community of dyers

I tried the recipe but I used only half of the alginate in distilled water and it really made much too thick of a paste (quite a solid jello like substance after 12 hours) which really did not dissolve well in a small amount added to water to thicken the solution. Overnight was required to really dissolve any cloud like lumps from the recipe in plain distilled water. It seems that the suggestions on Dharma website are more useful and that is to add a fixed amount to a dye bottle. I think mixing the alginate with some denatured ethanol improves the mixing of the alginate. Adding directly to the water or dye solution mixes quite well. In about an hour the solution is noticeably thickened. After overnight on some old cotton material I would guess that the mix (about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp in half cup distilled water)reduced the amount of color spread of scarlet by 50 % maybe more. I think I will use the alginate on reds and oranges to reduce the blending especially next to yellow. I notice that Procem sells a blend with urea and metaphos which would be usefull and eliminate the need for distilled water. If i ever run out I would give that a try. I also think that 2 to 6 tablespoons (amount suggested under alginate on the website) for two cups of water is way too much and may result in a gel even in distilled water just like I got from the print paste. Anyway seems like alcohol whetted alginate added directly to the dye or to the water before adding dye is the way to go.

When I looked at the recipe I assume you suggest making the paste to add to the mixed dye. Right? thanks