Name: Eszter

Country: Hungary

Message: Hi!! I would like to dye my baby wrap, and am wondering what dyes you would suggest, the more natural, the better! (may be licked, etc.)

Surprisingly, I do not recommend most natural dyes for baby use. Almost all natural dyes require the use of mordants to help stick the dye to the fiber. Even the safest mordant, alum, is irritating, and the fatal dose of alum for an adult is one ounce. I wonder how little alum might be required to make a small baby slightly ill—far less than the 30 grams needed to kill a full-sized adult, of course—and I don't want to even try it.

There are a few natural dyes that can be used without mordants, though even those generally perform much better if used with a mordant. You can boil your wrap with powdered turmeric from the grocery store and no mordant, for a pretty though short-lived yellow; unfortunately, turmeric fades quickly in the light. Walnut husks can be used the same way. Indigo is the only natural dye which is both long-lasting and free of mordants, and it makes beautiful blue colors, but, since it's a vat dye, it's more complicated to use and not very suitable for beginning dyers, though there's now a new indigo kit that makes the process friendlier; indigo may be purchased with either natural or synthetic sources, though in either case the indigo dye is the same. Other pretty and longer-lasting colors require either the use of mordants or the use of synthetic dyes.

Fortunately, there are synthetic dyes that are completely safe for baby clothes, if you apply the dyes correctly, and wash out the excess dye correctly, too. I recommend that you dye a cotton or silk baby wrap, or one made of other natural plant fibers such as bamboo, linen, or hemp, using Procion MX fiber reactive dye. (See "About Fiber Reactive Dyes".)

When used correctly (which is easy to do), Procion MX dye forms a permanent chemical bond to the fiber, and will not come off in your baby's mouth even if he or she chews on the fabric. Follow a good recipe such as the ones on my site, using soda ash to fix the dye. Afterwards, wash the wrap once in cool water and then two or more times in very hot water. To test whether you have successfully washed out all of the unbonded dye, you can do a hot press test.

To do the hot press test, dampen your dyed fabric (or yarn or whatever), place it between two white cloths, either both cotton or, preferably, one cotton and one wool, and then use a hot iron to press it dry. If there is any color change, wash the dyed material in hot water again, or, for more efficient use of water, soak the wrap in hot water and then wash it. The temperature of the hot water should, ideally, be 140°F or hotter. Procion MX dye is pretty much non-toxic, certainly less toxic than, say, alum or the natural dye logwood, but if you make sure to wash out all unattached dye, you don't even have to think about that.

There are many ways to dye a natural-fiber baby wrap with Procion MX dyes. You can dye it a solid color in the washing machine, provided that you wash it carefully enough beforehand that there are no invisible stains left to cause the dye to take unevenly. You can use an ordinary tie-dyeing kit (avoid the ones made by Rit, because they contain a less permanently bonded type of dye that is not as suitable for baby clothes); tie-dye in any pattern or combination of colors you like. If you like to do batik, that's a fine method for decorating baby clothes. Low water immersion dyeing is another excellent way to color a baby wrap with good Procion MX dyes.

Since you are in Hungary, I do not know exactly where you will be wanting to buy your dyes. Procion MX dyes are available by mail-order from many European sources. Look at my list, "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World", scrolling down to the section on Europe. You can also mail-order dyes from some companies in the US, such as PRO Chemical & Dye or Dharma Trading Company, whose much lower prices on dyes make up for the higher cost of shipping overseas, at least if you call them and specify the slowest and cheapest shipping method when you order.

Procion MX are not the only baby-safe fiber reactive dyes you can use. You can also use Remazol dyes, Drimarene K dyes, or Novacron F dyes (also known as Cibacron F or Sabracron dyes). These dyes all form the same extremely safe permanent chemical bond to cotton, silk, and other natural fibers. Most Dylon dyes are fiber reactive dyes (with the exception of their Multi Purpose line of all-purpose dye), including Dylon Machine Dye, Dylon Hand Dye, and Dylon Cold Dye. If you buy a Dylon dye, follow the package instructions carefully, before washing out the excess dye as described above.

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