community of dyers

We are buying a washing machine and was wondering if there is a real difference between tie-dyeing with a top loading machine vs. "middle" loading machine.

I am under the impression that i MUST have a top loading machine because thats what i have been using until now and that way I can stop themachine in the middle, add to it, take stuff out in the middle....etc. PLUS, I ca check on the stuff while its running to see the color of the water during the rinse-out and see if i should put it in again...

either way, whats your opinion?

thanks!

~Elisheva
www.groovesters.com

Hello everyone,
I intend on building a box that I will line with an electric blanket. I want predicable results over a given time frame. I am tired of watching the clouds appear just as I get my dyes mixed and my garments prepped.
What I need is information on the length of time it takes for garments to dye-cure at different temperatures which could be maintained by a an electric blanket. I plan to use plastic or perhaps some old refrigerator shelving inside the box, with a small vent at top. If I get really carried away, I could install a thermocouple (?) on the door of the box connected to a probe thermometer set in the centre area of the interior. I can get one off an old barbeque. (maybe, maybe not) This contraption will be outdoors and suitably safeguarded. The desired capacity would be twenty large tees.

What kind of a "tie dye workstation" do you use?

I was dyeing some shirts last night, one after the other, and the need to constantly be cleaning out my "tie dye box" -- a big plastic container I work in -- was making me crazy. I've tried dyeing on a rack -- but racks are deceptive about holding drops of dye you didn't see. I've tried dyeing on a big stack of newspapers with a clean paper on top -- but trying to "refresh" this so you have a clean spot to work on is difficult and messy. What works for you? How do you set up?

I have recently been experimenting with acid dyes and the simmering process is driving me crazy. I'm using a hotplate that is 750 watts and it takes forever to get to the proper temperature and it's hard to maintain it. I am looking for a more powerful source of heat that I can use in a basement and is still affordable. Any suggestions?
Thank you.

I have been using a dedicated blender with a glass jar for tie-dye preparation. I have used it many times for urea/alginate/water/vinegar prep, and I cannot remember for sure but I may have used it for soda ash/water before I figured out that just shaking the bottle works pretty well. It has never been used for dyes.

Now I have broken my regular kitchen blender jar; I have the food-safe top and metal blending mechanism from my kitchen blender but am wondering if it is safe to use the glass jar formerly used for the chemicals used above for food? If so, is there a special way I should clean it first other than the dishwasher?

Clothing that is just hung on a hanger looks drab and boring. You need to have a form under the garment to make it look good enough for showing or selling online. What do you use?

A long time ago, someone posted a picture here of a simple wire design that provided just enough shape to show a dress off to its best advantage. (Unfortunately, I can't find this photo no matter how I look.) I would really like to make a wire form that would work like this. Does anyone have any ideas of how it should be shaped? I think it was basically a flat outline, with an added loop of wire that held the dress's material out at about chest height.

In Julie's photo gallery at Kodak, there are a couple of long sleeved

Recently I needed to dye wax reserved shopping bag. Being lazy to dye it in the tub I've rather applied dye solution with foam paintroll on bag laying flat on the plastic foil. After applying dye I had simply flip the edges of the foil over to keep the mpisture in and let it batch. Surprisingly the dye came out with very even shade. I think I'm going to try it one more time.

Do you guys use goggles when you're handling the raw dye powder? I have been tie dying almost every day now and ive been noticing that I get a weirdo sensation in my eyes, almost the top of my nose when I handle the powder. I wear one of those heavy duty dust masks (you know, the ones that make a sauna around your mouth and nose?), and I try not to breath when the cap is off of the jar, and yet I have this weirdo feeling only on ONE side...my right eye, just seems to be annoying me. is this weird? have any of you had something like this? I would check it up on e-doctor or something but im sure that the outcome will be "you have the black plague" or something. haha

I've heard that microwaving food in a plastic container is a bad idea, and wondering if there are toxic products released when using zip lock baggies to microwave-dye silk hankies?

And some advice? I decided I need a scale, not just for weighing dye, but also for weighing packages. I mailed something today that I could have dropped in the slot, because if it's under 16 oz and in a flat rate priority mailer you can do that. Anything over has to be handed to a clerk. (dropping in the slot is preferable, I had been at the post office before they opened dropping off mail)

So I'm looking to buy a scale that will not only let me weigh out my dye powders, but also let me weigh small packages. Only the terms are confusing me. Weighs up to 4 grams, accurate to .001 gram is great, but then they don't give the equiv in ounces. I know it's something like 28 grams to an ounce, so that scale is NOT gonna help me mailing. I'm wondering if there even is such a creature, that will weigh packages up to a couple pounds and also weigh out dye powders. Hmm.

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. Been dyeing for years. Just had to share. I got a mangle! For those young folks here, this is a flat presser (like grandma had). Found it in the basement waaay in the back of an antique store. It works perfectly on the 3 yd pieces I'm so fond of dyeing. Also sets fabric paint. Got on ebay and found an owners manual and a repair manual. Now all I need is the chair that goes with it. It's kinda low.

Looking forward to sharing.

Sharon, a snowbird, who is leaving MI for CA for the winter!

Other than my squirt bottles, the piece of equipment I use most in my tie-dye is a very small (3 inches long and 3/8 inches wide) fork they were giving away for free at my local Starbucks a few months ago. I have no idea what it is for (eating doll-sized scones?) but it is fabulous for pulling open folds so I can put dye in between them.

Has anyone experimented with an airbrush using Procion MX dyes? I'm thinking about getting one to try.

hi, a very informative forum, thankyou all.
here's ONE of my current quandries: have avoided any method of coloring silk that requires steaming to fix but yearn to be free of the "batching" issues of maintaining the right temp, all those piles of dripping plastic, etc etc.
also put off by the careful folding, wrapping etc needed for error-free steaming. been wondering if one of the stronger garment steamers, like jiffy, the 4000 which is called "commercial" would work: hang the work in the shower and run the jiffy for 20 or 30 mins? is this totally deluded?

I have a box of latex gloves, "one size fits all" (which will fit a size medium at maximum) and powder free, which is so far running at about a 50% failure rate. I put on the gloves, drip a little dye on one of them, and immediately have stained fingers, inside the glove, though there were no obvious holes when I put them on. These things are defective. They are Walgreens' store brand.

My husband asked if I thought nitrile gloves would be any better, but I don't think so. If they can make latex gloves with extraordinarily poor quality control, they can do the same with disposable vinyl or nitrile.

Have you found any brand of thin disposable gloves to be any more or less reliable than another? What gloves do you prefer to use?

Fluffy here.

A while back, I found a wonderful application tool in with my ink toner recycling kit-- a flat-tipped syringe. I could suck up the dye into it and apply it into tight folds. And I could use it on scrunch dye still with a lot of soda ash in it, to create little van gogh impressionistic starbursts, about an inch wide.

Pic: http://tinyurl.com/e6byd

Then, last night, tragedy struck! The plunger came loose from the toppy thinging and now I need a new one. Toner kits are $10+, so I'm wondering if anyone uses a similar tool and where to buy such of a thing by its own self without the toner.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to help someone clean out a couple of labs whose reseachers had moved on. This was great because there was unwanted equipment there that I could legally take, at no charge. Old and dirty, sure, but too expensive to buy new. No one else wanted it.

Today for the first time I tried out my magnetic stirplates. Soon after I acquired them, I ordered some new Teflon magnetic stirbars from Cole Parmer. They work great with dye. I added dye powder to water, popped in a stirbar, and went on to the next color. By the time I'd measured out another color or two, the dye was all dissolved, no need for me to stir it at all. The dye rinsed right off of the Teflon stirbars.

can anyone help me locate a dyeing machine manafacturers to dye rayon yarn with vat dyes