Dylon Cold dyes are no longer available. How can I mix a substitute for Sahara Sun?

Name: Ann

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Linda Johansen's book
Fabric Dyer's Dictionary
shows how to mix a small number of Procion dyes to obtain a large number of different solid colors

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Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers

provides an excellent introduction on how to dye with synthetic dyes.

Country or region: Denmark

Message: I have previously been using Dylon A22 Sahara Sun, but this is no longer being produced, so I need to figure out how to mix 'individual dyes' to make this mixture. On your website and on the MSDS only one dye (C.I. REACTIVE ORANGE 4 < 1% = Procion type Orange MX-2R) is listed. I was wondering if you have any further information on what could possibly be in the mixture from your experience? I am quite new to this!
Kindest Regards
Ann

In the image to the left you can see that "Sahara Sun" was a yellow color, so yellow in hue that it can contain no more than a small amount of orange MX-2R. There are pure unmixed Procion MX type dyes that are similar in color to "Sahara Sun", but there would have been no need for Dylon to have added an orange dye to them to warm up their color, so I think that the yellow dye used in this case was probably the clear cool yellow known as Procion Yellow MX-8G. This is a common and easy-to-find dye, if you can access Procion dyes at all. It is possible that they also added a bit of a complementary color to dull down the color a little bit; you could try adding a little of a brown Procion dye mixture for a similar effect.

You can see a list of which of the Procion MX dyes are the single-hue unmixed mixing primaries on my page, "Which Procion MX colors are pure, and which mixtures?". The color chips on that page are only approximate, but you can see that there are several yellow Procion MX dyes, ranging from cool to almost orange. There are some dye retailers, particularly in the US, that sell as many as a hundred different shades of Procion MX dyes, but these are all mixed from the same dozen or so single-hue mixing primaries.

The Dylon Cold Water Dyes (unlike other lines of Dylon dye) are/were mostly Procion MX type fiber reactive dyes, which are fixed by the use of washing soda or soda ash. Dylon Cold dyes (again unlike other lines of Dylon dye) contain very little besides the dye itself, but they are premixed colors and therefore not as versatile for color mixing as dyes sold under the name Procion. Besides the greater versatility for color mixing, you will find that Procion MX dyes are exactly the same as the Dylon Cold dyes you've been using, since Dylon Cold dyes are based on Procion MX type dyes. One notable difference is that other sources for Procion MX dyes are usually more affordable, since each tin of Dylon Cold dyes contained only 5 grams of dye, enough to dye a pound of cotton fiber to a medium hue, at a somewhat inflated price. Smaller containers of dye always cost more per use than larger jars. Knowing that the Dylon Cold Dyes were Procion MX dyes allows you to access a wide range of recipes that are available for the use of Procion MX dye, from dye painting to low water immersion to solid-color high-water-ratio immersion dyeing.

The one dye supplier I know in Denmark, Granat Farvekompagniet, does not sell Procion MX dyes, as far as I know. They do sell another excellent line of fiber reactive dye, the Remazol dyes, which are similar to Procion dyes in how they work; however, they are less reactive, so they need a warmer reaction temperature than the dyes you've used in the past. (See my page "What is the effect of temperature on fiber reactive dyes?" for ideas on how to warm up your fabric or other fiber while it reacts with the dye.) Look at Granat Farvekompagniet's site to see the colors they show for their two different Remazol yellow dyes, Brill. Gelb GL (sunny yellow) and Brill. Gelb 4GL (lemon). Although the color chips on the web site for these two yellow dyes look very similar, Brill. Gelb GL is a warmer shade of yellow (that means slightly more orangish), so will be closer without mixing to the color that you have been using.

To continue with the same Procion dye type you have used in the past, you may have to mail-order from another country, unless you can find a source in Denmark for Procion MX dyes. Look at my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World"; scroll down to the "Europe" section. I have marked in that list which ones carry Procion MX dyes.

Also see my blog post "Mixing Colors with Dylon Cold Dyes", dated July 13, 2009, and my frequently asked questions pages, "How can I mix Procion MX dyes to get specific colors?".

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Posted: Monday - September 10, 2012 at 09:09 AM

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Dylon Cold dyes are no longer available. How can I mix a substitute for Sahara Sun?

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