community of dyers

The second kit is ArtMinds not Mindart as I had posted and also states that the dye will start to degrade after 45 minutes. But it does recommend a 6 to 8 hour cure time. Also the directions mention using dry technique with a dry garment. Dry technique gives sharper lines between the colors--correct?

I thought I got a good deal with all of the squeeze bottles etc instead of buying separately but I guess I was mistaken. With the short working time really need to plan ahead and get everything set up and then put the dye on like mad.

Looks like ArtMinds is the Michaels' store brand.

-Paula

A least now you'll be all set with bottles for after you order new dyes online.

-Paula

For the two kits with the soda ash mixed with the dye what would yu guess is the shelf life of the unmixed dyes.

Could one use dyes with soda ash mixed and regular fiber reactive dyes on the same piece of material in different sections or am I asking for trouble?

The shelf life of dye powder that's been mixed with soda ash should be shorter than that of reactive dye powder without the soda ash, since any tiny particle of humidity that gets in will cause a rapid reaction. The shelf life of the no-soda-ash-added Procion dyes at the dye retailers (such as Dharma or ProChem) is supposed to be one to two years, though often their dyes stay good for five years or more after purchase, if you keep the jars tightly sealed and don't expose them to excessive heat. I would not expect the craft store reactive dyes that have soda ash mixed in them to last more than a year, including the time they've spent on the shelf already, waiting to be sold. Unless your box has a "use by" or "packed on" date on the side, though, that's going to be impossible to know.

I have heard of at least one case in which a tie-dye kit did not work due to its being too old. It was a Tulip tie-dyeing kit from a local crafts store that had kept it on the shelf too long before selling it. I believe the manufacturer replaced the box.

If you presoak your fabric in soda ash and use Procion dyes without soda ash mixed into them, there's no reason not to also squirt on any freshly-made solutions of your Tulip or Artmind dyes that were sold with soda ash in them. A little extra soda ash (or whatever high-pH chemical they may substitute) won't hurt anything. It's okay to use twice as much soda ash as you need. In fact, Tulip says, "Use Tulip® Fashion Dye Soda Ash™ to pre-treat all of your dye projects for optimal color results!" Their small box of soda ash is labeled, "Pretreats fabrics for superior dye absorption."

Do you already know about cheaper places to buy soda ash? A box of Tulip brand soda ash weighs 4.56 ounces (enough to make two one-gallon batches, they say), and costs about $4—about $14 a pound! . Compare that to the five-pound jug of pH Increaser (sodium carbonate) we buy at the hardware store or swimming pool supplier for $10 or $15, or Dharma's price of $11 for 10 pounds of soda ash.

-Paula

I have some old urea. Should I add it or for that matter any urea to the dye mixes containing the soda ash.

How humid is the weather where you are? Even though it's almost always humid here, I usually either add urea or wrap in plastic, to make sure my tie-dyed or dye-painted stuff stays moist overnight in order to react as fully as possible. I don't think Tie Dye Judy uses urea at all, though, and her results obviously don't suffer from it.

Give the old urea a sniff. If it doesn't smell like much, it's fine, but if there is an overpowering scent of ammonia, throw it away.

-Paula