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(For silk, wool, angora, mohair & nylon)

Lanaset dyes
are the most washfast of all dyes for wool. Rich, deep colors.

Books that explain how to use Lanaset dyes

Karren K. Brito's



Shibori: Creating Color and Texture On Silk

Extensive explanations of use of Lanaset dyes in Shibori, including details on discharging Lanasets; also covers one class of acid dyes.

Dagmar Klos's



The Dyer's Companion

a concise book of many dye recipes

Deb Menz's



Color in Spinning

mixing your own colors with Lanaset dyes

Not just for spinners: the detailed information on mixing Lanaset or Novacron dyes to make different colors is invaluable to dyers of yarn and fabric, as well.

Linda Knutson's
classic



Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers

includes an appendix about Lanaset dyes

Holly Brackmann



The Surface Designer's Handbook

 

Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook

 

Lanaset dyes can be used to dye all polyamide fibers: silk, wool, angora, mohair, and nylon. Lanaset dyes include three entirely different classes of dye which work well together, especially when used with the recommended auxiliary, Albegal SET, and which have similar properties.

Sources of Lanaset dyes

Lanaset dyes are sold by several dye suppliers, including Earth Guild, Maiwa, Paradise Fibers, and PRO Chemical and Dye. PRO Chemical and Dye uses their own brand name of Sabraset, and provides a number of in-house mixed colors not available elsewhere. Lanaset are also sold under the brand name Telana. They are manufactured by Huntsman Textile Effects, which purchased the global Textile Effects business of Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc. in 2006.

Why use Lanaset dyes?

Lanaset dyes are considerably more washfast than most dyes available for use on wool; they are significantly more permanent than the less washfast members of ProChem's WashFast Acid dyes or Jacquard's Acid Dyes, and certainly far more washfast than the strong acid (Kiton) dyes. No other group of dyes that is suitable for hand dyeing is more washfast on wool. Unlike other acid dyes, Lanaset dyes are tested in hot water, at 140°F, conditions under which many acid dyes will wash out or bleed. They are also known for being more lightfast than some of the alternatives, particularly the French silk dyes, such as Sennelier Tinfix. Dyers appreciate the rich, deep coloring provided by Lanaset dyes.

The main disadvantage of Lanaset dyes is that they are made by only one supplier. Not all of the dyes in this series have Colour Index names, which are the generic names used for dyes in other classes. Prices tend to be higher than other acid dyes (though lower than all-purpose dyes); dyers generally agree that they are worth the price. Some of the acid dyes included in Lanaset mixtures are available elsewhere; for example, one of the two black dyes in the Lanaset Black B mixture is acid black 172, available among ProChem's Washfast Acid dyes.

Dye Classes

In her book Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers, Linda Knudson wrote that some of the Lanaset dyes are fiber reactive dyes that react with wool, others 1:2 metal complex acid dyes. However, it is clear, from some of the full chemical names and/or structures, that most of the Lanaset dyes that are not metal complex dyes (also known as premetallized dyes) are in fact acid dyes, described elsewhere as being acid milling dyes. They all attach to wool under similar conditions, and may be intermixed freely, so it does not matter a great deal, to the user, which of the Lanaset dyes belong in which class.

Auxilliary chemicals used with Lanaset dyes

Lanaset/Sabraset dyes are used at a mildly acid pH; for example, for one pound (0.5 kg) of fiber in 3 gallons (12 liters) of water, a typical recipe says to use 2 cups (0.5 liter) of distilled white vinegar. In addition, sodium acetate may be used as a pH buffer, to maintain acidity, at a rate of 2 grams per liter (0.5 to 1 ounce per 3.5 gallon dyebath).

Glauber's salt (sodium sulfate) is often used to help level the dye, that is, to produce a smooth single color on the entire batch of wool, instead of coloring some parts strongly and others weakly; typically one cup per pound of fiber in 3.5 gallons of water is recommended.

Albegal SET is a liquid three-product mix, produced by the dye manufacturer, that aids in leveling, to get a smooth solid color. Omitting it makes it more likely that your color will split up into different hues. (This may be desirable for some projects.) It also helps the different colors in the Lanaset group to dye to similar intesities.

Heat is the final requirement. Lanaset dyes must be heated with the fiber, using moist heat, to allow for good bonding to the fiber. This can be accomplished by immersion dyeing in a pot on the stove, or by wrapping the material, covered with wet dye, in plastic wrap, and then steaming.

Correction of faulty dyeing

Links to Suppliers' Directions

• PRO Chemical and Dye directions for immersion and rainbow dyeing with Sabraset dyes.

• Maiwa Handprints's instructions for using Telana Powder Dyes [PDF] call for the use of Telana Set, which is the same thing as Albegal SET.
• Earth Guild Lanaset Dyes Instructions
• Huntsman Textile Effects Lanaset Dyes Dyeing System for Wool, and Wool Blends [PDF] lengthy technical bulletin

More details

For more information on Lanaset dyes, including Colour Index names where available, or full chemical names if Colour Index names are unavailable, please see the details in the tables on the page "Which Lanaset dye colors are pure, rather than mixtures?".

Manufacturer's colors in the Lanaset Dye Range

The washfastness and lightfastness information in the table below come from Linda Knutson's book, Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers. More detailed information (not always in agreement), can be found in the Huntsman technical bulletin linked above.

(*Lightfastness is on a scale of 1 to 8, where 8 is most lightfast; washfastness is on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is most washfast. Note that Lanaset dyes are washfast to 140°F, unlike most other acid dyes which are tested at a more lenient temperature.)

         

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Last updated: February 12, 2015
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