Name: Elisheva

Message: I would like to tie dye a huge amount of clothing using procion MX. Is there a recipe for using the ENTIRE bottle (the smaller ones) in one batch so that I dont have to sit there measuring 40 something teaspoons of dye? that way I can use what I need and store the rest...

also, I have been tie dying using DEKA (until now) and dying in large buckets, is this a waste of dye? Should I just be using squirt bottles instead?

and last but not least...is soda ash good for any dye...like DEKA? thanks so much!

No, soda ash is not good for DEKA dye. DEKA Series L dye is a type of all-purpose dye, like Rit® Tint & Dye or Tintex® Easy Fabric Dye.  There is no point in using soda ash with any all-purpose dye. It does nothing to help attach the dye to the fiber. All-purpose dye is extremely poorly washfast unless you apply a cationic dye fixative afterwards, such as Retayne.

Soda ash is essential for dyeing with Procion MX dye, and other cool water fiber reactive dyes. You can buy it as sodium carbonate from a swimming pool supply store, usually (don't buy BIcarbonate, though).

You will get much better results in tie-dyeing if you use Procion MX dye instead of DEKA Series L dye. You will find much more versatility in using the squirt-bottle method rather than the bucket or washing machine method, but buckets and washing machines are preferable if you want to dye things a single solid color. I would not use squirt bottles with any hot-water dye, such as DEKA L. It can be done, if you steam the garments afterwards to set the dye, but steaming is a big step, and cool water dyes are much less trouble.

I don't know how large the bottles of Procion MX dye you are using may be. This detail is very important if you will be using the entire jar! If you are using the small Jacquard brand Procion MX dye jars, then they contain approximately 2/3 ounce each, or about 19 grams of dye powder. (Some jars might contain a little bit more, unpredictably.) Depending on how bright a color you want, this is enough to dye approximately 3 to 6 square yards of fabric or 3 T-shirts, according to the Jacquard Products web site. 

The washing machine dyeing instructions at the PRO Chemical & Dye website say that, for a washing machine load of 5 pounds of fabric, you should use 13 grams of dye for a pastel shade, 38 grams of dye powder for a medium shade, 75 grams of dye powder for a dark shade, or 150 grams of dye powder for a dark shade. Unless you want to dye very pale shades, you may need several of the little 19-gram jars of Jacquard Dye powder, or you may wish to order two-ounce (58 gram) jars from another dye supplier. You can also order 8-ounce jars of Jacquard Procion MX dye, or larger.

Note that one teaspoon is equivalent to 5 milliliters. One tablespoon is three teaspoons. One-quarter cup of dye is four tablespoons, or twelve teaspoons. One cup of dye is sixteen tablespoons, or 48 teaspoons.

For tie-dyeing, I like to use about four teaspoons of dye for one 8-ounce plastic squirt bottle of dye mixture, or twice that for black. Now, different dye colors weight different amounts. For repeatable results, it is better to dye by weighing your dye instead of using teaspoons. On average, though, we might guess that four teaspoons weighs about 10 grams. If I were using the small 2/3 ounce jars of dye powder, I'd want to mix them with about two cups of water for a standard tie-dye dye concentration. All this is highly variable, of course, depending on how intense you like your colors. I'd usually rather err on the side of using too much dye, rather than too little, but this is a matter of personal taste.

Please join the dye forum: http://www.pburch.net/forum for further discussion of how to use dyes.


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