to use a cationic dye fixative, such as Retayne, to make the dye resist being washed out. Unfortunately, cationic dye fixatives often increase a dye's susceptibility to fading from sunlight, and they do not work on vat dyes such as indigo.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Can you please send me all catalogs and brochures you have

Name: Roland
Message: Can you please send me all catalogs and brochures you have to [my address]. I wish to learn and posibly make large amounts of clothes or contact me on [phone number] thank you.

I don't have any catalogs or brochures, but there are many dye suppliers who do. See my page of
"Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World", for websites and contact information.

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

I have some pillow shams that are cream color and 100% cotton. Can I dye them a light to medium purple?

Name: Beth

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Message: I have some pillow shams that are cream color and 100% cotton. Can I dye them a light to medium purple, and if so what should I use? Thank you for your time!

If they're washable, they should be dyeable. Wash them thoroughly before dyeing. If there is a stain-resistant or permanent-press finish, it will interfere with dyeing, but otherwise you'll probably be fine.

The yellowish tint in the original cream color will make your purple a little bit duller and more muted, since yellow is the visual opposite of purple, but since it's pale it should work out okay, at least for medium to dark shades of purple.

I recommend that you use a cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dyes. (See "About Fiber Reactive Dyes".) These dyes will give you vastly better results than all-purpose dyes such as Rit or Tintex, and they are easier to use since you don't have to heat the fabric in the water with the dye. You can buy Procion MX dye in the best local crafts stores and by mail-order; you can also look for Dylon Cold Water Dye, Dylon Permanent Dye, or Tulip One Step Fashion Dye, all of which contain good fiber reactive dyes. In the UK or Australia, look for Dylon Machine Dye.

For instructions, see those that come with the package of dye that you buy, or see my pages of instructions, including How to Hand Dye and Washing Machine Dyeing.

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Saturday, April 25, 2009

using dyes to mark live birds

Name: Pat

Message: Hi Paula
Your website is extremely informative and helpful yet also confusing. It is the most detailed explanation about dyes I have ever read.

Just FYI, I am not a fabric dyer. I am a biologist.

I am dyeing live birds (I have USFWS & USGS permits for this) and have tried other dyes that wash off easily (e.g. malachite green, rhodamine B--which I think is now considered toxic too). I need the dyes I use to last about a month.

I know that dyes like picric acid form a bond with the free amino acids on the feathers and that they work well. I thus believe that I want an acid dye like picric acid, (e.g. Acid Red 4, Acid Yellow 23), but in reading your very good descriptions of the various dyes, I realized that the best results of course come from when you boil the dye with the wool. Of course we will be applying the dyes on the feathers of a live bird and so temperature has to be ambient.

Having said that, which of the dyes you describe do you think would last the best? Unfortunately the birds are seabirds who plunge-dive about 1-2 feet into the ocean to feed, and so the feathers will get wet. Thus, we do not want a dye that will wash out in salt water.

We are planning to do the following: 1,use a wetting agent to remove excess oil in the small area where we will put the dye; 2, use an alcohol-based carrier of the dye along with acid to set it; and 3, hold the bird until the dye has dried (have no idea how long that would be)

I have read some MSDS-es of the dyes, and although written by lawyers to all sound horrible, I know that some are safe--ie. those used in cosmetics and food (and their MSDS-es do not sound good at all).

Which of your dyes would you suggest? A chemist at a fly-tying company suggested acid red 4 & acid blue 249 for colorfastness, but I am also looking for two more colors that we could see from afar. In a prior study, I used picric acid, which faded so much, we could not see it on the birds. Thus I am thinking of a dye in that same family and in bright green or a dark yellow or a black. I have heard OK feedback from Lissamine green (acid green 50) , and acid yellow 23 (tartrazine), and was wondering also about Amido Black 10 B (Acid Black 1) or Hematoxylin (Natural Black 1).

Do you have any other suggestions for dyes? Or classes of dyes (from your website classifications)? Or opinions about the above dyes (i.e. toxic, short-0lasting etc.)? Or also suggestions for the dyeing process?

If you don't know the answers to these questions, any leads you may give me would be most helpful. I know that dyeing live animals is not your field, but you are indeed an expert on dyes, and I figured that you would be the best person to answer all of this.

This is a very interesting and difficult question, since you can't use heat to set the dyes at all. As a rule all acid dyes attach much better at high temperatures. I don't have any answers for you, but here are some suggestions.

It would be a good idea for you to get some white feathers from a crafts store and experiment on them before using a dye on your wild birds. It's impossible to predict how well the various dyes will work without a heat fixing step. A fly-tying chemist should be a better source than I am, since they specialize in dyeing feathers that will be immersed in water. Unfortunately, their experiences, like mine with textiles, allow the use of heat that is not possible for you to use on a live bird. Trial and error is essential, including soaking your test feathers in salt water to see if they run.

There are some fabric paints and markers that do not require heat setting. Unlike dyes, they are held in place by an acrylic binder, instead of by hydrogen bonding between the dye and the protein of the feather. It would be a good idea to try these, along with your dyes. A fabric marker that does not have to be heat-set would be very convenient to use. I know that the Marvy Uchida fabric markers do not require heat setting, and they survive repeated launderings. The Identipen brand of fabric markers would be worth a try, too. Look at the fabric marker offerings at the Dharma Trading Company web site.

The dyes that are used for tie-dyeing cotton, Procion MX dyes, will also react well with silk and wool at a pH of 9 or so, at room temperature. The pH must be above 8 for the reaction to occur reliably without heat. These are fiber reactive dyes, though they can also be used as acid dyes if an acid is substituted for the base they are normally used with. I would recommend that you add these to your testing. If you don't already have a source for these dyes, there is a well-known hand-dyer's supply company, Maiwa Handprints, located in Vancouver. Dylon Cold Water dyes are also, most of them, Procion MX dyes, and they tend to be fairly easy to come by in Canada. There are other lines of dye sold by Dylon; don't confuse Dylon Cold Dye with Dylon Multi Purpose Dye, Dylon Permanent Dye, or Dylon Hand Dye.

Tartrazine, the yellow food dye, is not going to be at all light-resistant. I expect it will fade quickly. I don't have personal experience with the other dyes you mention. Hematoxylin is far less toxic than picric acid; it's certainly safer to work with. Picric acid is a rather frightening chemical.

You've probably already studied this document: Guidelines to the Use of Wild Birds in Research (Edited by Abbot S. Gaunt & Lewis W. Oring)
and the reference they mention,
Belant, J.L., and T.W. Seamans. 1993. Evaluation of dyes and techniques to color-mark incubating herring gulls. J. Field Ornithol. 64:440-451.
What do they say about dyes and dye fixatives?

Do you put some sort of oil onto the dyed region after you have completed marking the birds? I'm wondering if the de-oiled section of feathers would tend to absorb more water than usual, and whether some sort of waterproofing oil or silicone treatment would help the dye marking to last longer.

I hope that some of these notes may be helpful. I would very much like to know what ends up working best for your bird marking.

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Friday, April 24, 2009

wanting to find a dyer in Medford to dye some slipcovers

Name: Marti

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Message: Hi Paula-I could have sworn you had a dyeing studio in Medford Or, and I'm looking to move there and am driving up to Medford and wanted to drop off some slipcovers to do for a chair and a half and matching ottoman. Thought I saved the info with your Medford Or address. Now I can find your site but no store listings. Rats. If you do have a business, I want to send a pillow cover for you to analyze, cause the fabric content is unknown. please let me know. Thanks.

Sorry, that wasn't me. I am unable to do custom dyeing or fiber analysis at this time, and I'm located in Texas, not Oregon.

There are many excellent hand dyers who do custom work listed on my page of "Where to Find a Custom Dyer". Please see:
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/find_a_custom_dyer.shtml

Here's a Dye Forum post with links to information on how to test your unknown fiber:
http://www.pburch.net/drupal/?q=node/734#comment-3105

Good luck with your project.

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Dyeing ribbon for rhythmic gymnastics

Name: Stephanie

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Message: I am just wondering if you have ever tie dyed ribbon for rhythmic gymnastics we would like our ribbons to have some color to them instead of being a solid color if you can help me it would be great thank you

Ribbons are easy to dye if they are made of a natural fiber. A lot of people dye silk, cotton, or rayon ribbon with fiber reactive dyes, such as the dyes in a good tie-dye kit. You can dye them just as you would dye a cotton t-shirt. Wash the ribbons first, then presoak them in soda ash (unless your kit has the soda ash mixed in with the dye already), lay them out in a plastic dishpan or other plastic surface, and squirt the dyes on wherever you please. Aim for colors that are significantly darker than the ones you want, since some of the dye will inevitably fail to attach and have to be washed out.

Good types of ribbon to dye include silk ribbon, rayon ribbon (viscose rayon, that is, not rayon acetate), cotton ribbon, and nylon ribbon. Nylon can be dyed using a hot water acid dye, on the stovetop, even though it is a synthetic fiber; it acts a lot like wool when you dye it. Real silk is a versatile fiber that can be dyed either like cotton or like nylon.

Other synthetic fiber ribbons are more difficult to dye, but not impossible. 'Satin' ribbon is probably polyester, though it's possible to weave silk or rayon into satin ribbon. You can color polyester or acetate ribbons with a special mail-order polyester dye known as disperse dye. These dyes require high heat to penetrate the synthetic fibers. Dyes that work on natural fibers such as cotton or silk will not work on polyester or acetate. You can use Disperse Dye Transfer Crayons to color a design onto paper, then iron them onto your ribbons.

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As long as the ribbon material is not water-resistant or stain-resistant, you can also use fabric paint. Most fabric paints must be heat-set after they have dried thoroughly, but this is easy to do, by ironing with a hot iron, or by placing them in a commercial dryer for thirty minutes at high heat (home dryers don't get hot enough). Some fabric paints, such as Color Hue Instant Set Silk Dye, can be used with no heat setting at all, but it's best to use this color only for silk, and never for polyester. Jacquard Products brand fabric paints, such as Dye-Na-Flow, can be used on polyester as well as on natural fibers.

You can even use fabric markers, which, unlike 'permanent' marking pens intended for paper, will last through many washings. I recommend almost any brand that specifies that it is intended for use on fabric, such as Marvy Uchida markers, Jacquard Products' Tee Juice markers, or FabricMate Markers. The Tee Juice markers can be squeezed to soak through a large section of ribbon at once.

If your ribbons are made of a fiber that frays or shows wear from a little exposure to water, you won't be able to use most dyes, though you may be able to use some fabric markers. It's best to use ribbons that can be hand washed.

Here are some earlier blog entries that you should read:

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

How can I dye a jacket that is made of a blend of Dyneema and polyester?

Name: Andrew
Message: I have a jacket purely white fabric 50% Dyneema and 50% Polyester, How could I dye it to Black? Which product should I use?

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This is an interesting question. I had not heard of Dyneema before. It is a high modulus polyethylene, generically known as HMPE, and is billed as the world's strongest fiber, which is why it's used in protective clothing for fencing. Another brand of this material is called Spectra. The manufacturer claims that Dyneema is extremely durable and resistant to moisture, UV light and chemicals. Unfortunately, any fiber that is resistant to water is generally going to be impossible to dye. They say, "Textiles made with Dyneema® are highly resistant to abrasion, UV light, mildew, soils and stains, detergents and chemicals. Cut resistance is unaffected by washing." Any fiber that is resistant to stains is also going to resist dye. In fact, the manufacturer specifically says, "Dyneema® is white and cannot be dyed, but can be mixed with other textiles for a stippled effect." If you ever see colored Dyneema, it will have been dyed while still in liquid form, before the fiber was extruded from the liquid plastic.

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Polyester can be dyed by boiling it for half an hour or longer with a special kind of dye called disperse dye; the dyeing works better if a noxious-smelling carrier chemical is used at the same time. It cannot be dyed with any dye that works on natural fibers. You can't dye polyester with all-purpose dyes such as Rit or Tintex, nor with acid dyes, direct dyes, or reactive dyes. You can purchase disperse dye by mail order from some dye suppliers.

However, if you dye the polyester in your 50/50 blend, you will not be able to produce black. Since only 50% of the fibers will accept the dye, the darkest color you can obtain will be a medium gray. Black is not an option. You should consider dyeing your jacket only if you would like to change it to a pale color.

Some fabric paints will work to color polyester, but they will not help in this situation. Since Dyeneema is so highly resistant to chemicals, it will also tend to repel fabric paint. Fabric paint will not make a permanent color on Dyeneema.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What is the process to use Retayne in a front load, low water type washing machine?

Name: Cindy
Message: I have used Retayne in my friend's topload machine. She fills the tub, adds Retayne, then uses the wash cycle and times it.

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Retayne

Retayne sets all-purpose dyes, such as Rit, as well as acid dyes, direct dyes, and inadequately fixed fiber reactive dyes. It will not work on vat dyes, such as indigo denim.

I have a HE3 front load machine. What is the process to use Retayne in a front load, low water type machine? No one I have asked knows the answer.

Have you contacted your dye supplier to ask what they have to say? They might have instructions.

The general rule with using anything in a front loading washing machine is to use a much smaller quantity of any detergent or other chemical, since a much smaller volume of water is used. The recommendations I have seen are to use one-quarter the usual amount, or to use one tablespoon (15 ml) of detergent and one-half teaspoon (2.5 ml) of liquid fabric softener. However, with Retayne the quantity to be used is based on the weight of the fabric, not on the quantity of water being used, so you will probably do better to stick to the originally recommended amount. Use one teaspoon (5 ml) per yard of medium-weight cotton muslin, which weighs about 100 grams per square yard; use more or less depending on the actual dry weight of the fabric you are treating.

Dharma Trading Company's instructions for their extremely similar product, Dharma Dye Fixative, say to soak the fabric in very hot water, using one ounce of Dharma Dye Fixative per pound of fabric. You could do this in a five-gallon bucket, stirring occasionally, then wash the fabric out in your front-loading washing machine. (See their catalog entries for Dharma Dye Fixative and Retayne.)

PRO Chemical & Dye give instructions for hand-washing Retayne into your fabric:

1. Use an old enamel canning kettle that is not used for food preparation and heat the water to 140°F (60°C).
2. Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of Retayne for each yard of fabric.
3. Add dry fabric. Swish your fabric around in the hot Retayne bath for 20 minutes with a spoon or wooden dowel. After 20 minutes, rinse with cold water and dry at once.

(See their detailed instructions for PRO Retayne.)

A problem with using ordinary laundry detergent in front loading washers is that the regular detergent produces more bubbles than the HE detergent. This will not be an issue with Retayne, since it does not produce foam.

Retayne and most other cationic dye fixatives contain a small amount of formaldehyde, which is a toxic chemical, so you will want to be sure to wash out any excess Retayne afterwards, using cool or warm water (hot water is apt to strip out all of the Retayne). Avoid breathing any noticeable fumes from the concentrated liquid Retayne; use good ventilation, and wear gloves if needed to prevent contact with skin.

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Monday, April 20, 2009

How would I tie-dye the "C" symbol for the Cincinnati Reds?

Name: kim

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Message: How would I tie-dye the "C" symbol for the Cincinnati Reds? Is it even possible? If not, could you recommend a technique where I could have the "C" on the shirt, then tie-dye around it?

Here is an example, but I don't need the "Reds" word on there, just the "C". It's not just a plain letter of the alphabet

There are several different ways you could do this. The easiest would be to use opaque iron-on inkjet paper to print out the logo. Tie-dye the shirt using lots of dye to minimize white in the design, to make a good background, then after washing and drying, iron your image on. (Try a smaller or larger one on the back!)
C. reds logo

You could use batik wax, or soy wax, or Elmer's Washable Blue School Gel, to protect the fabric from the dye everywhere that the design is white. (Use a plain ordinary pencil to mark your design beforehand.) Let the glue dry completely before squirting on the dye, and put something inside the shirt to prevent the glue from transferring from the front to the back, inside the shirt, during dyeing; if you use wax, this is necessary only until the wax solidifies, not during dyeing, as is required for the glue. After the shirt has been dyed and washed and dried, use a black fabric marker, such as the ones made by Marvy or by Jacquard, to add the black shadows that you see in the image. I recommend any brand of marker that is labeled as being permanent on fabric; I do not recommend a black permanent marker that is not intended for fabric, such as a Sharpie pen.

It is not impossible to tie-dye good letters. It would be very difficult to do the full logo, since tying four letters enclosed in a larger letter would be very challenging even for an expert tie-dyer, but just doing the C alone is very possible. The method I recommend is to fold your shirt horizontally, then draw the "C" shape centered on the fold, so that the portion above the line is an exact mirror image of the part below. Using a plain ordinary pencil (not a colored pencil, which may stain), draw the outline of the C. Starting at the fold, scrunch up the shirt very carefully along the curved line, working all the way from the point at the outside of the C, around the end of the letter, and finally around the inside curve of the letter until you get back to the center line. Tie very firmly on this line, getting someone else to help you if necessary as you hold the fold. If this is unclear, it's the same technique that is used in the awareness ribbon shape, though somewhat simpler to do; see How to fold an Awareness Ribbon. Also look at the tutorial for dyeing a heart at the Tie Dye Wiki.

You'll want to do this design only for your own use, not for sale, since the logo is trademarked.

I recommend that you use Procion MX dyes, or any good tie-dye kit. Do not use all-purpose dye, such as Rit or Tintex, for tie-dyeing cotton. The best material to use for tie-dyeing is 100% cotton, or 100% rayon.

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Sunday, April 19, 2009

batik workshops in Massachusetts

Name: Camille

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Message: Hi, Paula. I live in MA and am looking for a workshop or course on batik dyeing. Do you have any tips on where I might look for workshops in my area?

I don't usually have any leads to batik workshops, but you happen to be in Massachusetts, where there are a couple of good resources to point you to.

PRO Chemical & Dye is located in Massachusetts and often has workshops which are highly worthwhile. I recommend that you look into a workshop being offered in October 2009 by Jane Dunnewold, called "Water-Based Resists". (It's almost full, so don't delay much on this if you're interested.) The Carol Soderlund workshops on "Color Mixing for Dyers" would also be invaluable to a batik artist. Keep an eye on ProChem to see what other workshops they will be providing in the future. Call them to ask what workshops they're considering offering.

See ProChem's Workshops info online.

Jeanne Sisson is a batik artist who offers classes and workshops in Massachusetts. I don't know her, but she has beautiful work on her website. Check out her workshop schedule.

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Saturday, April 18, 2009

dyeing a dry-clean-only silk/elastane dress

Name: CJ

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Soda Ash
Dye Fixer

Message: Dear Paula
I have an emerald green dress - it is 97% silk an 3% elastane..It says 'dry clean only' on the tag.
Before I had put on the dress, I had put on my roll-on deoderant - and, ofcourse, when I pulled the dress over my head and arms, there were deoderant patches on it! I freaked out and tried to wash it off with cold water...and tried to dry it off with the hair dryer... most patches were perfectly ok when dried except one part of the dress, well, the colour has run out so you can now see it faded in that part. I really love the dress and want to re-dye it so that the colour is refreshed and perfect all through out.. I was reading through your website information but am not 100% as to the best dying option for the fabric blend. I'm in Denmark so I'd probably have to order the correct dye online. Could you please let me know if it is possible to redye the dress so I can fix it, perhaps soaking it in cold water (I have a front loader washing machine but dont think I can use it for this dress because the tag says dry clean only). I really want to fix my dress and would be so thankful to you if you could help. Many thanks

I have to start by saying that you can't dye anything that isn't washable. If it's marked "dry clean only", you probably won't be able to dye it. Sometimes it turns out that you can wash something that has that label. If it survives the washing, then you can try dyeing it. You must always wash garments very thoroughly before dyeing them, because stains on the fabric can interfere with dyeing. You must also wash thoroughly after dyeing, in order to remove excess unattached dye.

If your roll-on deodorant contained any metal compounds, such as aluminum, they are likely to interfere with dyeing. Aluminum is used as a mordant for natural dyes, and metal ions tend to change the colors of dyes, even synthetic dyes. If you can wash out all of the deodorant, then this should probably be okay, but, if any trace remains, it can affect the color of the dye you apply.

There is also the problem that, since dyes are all transparent, lighter regions will always remain lighter than darker regions. If the regions that are lighter are that way only because of the water, then perhaps you could wash out much of the remaining original dye, leaving you with a more even color to overdye.

The only kind of dye I recommend for use on a silk/elastane blend is a cool water fiber reactive dye. Elastane is often very sensitive to heat. Most kinds of dye require hot water, which might damage the elastane, resulting in weakening of the fibers and loss of shape of the garment. If your dress had a care label that allowed for hand-washing, you could check the maximum temperature recommended for the elastane in it, but since it's marked dry clean only, you can't tell. It would be best to assume 105°F as the limit, which is 41°C.

In Denmark, one good source for dyes is Granat Farvekompagniet. They sell Remazol dyes, which are fiber reactive dyes whose ideal reaction temperature is 40°C to 60°C. They also sell Indanthren dyes, which are vat dyes that can be used in cool water, but vat dyes are rather complicated for beginners to use. Another source of dyes in Denmark that has been recommended to me is Spektrum; I can't tell from their site which dyes they sell, but you can order from them by telephone.

Remazol dyes, like Procion MX dyes, require soda ash or another high-pH chemical in order to work at relatively cool temperatures. They can also be used as acid dyes without soda ash, but in that case heat is required. Silk can be damaged by long exposures to soda ash, but eight hours' exposure is not a problem.

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Friday, April 17, 2009

I have been asked to dye a white polyester parachute

Name: Kelly

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Message: I have been asked to dye a white parachute that children play under. It is for our Little Mermaid show, for one of our dances in the program. It will be our octopus in the Octopus Garden song. Anyway, it is made of a silky polyester fabric. I don't have the particulars. I would like to know if you have any suggestions on how to do something so large, so that it doesn't come out in different shades of black. Oh and yes, I need to dye it black.
Thank you.

I have a bad feeling about this project. Polyester can be dyed only with disperse dye, which must be boiled for some time with the fabric. This requires a huge cooking pot, one that is large enough for the fabric to move in freely, as otherwise you will get variations in color intensity, different shades of black and gray. A cooking pot that is large enough to dye a small parachute in will be very big, and very expensive, and should not be reused afterwards for food. I recommend against taking on the project of dyeing this parachute. I would not even try it, myself.

Instead, I recommend that you get some lightweight silk yardage or silk veils and dye them in the washing machine. You cannot dye polyester in the washing machine successfully, but you can dye cotton, rayon, or silk. Dharma Trading Company and SilkConnection.com are the most economical sources for silk veils and silk yardage. (Look under 'silk scarves'.) Alternatively, go to a local fabric store and see if you can find a lightweight polyester or nylon of a suitable color. Not only black would be suitable. You could have a very nice octopus made of purple or dark green. If you do an image search for octopus in google, you see more beige, pink, or brown than darker colors, though octopuses are known for their ability to suddenly change color to match their backgrounds.

If you buy very thin, sheer silk veils, such as the 5 momme weight silk veils sold by Dharma Trading Company, it may be difficult to get a very dark color, because very fine, sheer fabrics cannot hold on to as much dye. They are very nice, though. Thicker fabric weights hold more dye.

Another alternative would be to use a fabric paint, instead of dye. The two fabric paints I recommend for this purpose are Dharma Pigment Dyes, sold by Dharma Trading Company, or Jacquard Products's Dye-Na-Flow. These are both fabric paints instead of dye, but they are very thin and can be used like a dye. You will not be able to get a perfectly smooth solid color using any fabric paint, however.

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Is there any way to do a dress with both silk and polyester that can't be separated from each other?

Name: Julie

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Message: Hi, I have a very light blue dress with a polyester lining and a silk overlay. It has a band of "diamonds" around the middle. I want to dye it black. Can this be done? I've read about dyeing silk and polyester on your site, but is there any way to do a dress which has a layer of both that can't be separated from each other?
Thank you for your help!

I don't recommend that you try to dye the polyester portions of this dress. Polyester requires a great deal of boiling to get disperse dye to penetrate and color the fiber, and I'm afraid that the silk would be damaged by this harsh treatment. Typical instructions for dyeing silk with acid dyes specify a top temperature of 185°F (85°C), because temperatures above this limit are likely to damage silk.

There is no dye that will color both silk and polyester at the same time. The only dye that works on polyester is disperse dye, which does not work at all on natural fibers such as silk.

Depending on the design of the dress, it's possible that you could get acceptable results by dyeing only the silk fiber in the dress. The polyester lining will remain light blue, as will any stitching used to hold the dress together, since almost all natural-fiber clothing is sewn with polyester thread. The silk overlay will work well with a black acid dye; closely follow the instructions for the particular acid dye that you choose. See "About Acid Dyes".

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Are the soy wax flakes at craft stores the same as the ones Dharma sells?

Name: Donna

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Message: Are the soy wax flakes at craft stores the same as the ones Dharma sells? Can 100% soy flakes be different than 100% soy flakes? Thanks Paula for all the advice and help you give all of us!

There are different grades of soy wax.

Some is more hydrogenated, so it has a higher melting temperature and are harder. This is the type used for pillar-type candles, which have to stand up under their own weight, and it is also the type that is becoming popular for use as a dye resist on fabric.

Some soy wax is softer and has a lower melting temperature. This is the type sold for use in making container candles. You don't want to use this type as a substitute for batik wax. The label should be clear about whether the wax is intended for use in containers, or whether it is suitable for pillar candles. Don't worry about whether or not the label says microwaveable, as all soy wax should melt in the microwave (unlike paraffin, which is transparent to microwaves, which is why waxed paper works fine to cover foods in the microwave oven).

In general, I think you're safe with the pillar-type candle soy wax from a crafts store. Of course, as with any other material, it would be a good idea to do a small test before you use it for any large, expensive, or complicated project.

It's likely that there are different qualities of soy wax manufactured, as well, which means that one brand might be superior to another. Some will have added stearic acid, paraffin, or other ingredients to make them more solid. It would be disappointing to have one of the thinner ingredients separate out from the others and form a halo; this could happen, in particular, if the temperature of your melted wax is too low. Be sure to include the name and source of the soy wax you use in your notes, in case you decide you like one better than another. If you find that a particular brand is very good or bad, perhaps you could share your experience on the Dye Forum.

If you are ordering dyes from a major dye supplier such as Dharma Trading Company, PRO Chemical & Dye, or Fibrecrafts in the UK, you can add soy wax to your order. The price is very reasonable at dye suppliers (for example, $2.63 for half a pound from ProChem, $4.35 for a pound from Dharma); the prices I've seen at Joann's Fabrics or Michael's Craft Supplies are higher. When you're ordering dyes anyway, you may as well order soy wax from your dye supplier. If you don't need to order dyes, it's worth trying locally-available pillar soy candle wax.

Also see an earlier blog entry, "Soy Wax Spread Beyond the Design Before Dyeing", from October 19, 2008.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Can I fix this dye with soda ash?

Name: Juliana

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Message: Hello!

I hope you have the time to reply to my question, your website is excellent and I've really enjoyed reading it!

I'm based in the UK, and trying to dye some cotton baby clothes. I have some of this dye but no fixer, and the company that make it have discontinued the fixer. Can I fix this dye with soda ash?

I'm afraid that I can't be sure from the description on the site you linked to. This liquid dye might be a Remazol dye or another fiber reactive dye, which could be fixed with soda ash, or it might be a fabric paint, instead, in which case the 'fixative' might be some sort of acrylic catalyst. There are many fabric paints that do not work well on synthetic fibers, so the fact that these are recommended for natural fibers only does not rule them out. It's also possible that the fixer is a cationic dye fixative, similar to Retayne, which works on both direct dyes and acid dyes; these fixers often contain formaldehyde.

What you should do is run a test. Get some soda ash, or washing soda, trisodium phosphate (a cleaner used on walls before painting), or sodium silicate solution, and test your dye on a scrap of cotton fabric, or a handerchief or something similarly small. Use two separate pieces of fabric. Soak one in a mixture of about a teaspoon of soda ash dissolved in water; you don't have to be precise, half a teaspoon is plenty, also. Leave the other piece untreated, or soak it in plain water. Then apply some of the dye you have to each piece of fabric. Keep it in a warm place long enough for the dye to react, then wash the fabric out, separately. If what you have is a fiber reactive dye, then you should see a major difference between the two. If what you have is a fabric paint that requires an acrylic catalyst or something like that, then you will see that the soda ash does not make a big difference.

I'm hoping that what you have is this dye here: Remazol Fiber Reactive Dyes, like the old Createx liquid dyes, or possibly Drimarene K dyes, which are another sort of fiber reactive dye that can be used with the same recipes. I suspect that the "Handcraft Craft Dye Fixer" is a sodium silicate solution, like Tobasign's fixer Tobafix, or Dharma Trading Company's AfterFix. You can substitute soda ash for sodium silicate, though the application method is usually different.

I think that fiber reactive dyes, such as Remazol or Drimarene K dyes, or Procion MX dyes, are the best choice for coloring baby clothes. Since they form a permanent chemical bond to cotton or silk, when fixed with soda ash, properly applied fiber reactive dyes are the least likely to have any effect on the baby. It is important to wash out all of the unattached excess dye molecules after dyeing, by washing once in cold water and then as many times as necessary in very hot water.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

I am having trouble mixing Dylon machine dye to the colour teal. Please could you tell me what to mix together

Name: jenni

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Message: Hello,

I am having trouble mixing Dylon machine dye to the colour teal. Please could you tell me what to mix together. Thanks, Jenni

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I have never mixed Dylon machine dyes together, but I might be able to help with your question, anyway. I would recommend that you also contact the Dylon dye company to see if they can answer your question.

Dylon dyes are generally premixed from other dye colors, so they are not ideal for color mixing, but it should be possible to mix green and blue, or green and turquoise, to get some sort of teal color. If you want a dark teal, try using half a packet of their 'Dark Green' with half a packet of their 'Bahama Blue'. For a brighter teal, try using 'Tropical Green' instead of 'Dark Green'. Using Dylon Machine Dye is the easiest way to dye in a front-loading washing machine .

Alternatively, you could use Procion MX dyes to mix the dye that you want. Like Dylon Machine Dye, Procion MX dye is a good fiber reactive dye that works very well on natural fibers when used as directed. Unlike Dylon dyes, Procion MX dyes can be obtained in pure colors of turquoise and yellow and used to mix any color you want. You will also have to add salt and soda ash, following a recipe from your dye supplier; Dylon Machine Dye contains the dye fixative already mixed in, but Procion MX dye does not. You can mail-order Procion MX dyes in the UK from several companies, which are listed in the 'Europe' section on my page of Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World.

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Sunday, April 12, 2009

dyeing a polyester sweater: disperse dye colors were too bright

Name: Katherine

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Message: Hello,
I am a current student at the Ontario Collage of Art and Design; I am studying material art and design and have a question about dying polyester. I have a lot of dyeing experience using Cellulous and Protein fibers but I have a project that will require me to dye a polyester sweater. If it is possible to give me directions or to a resource that can give me directions that would be great. I tried the Disperse dying but the colours became to Neon for the look that I am going for.
Cheers
P.s This website is amazing and I am so happy that I stumbled across it!!!

Hi Katherine,

The disperse dyes failed for you before because the colors were too neon-like. This is a problem of color mixing, not with the dye.

There is no other kind of dye you can use for polyester besides disperse dye. You can find different disperse dyes at different suppliers, but you will probably have to buy several colors and mix them, to get a more toned-down, natural-looking color.

A related question is in this recent hand dyeing Q&A blog entry, from March 27, 2009: "How to Tone Down Excessively Bright Dye Colors". To tone down an overly bright color, add the complementary color, or make a brown or gray mixture of dyes and add that to your brightly colored dye.

Two of the best sources in North America for small quantities of disperse dyes are PRO Chemical & Dye in Massachusetts, and Aljo Mfg. in New York. You can find contact info for both on my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World". Aljo carries several more neutral colors than ProChem does, so be sure to check on their site under 'product information'.

For directions, see my page on "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes". There are links listed there for directions on how to use these dyes on different materials. You will need to boil the garment with the dye and any recommended auxiliary chemicals.

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Saturday, April 11, 2009

how to dye dye a polyester soccer jersey bright orange

Name: Drew

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Message: Hello,
Let me start by saying that I think you have an amazing website! You certainly know your stuff when it comes to dyeing. That said, I have read your website as much as possible but I am still a little confused with how to approach my dyeing project.

I am trying to (hoping to, really) dye a polyester soccer jersey (Adidas, vintage mid-late 1990s) a solid Orange color. It is not nylon satin, and it is a very thin 100% polyester. However, it does have a weave to it where there is a repeating series of 3 thin vertical stripes that are somewhat shiny like nylon satin. It does not require drycleaning, and the tag says to machine wash cold.

I have been reading your website and if I understand correctly, it looks like I would need a dispersion dye or an acid dye. Is this correct? I assume an all-purpose dye like RIT will not work properly?

I can take and send pictures to you if that might help you understand more clearly of what I have here.

I appreciate your time and thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

Hi Drew,

Since your jersey is made of polyester, you will have to use disperse dyes to dye it. Acid dyes and all-purpose dyes will not work on polyester. Disperse dye is the only kind of dye that will work on polyester.

The differently woven stripes are probably polyester, as well. The different texture could be just the result of a different weave, crossing more warp threads with each weft thread.

Unfortunately, polyester can be dyed only at high heat, either by boiling it with the dye, or by making a design on paper with the disperse dye, and then transferring it with a hot iron. Obviously, the latter technique will fail to produce a solid color.

Since the care label says to wash in cold water, there is a strong possibility that the shirt will respond poorly to being boiled. Are you willing to take the risk?

You don't mention what the original color of the jersey is. If it's white, then bright orange is easy to produce. Pale yellow can also be overdyed to bright orange. Other colors, such as red, blue, or green, will be impossible to dye orange.

If you want to try dyeing this piece, you will have to buy your dyes by mail-order. I recommend you look at PRO Chemical & Dye or Aljo Mfg., since both are located on the east coast, as you are. You can find contact info for both on my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World".

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Will silk and wool come out different colors?

Name: Audrey

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Lanaset 4 Color Dye Sampler
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Everything you need to get started dyeing silk or wool with Lanaset dyes: four colors (Sun Yellow, Scarlet, Royal Blue, and Jet Black), plus citric acid, sodium acetate, Glauber salt, Albegal SET, and Synthrapol.

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Message: Will silk and wool come out different colors if the same color of commercial dye is used?

If the wool and silk are the exact same color to begin with, and if the dye is a single-hue unmixed dye, than the hue produced will be the same, or extremely close, though the intensity of the color may be different.

However, if the dye is a mixture of two or more different colors of dyes, as is the case for most commercial dyes, then it is likely that one of the dyes in the mixture will work a little better on one fiber, and another a little better on the other fiber. The result will be a different hue. For example, the same blue-yellow dye mixture might produces results that are more bluish on wool, and more greenish on silk, or vice versa.

Of course, if one of the fibers you are dyeing is a little more yellowish that the other to begin with, that, too, will affect the ultimate hue.

I can tell you which colors of some brands of commercial dyes are single-hue unmixed dyes. For other brands, I cannot. Here are some lists of single-hue unmixed dyes in various lines of dye:

Some brands consist entirely of mixtures of two or more dyes. For example, the Cushing dye company says that all of their dyes are mixtures, and it looks like most if not all of the dyes made by Dylon are mixtures. The makers of Rit dye give no clues whatsoever as to which dyes are contained in any of their colors.

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Thursday, April 09, 2009

Are designer silk blouses sewn with polyester thread?

Name: A

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Message: I have a silk blouse from Valentino in Italy. I asked them about the thread, but they say they lo the design team, so don't know. Another said it was polyester, but I am unsure if she is certain. Do you have any clues about what major designers use for thread when deigning silk clohing? It is a nasty royal blue, and I wish for it to be navy. It has a ruffled placket and lots of visible thread. Does polyester accept any dye at all, or just stay exactly the same?

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Lanaset 4 Color Dye Sampler
$13.25

Everything you need to get started dyeing silk or wool with Lanaset dyes:
one 10 gram jar of each of four colors (Sun Yellow, Scarlet, Royal Blue, and Jet Black), plus citric acid crystals, sodium acetate, Glauber salt, Albegal SET, and Synthrapol.

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It is rare for any clothing to be sewn with cotton or silk thread, unless it is being specifically marketed for garment dyeing. If the manufacturers are not certain, than it is extremely likely that the blouse was sewn with polyester thread. See my FAQ page on "Dyeing thread in pre-sewn clothing".

When you dye the silk blouse, the polyester thread will remain the original color. This does not always look bad; oftentimes people assume that the contrasting color effect was part of the original design. However, it does look less formal, which might not go at all well with your ruffles. On the other hand, royal blue thread will not look too bad with a navy blue blouse. If you hate the blouse the way it is now, you may as well try dyeing it.

100% natural silk is one of the easiest of fibers to dye. You can dye it with cotton dyes, such as fiber-reactive, all-purpose, or direct dyes, or you can dye it with wool dyes, which are acid dyes. Silk is a versatile fiber which, unlike wool, tends to resist damage from the high-pH dye fixative used with cotton and rayon. The soda ash will tend to soften the silk a little bit, though, so if the blouse is supposed to have a stiff hand or a shiny finish, you should use acid dyes, instead, which are named for the fact that they are fixed with a mild acid such as vinegar. If you are willing to either dry clean the blouse later on, or hand wash it in cool water separately from other clothing, you can use all-purpose dye, such as Rit or Tintex. If having the dye remain dark even after washing is important to you, use a more washfast dye such as WashFast Acid Dye in Jet Black, or Lanaset Jet Black, to darken your blue to navy blue.

In theory it might be possible to dye polyester and silk at the same time, by mixing a direct dye such as "iDye" with a disperse dye such as "iDye Poly". Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this because high temperatures are needed to dye polyester (a full boil, 212°F or 100°C, is required to dye polyester), but you should dye silk only at 185°F (85°C) or below. The higher temperatures are likely to damage the silk.

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Wednesday, April 08, 2009

I'm looking to dye a skirt which is polyester with an acetate lining. Is there a dye that would do this?

Name: Eleanor

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Message: I'm looking to dye a skirt which is polyester with an acetate lining. Is there a dye that would do this?

It can be done, but I'm not sure you'd be able to wear the skirt afterwards.

Both polyester and acetate are best dyed with the same type of dye, Disperse dye. The only way to apply this dye in garment dyeing is to boil the skirt in the dye for half an hour or longer, in a very large stainless steel or enamel cooking pot.

There are two problems. One is that the skirt itself might not survive extensive boiling, or one layer of the skirt might shrink while the other does not, resulting in a lining that no longer fits in the skirt.

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The other problem is that the pot you need to use to boil the dye in is expensive, considering that you shouldn't reuse it for food afterwards. The pot has to be large enough for the garment to move in freely as you stir it in the boiling dyebath, as otherwise the color will come out uneven. Expect such a pot to run you about $100. It's a great investment if you will be doing a lot of hot-water dyeing, but it's rather a lot if you are planning to dye only this one skirt.

If you decide to go ahead and dye the skirt, you will need to obtain some disperse dye. You will not be able to find disperse dyes in local stores. You cannot use all-purpose dye, such as Rit, nor any other sort of dye that works on cotton or wool, because the synthetic fibers require a completely different dye chemistry than natural fibers do. You can buy disperse dye by mail-order from a number of different dye suppliers. In the UK, where your email address suggests you are, you can mail-order your dyes from Kemtex Educational Supplies or from Fibrecrafts. See my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World". For more information on dyeing polyester and acetate, see "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

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Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Kindly send me fastness properties of Reactive Red 106.

Name: SANDEEP

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Message: KINDLY SEND ME FASTNESS PROPERTIES OF REACTIVE RED 106. I AM UNABLE TO FIND IT ON NET

This is an easy question to answer, because the information is in fact readily available on the net, on my site, in the FAQ. See my page on Lightfastness, which includes washfastness data as well. Scroll down through the reactive dyes, and you will see it in the vinyl sulfone (remazol) section:

CI name: Reactive Red 106
common name: VS Red C2G
lightfastness: 3 (out of 8)
washing: 3-4 (out of 5)
perspiration: 4-5 (out of 5)
hypochlorite: 1 (out of 5) [resistance to bleach]
dischargeability: G (good)

To summarize, this red vinyl sulfone reactive dye is rather poorly resistant to light fading, but more resistant to washing, and it discharges extremely well. If particularly good fastness is important to you, you might want to choose a different reactive red dye; it's possible to find a reactive red dye with a washfastness of 4 to 5, out of 5, or a lightfastness of 4 to 5, or even 5 to 6, out of 8.

Note, however, that these data in each line on that page come from only one manufacturer, in this case, Asian Dyes. (Some dyes have more than one line on the page, indicating the variation between manufacturers.) Your own supply of dye may rate differently for washfastness, depending on the purity of the product and the presence of varying quantities of the usual contaminants, as well as by your methods of application, which can have a rather drastic effect if they are incorrect in any detail.

In order to have fastness numbers that you can rely on, you must contact your own manufacturer, the manufacturer of the dye supply that you are actually using, and get their figures for this specific dye. If you have more than one supplier, get the information from each, because dyes supplied by one manufacturer may be more or less fast than the very same dyes obtained from another. If your company is manufacturing these dyes yourself, you should do the tests yourself. Contact the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) for more information on how to perform the testing.

For more information about remazol type reactive dye, see "Vinyl Sulfone Fiber Reactive Dyes".

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Monday, April 06, 2009

How can I dye the dress without affecting the colour of the embroidery?

Name: Claire

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Message: Hi.
I have a dress which is embroided on the hem and a different colour from the rest of the dress. How can I dye the dress without it affecting the colour of the embroidery? and also wash it without it running into the embroidery?

The answer depends on what fiber the dress is made of, and on what fiber the embroidery thread is made of. If they are made of different fibers, then all you have to do choose the right dye. If they are made of similar fibers, then it will be very difficult to do, very possibly more trouble than it is worth.

If the embroidery is made with nylon thread, but the dress is made of cotton or viscose rayon, then the answer is to dye with a cool water fiber reactive dye, using soda ash as the fixative. Nylon will not take fiber reactive dye at a high pH, which is what soda ash produces. A good fiber reactive dye to use is Procion MX dye; one good mail-order source for this dye in the UK, where you are, is Fibrecrafts. Another dye that will work well for this is Dylon Hand Dye, which is a fiber reactive dye; in the US, use Dylon Permanent Dye, instead. See Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World.

If the dress is made of polyester and the embroidery is made of viscose rayon, then you will need to use disperse dye. Fibrecrafts sells the "iDye Poly" brand of disperse dye, which dyes synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, and acrylic, without dyeing natural fibers such as cotton and viscose.

To retain a color contrast between the fabric and the embroidery, you must not use an all-purpose dye such as Rit all-purpose dye or Dylon Multi Purpose dye, unless the embroidery floss is polyester. All-purpose dyes will color silk, cotton, viscose rayon, nylon, and many other fibers; the only fibers they will not color at all are polyester, acrylic, and polypropylene.

If there is not a convenient contrast in fiber content between the embroidery and the dress fabric, then you will not be able to color the dress without also coloring the embroidery. You can protect the embroidery thread by painting it with molten wax or another dye resist before dyeing the dress, but, if there is much embroidery, this will be a great deal of trouble and will take a long time. If you use batik wax, you will need to remove the wax after you have completed your dyeing. See "How to Batik".

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Sunday, April 05, 2009

how to paint silk with natural dyes and pigments

Name: Lucia

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Earthues Natural Dye Lac

Color: Old Rose to Bordeaux

Lac is a scale insect known from antiquity throughout India, Southeast Asia, Nepal and China. It can be found in both wild and cultivated form as an infestation on trees of the Ficus or raintree families. The word Lakh in Sanskrit means "hundreds of thousands", and it is still used today in India to denote 100,000. After the female lac insect invades the stems and twigs of host trees, the insects are enveloped by their own secretions. This hard resinous coating originates from the plant sap metabolized by the lac insect. The dye must be extracted from the resinous coating before it can be successfully used to color cloth. The resin is known as shellac, and is used for lacquer and as a protective covering for wood. Lac's active color ingredient, laccaic acid responds well to alum mordants yielding rich shades of crimson to pink and purple to burgundy. Includes instructions.

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Instant indigo is natural indigo processed by a new method from India. The indigo has been pre-reduced and then freeze--dried into a crystal. As long as you keep it dry, it will keep indefinitely. It is easy to use and gives deep, wonderful colors. It is suitable for all natural fibers and will also dye many synthetics such as nylon, tencel and rayon. In addition, it is very cost effective. Make sure to keep this dye in your freezer if you live in a humid climate.

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Earthues Natural Dye Indigo, Finely ground

Indigo

Earthues is a fair-trade, woman-owned business, working in partnership with artisans to fulfill their dreams and ours. We also provide expertise in color, textile design and artisan craft development for the global marketplace. Our path is to travel the world, teaching and learning about natural dyes and eco-methods for creating beautiful colors.

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Message: Dear Paula
In a recent trip to Marroc, almost in a hypnotic trance, I ended up buying A LOT of natural pigments, every colour you could imagine, in the Dyer souk. I am a silk painter, and I steam my work. I would really appreciate if you could help me find a way to paint silk with these pigments.
Thanks a lot

In English, a different word is used for pigments than for dyes, but in Brazil, where you wrote from, the two substances have the same name. Pigments are colored substances that are not soluble in water and which have no chemical affinity to the fiber, while dyes are soluble in water and make some sort of bond to the fiber. I want to make the distinction clear, because the method you must use is different for one than it is for the other.

To paint on silk with insoluble pigments, you must have some sort of glue to stick the pigment to the fabric. An old Japanese technique is to make home-made fresh soy milk, mix it with pigments such as earth oxides, and paint it on the fabric. Store-bought soy milk does not perform as well as fresh home-made soy milk. John Marshall is a well-known fiber artist who promotes the use of soy for this purpose; see his site for more information. A more wash-proof modern method is to mix the pigments with a colorless acrylic binder, such as Jacquard Products' Neopaque Clear Extender, making your own fabric paint. After painting on the fabric and allowing the paints to dry, heat-set the acrylic binder by ironing, as directed by the manufacturer.

I think it's more likely that you are talking about painting with true dyes, derived from plants and insects. Unfortunately, not all natural dyes can be applied in a design. Many natural dyes work well only by immersion dyeing. This is why the Japanese art of Shibori includes so many different ways to make designs on fabric that is then dyed by immersing the entire piece of fabric in a single dye. Most natural dyes are used by first cooking the fabric in a mordant such as alum, then, as a separate step, coking the fabric in a bath made of one natural dye.

It is less critically important to make a good bond between the fabric and the natural dye if you will not be washing your work. It is more difficult to make a good enough bond between the dye and the fabric to withstand washing.

A site that I recommend you examine closely is Aurora Silk. They have a page of instructions that you will find very informative, "Tutorial: How to Work With Fabric Paint Dyes". First, you mordant your fabric by soaking it with alum or tin. (Alum is less toxic.) Mix paint by using liquid extracts of the dyes; try dissolving your powders in water, or, if that does not work, boil each one in water for an hour to make your own extract). In many cases you should use equal weights of water and dyestuff to make your extract. Paint the dye extract on to the mordanted fabric, allow it to dry, and then steam your fabric, as you normally do with your silk paints. The Aurora Silk page does not mention the steaming step, but I cannot imagine that your results will be very permanent without it.

Most important: you must test each of your pigments or dyes before trying any serious painting with them. Use a piece of scrap silk large enough to paint with each dye that you are testing. Keep a careful record, with a sketch of where you applied which dye, so that you can decide which of your dyes produce satisfactory results. This testing step is essential! You may have to perform a series of tests before you get your dyes to work out the way you want them to.

There are many different natural dyes, but they do not all behave the same way. Not all natural dyes are equally satisfactory. Figure out which ones work best for you before you embark on any extensive painting using them.

I would be very interested to learn how your natural dye painting experiments go.

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Saturday, April 04, 2009

Can this screenprinted shirt be dyed back blue with the screen not being touched?

Name: Katie

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Message: I have a t-shirt -- color light blue. It got some Biz detergent on it and some of the blue area is now white. The detergent took some of the color out of those places.

It is a vineyard vines shirt with a screen on about half of the back. The screen was not affected by it.

Can this shirt be dyed back blue with the screen not being touched?

A cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, will not change the color of the screen printed design. It is very common to use brilliant colors to tie-dye shirts that have black screen printed designs. The only concern is choosing colors that are light or bright enough to allow a significant contrast between the screen printing ink and the dye, so that the design is still easy to see.

If the screen printed design is made with opaque screen printing ink, then it does not matter what color you dye it. Again, the dye will not change the color of the ink. If there is any background color in the screenprinted design, it may show up unexpectedly light when a darker color is used to dye the fabric.

The problem is when the screen printed design is printed with transparent ink, or with true dyes. The fabric behind the screenprint will necessarily pick up the dye. If the screenprinting ink is transparent, it will show through the ink. Depending on the design, and how light its colors are, the results might not look as good.

There should not be any problem for the screen print if you are just restoring the original color of the fabric.

However, you will want to consider a separate question, which is how well the dye will cover up the difference between the bleached spots and the original color. Since dye is transparent, the bleached spots will always be a little lighter than the rest, even after dyeing. This shouldn't be too much of a problem if the original light blue is pale enough, but it's something to consider. See the page "How can I fix the bleach spots on my favorite clothing?".

I recommend the use of fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye or a good tie-dye kit, rather than any all-purpose dye such as Rit or Tintex, because fiber reactive dyes give better results on cotton.

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Friday, April 03, 2009

It says to wash the dye out after 8-24 hours but does it hurt to leave it on longer?

Name: Sarah
Message: It says to wash the dye out after 8-24 hours but does it hurt to leave it on longer?

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No. If you're dyeing cotton, in particular, or any other plant fiber such as hemp or linen, you can leave the dye in for several days, if that's necessary because of your schedule. (I'm assuming that you are using a fiber reactive dye, such as the Procion MX dyes found in the tie-dye kits made by Dylon, Tulip, Jacquard, or Rainbow Rock.)

In fact, it's better to leave the dye in for one to two days than it is to take it out after the minimum six to eight hours. Allowing extra time ensures that all of the dye will have reacted, whether with the fiber in the fabric, or with the water the dye was dissolved in. This means that there will be no activated dye left to cause unwanted stains if a darker part of the fabric contacts a lighter part. If dye that has already reacted transfers when you untie the fabric, it won't be able to bind with the fabric, so it can be removed by washing in very hot water. Always start by washing once in cool water, to remove the soda ash and any salt, then wash two or three times in the hottest water available, to remove excess unattached dye.

If you are dyeing silk and using the soda ash recipe, it's a good idea to wash out the dye as soon as the dyeing is completed, because soda ash can be hard on silk.

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Thursday, April 02, 2009

What to use to dye 65% polyester scrubs?

Name: patricia

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Dye polyester and poly/cotton blends

Message: I am a technician in a hospital and our scrub colors are often being changed. I would like to know what to use for 65% polyester/35% cotton. The color now is honey, and I need to dye them navy blue. Do I need sodium chloride also? I have washed them in bleach. Thank you.

It's better to buy 100% cotton scrubs if you want to dye them. Dharma Trading Company sells a couple of designs of 100% cotton ready-to-dye scrubs at their website. Since they can be dyed at room temperature with high quality fiber reactive dyes, 100% cotton scrubs are far more satisfactory (and cheap!) to dye.

Unfortunately, in comparison, your 65% polyester scrubs will present a problem. The cotton portion of the fabric cannot be dyed with polyester dyes, while the polyester portion cannot be dyed with cotton dyes. In order to get any dark or intense color, such as navy blue, you will have to dye both the cotton and the polyester, using different dyes. If you use only cotton dyes, you will get a pastel color, as only 35% of the fiber will take the cotton dye.

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Stainless Steel 10 Gallon Stock Pot with Lid

You will not be able to buy polyester dye locally. All-purpose dye will not work. In order to dye polyester, you must mail-order some special polyester dye, called disperse dye. See my page, "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

While it is possible to dye both the polyester and the cotton, dyeing the polyester in your scrubs will require extensive boiling, and you must stir frequently throughout the boiling step, in order to obtain a solid color. You cannot dye polyester at room temperature, or even in hot water; you must boil the fabric in the dye for half an hour or longer. You will need a large stainless steel or enamel pot to do the dyeing, large enough for the fabric to move freely as you boil it in the dye. Do not plan to reuse this pot for preparing food, because clothing dyes will contaminate cookware. A good several-gallon dyepot is expensive; it's an excellent investment if you plan to do a lot of dyeing, but costs too much (typically $100) for a one-time project.

If you have a good dyeing pot, you will be able to dye the cotton and the polyester in two separate steps. You also have the option of buying Jacquard Products' dyes for polyester and cotton. Their dye for cotton is called "iDye", while their dye for polyester is called "iDye Poly". If you buy both iDye and iDye Poly, you can mix the two kinds of dye, in order to dye both the cotton and the polyester in your scrubs at the same time. I recommend that you follow this with a commercial dye fixative such as Retayne, because otherwise the direct dye will fade relatively quickly from the cotton. Retayne, like iDye Poly, must be ordered by mail, because you will not be able to find it in any local store.

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Unlike dyeing poly/cotton blends, dyeing 100% cotton is easy to do without a dyeing pot, because there are cool water dyes available for dyeing cotton. The same dyes that are used in a good tie-dyeing kit work very well for dyeing cotton solid colors. I don't recommend the use of all-purpose dyes, such as Rit or Tintex dyes, on cotton, because they tend to fade quickly, and they bleed badly in the laundry, but if you acquire a good fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye or Tulip One Step Fashion Dye, you can dye cotton scrubs any color you like. Fiber reactive dye will last much longer in cotton fabric than all-purpose dye such as Rit or Tintex, or direct dye such as the non-Poly iDye.

Sodium chloride (ordinary table salt) is useful for some types of dyeing, but you should use it only if your recipe calls for it. For any dyeing, find a good recipe for the exact dye and fiber type you are dyeing, and follow it closely. Your dye should come with instructions; if so, they will tell you exactly what, if anything, to add.

Bleaching 65% polyester scrubs is, unfortunately, not a very good idea. Chlorine bleach tends to damage polyester, often producing an ugly yellow color that cannot be removed in any way. Instead, it is best to use a chemical specifically marketed for removing dye. The easiest to find is Rit Color Remover, which is available in many grocery stores and pharmacies, as well as fabric stores. It works best on the stovetop, but it's easier to use in the washing machine in hot water. See "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?".

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Wednesday, April 01, 2009

My Rhodamine B dye is bleeding badly. How do I stop it?

Name: Christy Q

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Message: Hello,
I have tried a dye mentioned in one of your articles called "Rhodamine B". I used less than 0.25% dye on the weight of a nylon/spandex fabric. I notice it bleeds VERY BADLY in washing. (I only used a very small amount and got a bright pink shade). How do I stop it from bleeding? I also have noticed this same codition on nylon/spandex dance leotards of the same colors. I tried a acid dye "fixative(brown goo)" at pH 5.5 and it still bleeds. Any ideas how to correct this?

What kind of recipe did you use in applying the Rhodamine B dye? Did you heat the fabric in the dyebath to simmering for half an hour or longer, along with Synthrapol and an acid such as citric acid, ammonium sulfate, or vinegar? I have no idea what your "acid dye fixative(brown goo)" might be. Did you use it in the dyebath while heating, or as an after-fix?

Rhodamine B has two generic names, Colour Index Acid Red 52 and Colour Index Basic Violet 10. It is sold by many dye suppliers, including Jacquard Products which sells it as their 620 Hot Fuchsia acid dye, and PRO Chemical & Dye which sells it as their WashFast Acid dye 370 Rhodamine Red. (See "Which Washfast Acid colors are pure, and not mixtures?".)

ProChem's instructions for using this and other dyes in their WashFast Acid Dye series are among the most reliable anywhere; see their instruction sheet "Immersion Dyeing Nylon using WashFast Acid Dyes" (PDF file). If you did not follow a similar procedure, the best solution would probably be to do so now, following the directions precisely except for not adding additional dye. This will allow the dye molecules to bond as well as possible to the fiber.

Unfortunately, high heat can be damaging to spandex fibers, in many cases causing them to weaken and lose elasticity, but acid dyes are unlikely to work well without sufficient heating. (See "How to Dye Spandex".) What temperature limit does the care labeling indicate for washing your fabric?

To remove unfixed dye, you can try soaking the fabric overnight in the hottest water permitted by the care label. Soaking will remove more excess dye than simply washing will, and the hotter the water, the better it will wash out unattached dye.

Since I do not like heating nylon/spandex blends to simmering temperatures, because I fear damage to the spandex, for these blends I prefer the use of "pigment dyeing", in which a fabric paint is substituted for the acid dye. This results in somewhat more uneven and aged looking results than a true dye, but it avoids the possibility of damaging the fiber blend with too much heat, and it can look very good, depending on the desired look. Two good possibilities are Dharma Trading Company's Dharma Pigment Dyes, which are available in fluorescent colors, or Jacquard Products' Dye-Na-Flow, a fabric paint intended to mimic dye. Dye-Na-Flow requires heat-setting unless you add some Airfix, which you can order from Jerry's Artarama (one of the few mail-order sources for AirFix). Dharma Pigment Dyes are said not to require heat-setting on untreated nylon.

For most acid dyes, a good solution would be an after-fix treatment to try to make the dye more washfast, such as Retayne (see "Commercial Dye Fixatives"). Unfortunately, Retayne might not work on Rhodamine B, because this dye is actually a basic (cationic) dye, although it is sold with acid dyes and used with the same recipes; the positive charge on the dye will prevent a cationic dye fixative from working.

I'm afraid I need to mention the drawbacks of Rhodamine B. Like most, if not all, fluorescent dyes, Rhodamine B is poorly lightfast, especially compared to other dyes in the WashFast Acid dye series. (See "Lightfastness of Different Types of Dyes".) While there are many acid dyes which are rated at 6 or 7 on a scale of 1-8, where the higher numbers indicate better resistance to fading in the light, Rhodamine B is rated at only 2 to 3, indicating that it fades rather quickly in bright light. Items dyed with Rhodamine B should be dried indoors after washing, not outdoors on a line, and they should be stored in the dark; other dyes should be substituted if lightfastness is important. It is also rated at only a 3, on a scale of 1 to 5, for washfastness. Even more seriously, Rhodamine B is listed by some agencies as a possible carcinogen and possible mutagen; take appropriate laboratory precautions against exposure, and if you use a cooking pot to heat your dyebath, please do not reuse it for food. Here is a link for safety information about Rhodamine B.

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