community of dyers

Now I see the difference. The last scarf that I successfully did the salt effects on was on a frame. I had made a mistake so I used the salt to cover it up. BTW, it worked. LOL Looks like it's supposed to be that way. That's the one detail I was over looking. I appreciate the info.

K

I dry my scarves on the dining room table so it takes a while. A few hours since I am running air conditioning. One of these days I will have my own space to work in! I think it was the issue of not having the silk stretched. I didn't realize that's what was wrong. How do u like the red label dyes? I was thinking about trying them. Dharma Trading says they are more concentrated. Does that mean I will use less on a brush to get the same amount of color I get with green label? I really like deep jewel tones over pastels. How are they working out for you? K

Jacquard Products has sold three different products containing Remazol type dye.

You would get a more intense color by steaming your Green Label dyes than by using the chemical Dyeset Concentrate. You can get very intense colors with the other forms of this dye, but you will need to steam them if you are using them to paint silk. If you've never steamed before, see my page on How to Dye Silk, and scroll down to "How to Fix Your Silk Dye". You will certainly need to learn to steam your silk, if you haven't already. It's not that hard.

Green Label Silk Colors contain Remazol Dye, but they also contain additional ingredients, including a mild acid, to make them settable with Jacquard Permanent Dyeset Concentrate; the ultimate effect is not as good as if you steam the dyed items, but it's less trouble.

Red Label Silk Colors contain the same dyes as Green Label Silk Colors. The differences are that the Red Label Silk Colors are twice as strong as the Green Label Silk Colors; in addition, the Red Label dyes lack the acid, so they can be used on protein-containing OR cellulose-containing fibers, with different auxiliary chemicals (low pH for protein, high pH for cellulose). For a long time, the Red Label dyes have been difficult to locate, often having to be special ordered.

Both Red Label and Green Label dyes are quite dilute, compared to ProChem's Liquid Fiber Reactive Remazol dyes. The Jacquard Red Label black is about one-quarter as strong as ProChem Remazol Black.. The ProChem Remazol dyes range form 25% to 50% dye powder, by weight. So, for example, an eight-ounce bottle of ProChem Remazol Black will contain 113 grams of Remazol dye powder, the same volume of Jacquard Red Label Black will contain about 28 grams of Remazol dye powder, and the same volume of Jacquard Green Label black will contain about 14 grams of Remazol dye powder. The more concentrated dye is a much better deal, to buy. It's very easy to dilute it to the strength that you need, much less trouble than dissolving dye powders for yourself.

I don't even know whether you can still buy the Red Label colors, because Jacquard introduced a much more economical line of the same type of dye in their Jacquard Vinyl Sulphon dyes. The true name of the Remazol type of dye is vinyl sulfone, in the US, or vinyl sulphone if you're British; they used the British "ph" and removed the "e", in order to make a trademarkable name that is still recognizable.

Here is a 2007 Dye Forum discussion with a lot more information on using Remazol dyes. Here also is a 2008 post with a comparison of liquid vinyl sulfone dyes that specifically compares Jacquard Vinyl Sulphon dyes against ProChem Remazol Dyes.

I do not recommend that you seek out Jacquard Red Label Silk Colors, because the newer line of Jacquard Vinyl Sulphon dyes contains the same dyes in a much more concentrated and economical form. The Jacquard Vinyl Sulphon dyes and the ProChem Remazol Dyes are similar in price and convenience. I prefer the black from the ProChem line because it contains only a single dye, one with very good properties, while the Vinyl Sulphon black is a mixture of dye colors and is also prone to light-fading. In some other cases, the Jacquard Vinyl Sulphon color may be preferable. There's usually no need to pick from both sources, though. You'll do fine by ordering these dyes from either ProChem or Jacquard. Dharma carries the Jacquard Vinyl Sulphon dyes, and so do other Jacquard retailers.

-Paula

Dharma carries the red label dye. I have been buying all my stuff there. I do not have any kind of craft store in my town so I order the stuff I need on line. Thank you for the information on the dyes. Look likes I need to learn some chemistry. LOL

Thanks, Kelly