How can I get a solid even color when dyeing nylon gloves?


Name: Barbaran

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Message: Good Day
I am wishing to dye nylon gloves.  I am using Jacquard Acid dyes.  The colour I wish to achieve is lilac and I am mixing periwinkle 616 with touch of hot fuchsia 620 which gives me the perfect colour on a test swatch.  I pre washed the gloves, however when I immerse the gloves into the dye mix the dye splits and parts the gloves are blue while the other parts are pinkish.  If I use only one colur I don't experience a problem, however this time I need to mix two colours to get the match I require. Can you tell me why the dye is splitting.  These gloves are required for a wedding on the 24th May so I don’t have much time to get it right.  Can you help?  

Acid dyes are a good choice for dyeing nylon fabric. Nylon should dye well if it is free of surface finishes that can impair dye penetration.

Unfortunately, finishes are common on nylon and can interfere badly with dyeing. The best nylon is labeled "PFP" for "Prepared For Printing" or "PFD" for "Prepared For Dyeing", but that's unlikely to be available in gloves. Some finishes will be removed by rigorous scouring (which is washing in very hot water with detergent plus washing soda), while others will not be fully removed no matter what you do. Permanent-press finishes and stain-resistant finishes are the worst, but there are also other finishes that may not be indicated on the package label.

Increasing the smoothness of a solid dye color is helped by several factors. One is using a large amount of water. If you were dyeing only one pair of gloves, then a four-liter pot should probably allow plenty of room for the fabric to move freely. Stirring more frequently will help to encourage a solid even color.

Do you paste up your dyes? To dissolve dyes, first mix them with a few drops of water, adding more water as necessary to make a thick smooth paste, Then gradually add more water to dissolve thoroughly. Finally, strain the dye solutions through a coffee filter or the toe of sheer nylon stocking, to remove any undissolved clumps.

The fabric needs to be thoroughly wetted before dyeing. Wet out the fabric by soaking it in warm water with a single tiny drop of Synthrapol or liquid hand dishwashing detergent. Soaking overnight will be most effective, but at least soak for half an hour.

Acid dyes are supposed to be used with an acid, such as vinegar or citric acid. It appears that you added no acid at all to your dyebath. Nylon has a much greater affinity to dye at a low (acid) pH. Not adding any acid could be a big error; adding acid might make a big difference in your results. Here are Jacquard's instructions for dyeing with their acid dyes, which require the use of distilled white vinegar, which is 5% acetic acid:
  1. Fill a stainless steel or enamel pot with just enough hot or warm water for the fabric to swim freely, turn on the heat.
  2. Add the dye powder to the pot and stir. Normally, in this procedure you would add 2 to 4% of the dry weight of the fabric in dye powder. For example, if you are dyeing 1 pound [454 grams] of fabric, use 1/3 to 2/3 of an ounce of dye[10 to 20 grams].
  3. Add the fabric that has been thoroughly wetted to the dyepot.
  4. Raise the temperature to 185 to 200°F, just below boiling. [That's 85°C to 93°C.] Stir frequently.
  5. Add one-quarter cup [60 ml] of vinegar per pound [454 g] of fabric. Try not to pour directly onto the fabric.
  6. Maintain temperature and stir frequently for thirty minutes. Wash in Synthrapol and warm water. Note: If you are dyeing wool, a gradual heating and gradual cooling of the dyebath is important so as not to shock and felt the wool.
[from http://www.jacquardproducts.com/products/dyes/aciddye/instructions2.php]

To salvage the unevenly dyed gloves, try soaking in boiling water. Some acid dyes will come out when treated this way. If this does not work, and the gloves are ruined anyway by the uneven color, you may try a sulfur-based dye remover, such as Rit Color Remover, or Dylon Run Away. Do not use chlorine (hypochlorite) bleach, because it destroys nylon.

Periwinkle 615 is a premixed dye, containing two or more other dye colors in it, so I don't know which dyes are in it. Hot Fuchsia 620 is acid red 52, a fluorescent dye also known as Rhodamine B. Rhodamine B is also among the dyes ProChem in the US sells in their Washfast Acid line of dyes. In their instructions they say to wet out the fiber by measuring one-half teaspoon (2.5 ml) Synthrapol in 2.5 gallons (10 liters) of warm 110°F (44°C) water, for each pound (454 gm) of fiber, and soak for at least 30 minutes. Take a look at their instructions. They say to use eleven tablespoons of white vinegar, which is 165 ml, for every 10 liters of water, and they say to include a teaspoon of Synthrapol detergent in the dyebath. The recipe is mostly pretty similar to the Jacquard recipe. If you do not have Synthrapol, use liquid hand dishwashing detergent. This should help with dye penetration and evenness.

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Posted: Thursday - May 08, 2008 at 08:50 AM          

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