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You are here: Home > All About Hand Dyeing > About Dyes > Basic Dyes

Dyeing Acrylic with Basic Dye

Rit dye won't work!
Disperse dyes can work, for pale to medium shades
Basic dyes produce more intense colors, but are more toxic
Where to buy Basic Dyes
Specific Instructions for Dyeing Acrylic
   Dyeing acrylic with Disperse dyes
   Dyeing acrylic with Basic dyes
More information on Basic dyes
Generic names of Basic dyes
Other names for acrylic fibers
Safety
   Allergenicity
   selected MSDS information

I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but dyeing acrylic yarn at home is not necessarily a good idea. Dyeing wool yarn can be easy and safe, but dying acrylic is not. For your first dyeing projects, please try natural fibers, instead.

Rit dye won't work!

Ordinary dyes used for wool or cotton will not color acrylic. Acrylic is an entirely synthetic material which will not hold on to the dyes that work for natural fibers. All-purpose dye, such as Rit Tint and Dye, will not produce acceptable results. Neither will the fiber reactive dyes that work so well on cotton, such as Procion MX, nor the acid dyes that work well on wool, including food coloring. All of these dyes will just wash out, leaving at most a temporary stain.

Disperse dyes can work, for pale to medium shades

PRO Chemical & Dye writes, "PROsperse Disperse Dyes produce only light colors on Acrylic fabrics. Acrylic dyes at a boil, but exhaustion is slow and there is not good build up for darker shades. Expect only pale to medium shades. All dyeing should be done in a stainless steel or enamelware container only; never use an aluminum pot." (This is quoted from Immersion Dyeing Acrylic using PROsperse Disperse Dyes.) Note that the noxious carrier chemical required for immersion dyeing polyester with disperse dyes is not required for dyeing acrylic, so the task should be both safer and less smelly. All you need is Disperse dye, water, synthrapol, vinegar, and a suitable large cooking pot which you will never use for food again.

There is no reason not to dye your acrylic yarn with disperse dye, if you are willing to sacrifice a good cooking pot for dye use, and never cook food with it again. Disperse dye is generally regarded as non-toxic, though a few people are allergic to it, but, like all dyes not certified as food additives, it is unsafe for use in food or in cooking utensils. For more information on disperse dyes, see Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes.

Basic dyes produce more intense colors, but are more toxic

The type of dye which works best for acrylics is called Basic dye. I have found the very idea of Basic dye to be highly unnerving, ever since I used it to kill cells and break DNA for my doctoral dissertation research. Perhaps this is not fair, as not all dyes in the dye class are equally toxic. You should, however, be aware that anything that breaks DNA is probably also a mutagen and a carcinogen. You MUST obtain the MSDS information for every Basic dye that you buy, and follow the safety precautions with great care. If your dye supplier does not provide MSDS information, find another supplier! Do not patronize companies that are willing to disregard your health and safety.

The City of Tucson's Health & Safety in the Arts Database advises that users of Basic dyes should

Buy dyes in liquid or paste form when possible; mix powders inside glove box, hood, or wear respirator; wear gloves; install canopy hood over dye bath.

A glove box may be constructed from lucite panels, glued together, with holes to which heavy gloves have been attached, so that you can reach in to manipulate dye powders without contaminating the air you are breathing. A canopy hood contains fans to exhaust air to the outside, preventing or reducing exposure to fumes.

Basic dyes appear to be easy to use (aside from the possibly onerous health protections), can be used for hand-painting, and result in particularly brilliant colors, which are quite washfast on acrylic. However, they dye everything permanantly, including your containers, your sink, your counter, your floor, or anything else they get on to, unlike most other types of dye, and they may be much more hazardous than the other dye classes. They are not for use by the beginner, certainly, and not for use by many experts, either.

Where to buy Basic Dyes

In Australia, Batik Oetoro sells Sandocryl® basic dyes.

In the US, you can buy Basic dyes as "Alcohol/Water" dyes from Aljo Dyes.

Ann Milner's The Ashford Book of Dyeing lists Sennelier Tinfix as being basic dyes, though it is widely assumed by many dyers that these are acid dyes.

I believe that Jacquard Wood & Reed Dyes are also basic dyes, but have not confirmed this. They write, "Wood and Reed Dye is designed for a whole range of dry natural materials: straw, grasses, raffia, leaves, potpourri, shell, bone, dried flowers, bamboo and even acrylic. This dye is strong! It will produce bright, even colors that are water fast to tap water."

When buying Basic dye, be sure to request a separate MSDS sheet for each dye color!

Specific Instructions for Dyeing Acrylic

When dyeing acrylic, be aware that it can be damaged by sudden cooling. Allow the acrylic to cool only quite gradually. Another issue is the fact that Basic dyes tend to strike the acrylic fiber very suddenly, when the correct temperature (about 60 degrees C., or 140 F.) is reached, which can result in uneven shades. Raise the temperature only gradually between 60 and 70 degrees C. Getting the dye level is a challenge. Commercial dyeing of acrylic uses chemical agents that retard dye striking in order to produce smoother solid colors. Often home dyers very much prefer uneven dyeing, however, and do not find it to be a problem at all.

Dyeing acrylic with Disperse dyes

PROchem provides excellent technical support for their products, including online explicit directions for dyeing synthetic fibers with their PROsperse line of disperse dyes:

Immersion Dyeing Acrylic using PROsperse Disperse Dyes

PROchem does not, however, sell Basic dyes. (Perhaps they do not consider them suitable for their customers!)

Dyeing acrylic with Basic dyes

Deborah Dryden's excellent book, "Fabric Painting and Dyeing for the Theatre," gives instructions for Basic dyes as follows:

For 1 lb dry fabric, medium intensity:
1 tsp dye [**NOTE: 1 tsp = 5 ml; 1 tbs = 15 ml**]
1 tbs acetic acid (equivalent to 11 tbs or 165 ml vinegar at 5% strength)
2.5 - 3 gal water (10 - 12 liters)
Dissolve the dye in a small amount of hot water, add to dyebath, stir well, add acetic acid, stir well, add the wetted-out fabric.
Over 30 to 60 minutes slowly raise the temperature of the dyebath to approx. 205 degrees F. (for silk, no higher than 185 degrees F.)

One US source of basic dyes, Aljo Dyes, provides a small amount of information on how to use Basic dyes (which they sell under the name of "Alcohol/water dyes"), but only for use as a silk paint:

Application directions for Basic Dye

Batik Oetoro gives instructions for immersion dyeing with Basic dyes, which they sell under the brand name of Sandocryl:

Dye instructions including Sandocryl® Modified basic dyes

In summary, use an amount of dye that weighs from 1% to 3% of the weight of the acrylic to be dyed, plus 2.5 ml of 30% acetic acid per liter of water (equivalent to 27.5 ml of 5% strength distilled white vinegar), plus at least 2 gallons of water per pound of acrylic; the dye and acid are dissolved in cold water, in a non-food-use cooking pot, and the acrylic fiber is added to the cold dyebath before bringing it to a boil. The acrylic is then boiled in the dyebath for an hour, before allowing the dyebath to cool off, preferably overnight.

Dyes.co.uk gives more detailed instructions on immersion dyeing with basic dyes.

Clariant gives more information for industrial use of Basic dyes

(If any of these links ever break, just go directly to the company's web site and look around.)

More information on Basic dyes

Basic dyes ('basic' as in the opposite of acidic, not as in 'back to basics') are said to be very bright, and particularly washfast on acrylic, although they're not washfast enough for practical use on protein fibers, such as wool, and do not bind to cotton at all unless the cotton has first been mordanted. Oddly, pre-dyeing with a direct dye can serve for mordanting on cotton. In dyeing reeds, raffia, grasses, and barks, these substances' natural tannin content acts as a mordant for Basic dyes.

Basic dyes are cationic, which means that the colored part has a positive charge, when they are dissolved in water. They will bond to either carboxyl or sulfonic acid groups on a fiber, via the formation of salt links with these anionic groups in the fiber.

Basic dyes can be used to dye wool or cotton, but they do not perform well, tending to fade in sunlight quite badly. The first synthetic dye, Mauve, discovered by William Henry Perkin in 1856, was a basic dye, almost a century before the development of acrylic fiber by DuPont, in 1944.

Generic names of Basic dyes

Here is a list of some Basic dyes, with names from a few of the manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers which sell them. Dye names containing 'SANDOCRYL' are manufactured by Clariant Sandoz; 'ORCOZINE' refers to brands manufactured by Orco. 'Acrylene' dyes are sold by Dyes.co.uk, but only to industry.

C.I. Name	color description	examples of dye name
basic yellow 2	bright yellow	ORCOZINE Yellow OX
basic yellow 11	red shade yellow	ORCOZINE Yellow R
basic yellow 13	bright greenish yellow	YELLOW SANDOCRYL SHINING B6GL, Acrylene Brilliant Yellow 6G; ORCOZINE Yellow L
basic yellow 21	bright greenish yellow	ORCOZINE Yellow 7GLL
basic yellow 28	workhorse dye	Acrylene Golden Yellow GL; ORCOZINE Golden Yellow GL
basic yellow 29	medium yellow	Acrylene Yellow 2GL; ORCOZINE Yellow 6DL
basic yellow 37	bright greenish yellow	ORCOZINE Yellow SFK
basic yellow 40	fluorescent yellow	Acrylene Flavine 10GFF; ORCOZINE Brilliant Yellow 10GFF
basic yellow 56		YELLOW SANDOCRYL CORN
basic yellow 82		YELLOW SANDOCRYL GOLD BGRL
basic orange 1	dull yellowish orange	ORCOZINE Orange RS
basic orange 2	yellowish orange	ORCOZINE Chrysoidine 4
basic orange 14		Acridine Orange (see my Ph.D. dissertation)
basic orange 21	bright yellowish	ORCOZINE Orange G
basic orange 37		YELLOW SANDOCRYL GOLD BRLE
basic orange 57		YELLOW SANDOCRYL GOLD BRLN
basic orange 58		ORANGE SANDOCRYL B3RLN
basic red 1		Rhodamine G (known mutagen)
basic red 10 also known as acid red 52 (& basic violet 10?)	true UV fluorescent	Rhodamine B (often contaminated with some Rhodamine G); sold by ProChem: see Washfast Acid Dyes
basic red 14	bright fluorescent red	ORCOZINE Brilliant Red
basic red 15	bluish fluorescent red	Acrylene Brilliant Red B; ORCOZINE Brilliant Red BN
basic red 18	dull red	ORCOZINE Red GTL
basic red 22	bright bluish red	RED SANDOCRYL BBLE; ORCOZINE Red B
basic red 27		RED SANDOCRYL SHINING BF
basic red 44		RED SANDOCRYL B2GLE
basic red 46	bright bluish workhorse red; stable to high pH and temp	RED SANDOCRYL BRLN; AcryleneRed GRL; ORCOZINE Red GRL
basic red 49	bluish fluorescent red	ORCOZINE Brilliant Red FBB
basic red 54		RED SANDOCRYL B2GLN
basic red 59		SANDOCRYL RUBY BRLN
basic red 75		SANDOCRYL ROSE SHINING B5B
basic red 104		RED SANDOCRYL BRL
basic red 181		Acrylene Red G
basic violet 1	bluish violet	ORCOZINE Methyl Violet 2BP
basic violet 14	bright reddish violet	ORCOZINE Fuchsine SB
basic violet 16	red violet	ORCOZINE Rhodine BL
basic violet 48		PURPLE SANDOCRYL B2RLN
basic blue 3	bright greenish blue; good pH stability	BLUE SANDOCRYL B3G, Acrylene Blue 5G; ORCOZINE Blue 3G
basic blue 9	greenish blue	Methylene Blue [sold by Aljo]; ORCOZINE Blue B (see my Ph.D. dissertation)
basic blue 7	bright blue	ORCOZINE Pure Blue BO
basic blue 17		toluidine blue O (see my Ph.D. dissertation)
basic blue 22		BLUE SANDOCRYL BFE
basic blue 41	bright blue workhorse dye	Acrylene Blue GRL; ORCOZINE Blue GRLA
basic blue 54	bright royal blue	ORCOZINE Fast Blue 6GL-WC
basic blue 73		BLUE SANDOCRYL B2GLE
basic blue 120		BLUE SANDOCRYL B3GLE
basic green 4	bright bluish green	Malachite Green [sold by Aljo]; ORCOZINE Green V
basic brown 13		BROWN SANDOCRYL YELLOW BRLE
basic brown 14		BROWN SANDOCRYL YELLOW BRLN

Mauvein, the first of all synthetic dyes, is a basic dye, also known as aniline purple; it was discovered in 1856, but its structure was not certain until 1994. It is a combination of two compounds, mauveine A and mauveine B. It lacks a CI number, as it is of no commercial importance now, but instructions have been published on how to do a small-scale synthesis: Scaccia, R. L., Coughlin, D. and Ball, D. W., (1998). A microscale synthesis of mauve. Journal of Chemical Education, v. 75, p. 769.
chemical structure of Mauveine A

Batik Oetoro sells Clariant's Sandocryl Modified Basic Dyes, in yellow, orange, red, pink, rhodamine, blue, turquoise, violet, green, and black.

Other names for acrylic fibers

Acrylic is sold under names such as Orlon, Courtelle, Dralon, Leacryl, Acrilan, and Nitron. It is composed of poly(propenonitrile)(polyacrylonitrile) with small amounts of a comonomer.

Modacrylic is sold under names such as BHS, Creslon, PAN, and Teklan, and also, according to Ingamells, as Lycra (which must have been a misprint). Modacrylic fibers are between 35% and 85% acrylonitrile, and are made from resins that are copolymers (combinations) of acrylonitrile and other materials such as vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride or vinyl bromide. Modacrylic can probably be dyed just like acrylic.

Source for names: Wilfred Ingamells, Colour for Textiles: A User's Handbook, The Society of Dyers and Colourists, 1993, ISBN 0 901956 56 2.

Safety

The main reason why I recomend against the home use of Basic dyes is their toxicity. They should not be used in a kitchen, in case some of the dye powder falls on a food preparation area, and the cooking pot used for heating the dyebath must NEVER be used for food again. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Basic dye is much more toxic than all-purpose dye or fiber reactive dye, and must be treated with correspondingly greater respect!

Another major problem with Basic dyes is that they dye everything. If you spill a little bit of Procion MX dye on your countertop, it may not be the smartest thing you ever did, but you can usually wash it right off, with a bit of help from some chlorine-containing scouring powder at worst. If you spill Basic dye, the color is permanent.

DO NOT allow any of the dye powder to fall on the floor, counters, tables, etc. Clean up all spills immediately as mandated in the specific instructions in the MSDS. DO NOT breathe any of the dye powder! Wear substantial waterproof gloves, preferably not the thin latex gloves commonly worn when working with safer dyes, and DO NOT allow your gloves to get a hole in them.

Allergenicity

Occasionally, someone develops a contact allergy to dyes in clothing. Most articles describing this, that I've seen, have involved disperse dyes. However, dermatitis sometimes results from wearing clothing dyed with the dye whose generic name is Basic Red 46. (See Foot dermatitis caused by the textile dye Basic Red 46 in acrylic blend socks, by Opie J., Lee A., Frowen K., Fewings J., and Nixon R., in Contact Dermatitis, December 2003, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 297-303(7).

selected MSDS information

Many MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets) say that the product has not been thoroughly tested, so information is not available about particular hazards. The absence of a known hazard in the MSDS is not proof that the substance is not carcinogenic or mutagenic. Be careful.

Here is a typical statement, quoted from an MSDS for Basic Red 1 (rhodamine 6G):

Health Hazards Acute & Chronic: MAY BE HARMFUL IF INHALED, SWALLOWED OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. MAY BE IRRITATING ON CONTACT W/SKIN, EYES OR MUCOUS MEMBRANES. MAY CAUSE CANCER BASED ON ANIMAL DATA. TESTS ON LAB ANIMALS INDICATE MATL MAY CAUSE TUMORS & PRODUCE ADVERSE MUTAGENIC & REPRO EFFECTS CITED IN RTECS.
First Aid: GET MED ASSISTANCE FOR ALL CASES OF OVEREXP. SKIN:WASH THORO W/SOAP & WATER. EYES:IMMED FLUSH THORO W/WATER FOR AT LST 15 MINS. INHAL:REMOVE TO FRESH AIR; GIVE ARTF RESP IF BREATHING HAS STOPPED. INGE ST:IF CONSCIOUS, DRINK WATER & INDUCE VOMITING IMMED AS DIRECTED BY MED PERS. NEVER GIVE ANYTHING BY MOUTH TO AN UNCONSCIOUS PERSON
Spill Release Procedures: EVACUATE AREA OF ALL UNNEC PERS. WEAR SUITABLE PROT EQUIP UNDER EXPOS/PERSONAL PROT. ELIM ALL IGNIT SOURCES UNTIL AREA IS DETERMINED TO BE FREE FROM EXPLO/FIRE HAZS. CONTAIN RELEASE & ELIM ITS SOURCE, IF THIS CAN BE DONE W/OUT RISK. TAKE UP &(SUPDAT)
Repiratory Protection: NIOSH/MSHA APPROVED RESPIRATOR APPROPRIATE FOR EXPOSURE OF CONCERN (FP N).
Ventilation: MATERIAL SHOULD BE HANDLED/TRANSFERRED IN AN APPROVED FUME HOOD OR W/ADEQUATE VENTILATION.
Protective Gloves: NEOPRENE OR EQUIVALENT GLOVES.
Eye Protection: ANSI APPRVD CHEM WORKERS GOGGLES (FP N).
Other Protective Equipment: EMERG EYE WASH AND DELUGE SHOWER WHICH MEETS ANSI DESIGN CRITERIA (FP N).
Work Hygenic Practices: WASH THOROUGHLY AFTER HANDLING.
Supplemental Health & Safety Information: SPILL PROC:CONTAINERIZE FOR PROPER DISP AS DESCRIBED UNDER DISP. COMPLY W/FED, STATE & LOC REGS ON REPORTING RELEASES.

Rhodamine B is a true fluorescent basic dye which is also sold as an acid dye for use on wool and othe rprotein fibers; it is classified as "Health Rating: 3 - Severe (Cancer Causing) " in the Rhodamine B MSDS provided by JT Baker.

From an MSDS for Methylene Blue (basic blue 9):

MODERATELY TOXIC BY INGESTION. PROLONGED CONTACT MAY CAUSE ALLERGIC REACTION.

In my Ph.D. dissertation work, I found evidence that methylene blue intercalates into DNA, giving it a special ability to cause damage.

From an MSDS for auramine yellow (basic yellow 2):

ANILINE, 4,4'-(IMIDOCARBONYL)BIS (N,N-DIMETHYL-,HYDROCHLORIDE; (BASIC YELLOW 2)
ALURAMINE HAS BEEN REPORTED TO PRODUE CHROMOSOMAL DAMAGE IN LAB TESTS & TO BE MUTAGENIC IN THE AMES ASSAY. AURAMINE CAUSED LIVER TUMORS IN BOTH RATS & MICE & LYMPHOMAS IN MICE FED DIETS OF 0.1% AURAMINE FOR APPROX 18 MONTHS. MICHLER'S KETONE WAS (EFTS OF OVEREXP)
HLTH HAZ: TESTED IN RAT & MOUSE FEEDING STUDIES CONDUCTED BY NATL CANCER INSTITUTE. THE MATERIAL CAUSED LIVER TUMORS IN MICE & THYROID TUMORS IN RATS.

There is ample evidence that there is reason to be very cautious in the use of Basic dyes.