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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

How can I dye a cotton shirt so the pattern looks like spatters of blood?

Name: Sophie

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Jacquard 8oz Plastic Application Bottle

ideal for applying dye

Jacquard Soda Ash
Dye Fixer

Soda ash fixes fiber reactive dye permanently in cotton. Does not work for all-purpose dyes such as Rit.

Country or region: USA

Message: Hey, I was wondering how to dye spots onto a cotton shirt. I want to achieve a look of blood spatters, but for it to be permanent. I know for RIT dye and other types you have to soak your cloth, but that wouldn't give me the blood spatters I'd like. So how, if it's possible, could I dye a cotton shirt so the pattern looks like blood spatter?

This project is very doable, given the right materials.

Definitely don't use Rit all-purpose dye, since it will run across the entire shirt. What you want is fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, applied using plastic squirt bottles. The fiber reactive dye forms a chemical bond with whatever part of the cotton fabric you put it on, so the spots stay put.

Tie-dyeing kits are excellent for this, except that they rarely contain a true red like you need for blood, since magenta mixes brighter colors than a true red can. You might be able to find a decent tie-dyeing kit which has a true red, or you can order the exact color you want from a dye supplier such as PRO Chemical & Dye or Dharma Trading Company, along with a plastic squeeze bottle and soda ash.

Some tie-dyeing kits have soda ash, which is the fixative for this type of dye, mixed into the dye bottles; others have you apply it as a separate presoak. Both will work fine. In the latter case, after presoaking your shirt in soda ash, you can line-dry the shirt, so the soda ash will dry right into the fabric, still ready to act when the dye hits it. For very distinct splatters, a slightly damp shirt is best. One you've just presoaked in soda ash and wrung out is a little too wet, encouraging the drops of dye to spread a bit more than you want.

So here's your method:

1. Order a two-ounce jar of red or brownish red Procion MX dye (try PRO Chemical & Dye's PRO MX 320 Turkey Red or, for more of a dried-blood color, PRO MX 336 Barn Red; alternatively, try Dharma Trading Company's Fiber Reactive Procion PR136 Oxblood Red, or, if you have an exceptionally good art and craft supply store, look for Jacquard Products Procion MX 032 Carmine Red. All of these are the exact same type of dye, but, because they are mixed a little differently, are slightly different shades of red.

Also order plastic bottles, the squeeze bottles with the pointed "yorker" tops. You'll need only one for this project, but you should probably get a couple more while you're at it for the next one.

You will also need soda ash (sodium carbonate), which is conveniently ordered with your dye, and, optionally, you can also order urea, which helps to keep the dyes moist overnight while they react with your fabric.

2. Pre-wash your shirt in the hottest water it can tolerant, to remove any stains. The shirt should be 100% cotton or another easily dyeable fiber, such as bamboo rayon or 100% silk. Do not attempt this project with a shirt that contains, say, 50% polyester, because that would turn your red to a pink, which would not be at all blood-like.

3. Dissolve half a cup of soda ash in half a gallon of warm water (or 125 ml per two liters), then soak your shirt in it for twenty minutes or more. Wearing waterproof gloves (to avoid irritation from the soda ash), squeeze out excess water and then hang your shirt up to dry. If you use a clothes hanger for this step, it should be made of plastic, to avoid rust stains.

4. Dissolve your dye. Start by putting about one tablespoon of water into the bottom of your mixing cup or bottle, then add your dye powder and stir together to form a paste, crushing any lumps with the back of your spoon. Red is a very intense color--if you don't use enough, you'll get pink instead--so use about four teaspoons (20 ml) of dye powder. After you've mixed the dye to form a paste, add the rest of the water, to a total of one cup. I like to include one tablespoon of urea per cup of dye mixture. If your water is hard, also add some water softener (you can ask me about this separately), or use distilled water instead of tap water. The dissolved dye should be much darker in color than your final results will be.

5. After it is completely dissolved, pour the dye into your squirt bottle, wipe any spilled dye off the neck of the bottle, and put the yorker bottle top on tightly.

6. Lay your dry or mostly-dry soda-ash-soaked shirt out flat on your work surface (this could be the lawn, inside a very large plastic bin, or on layers of paper towels on top of a plastic tablecloth). Also lay out a rag for testing on, and drip dye onto your rag to see how to make the sort of blood drops you want. Once you have it right, which shouldn't take long, drip your drops onto the soda-ash-soaked shirt. (Beware that sometimes a drop of dye will shoot out at an unexpected angle, so don't do this right next to unprotected furniture or walls.)

7. Leave the shirt in a warm place to react overnight. It should be kept moist during this time, either by having included urea in the dye mixture, or by covering the shirt with plastic now; the dye reaction stops once the shirt completely dries out, but it never completely dries if you used urea.

8. The next day (or the day after that if it's more convenient for you), rinse the shirt with cool water (I like to pop it into a washing machine full of cold water for one wash cycle, or you can do it by hand), and then wash it two or three times in the hottest water you can, ideally over 140°F (that's 60°C). You have to use very hot water to most efficiently remove the unattached excess dye. Do not use detergent in the first cool wash, unless your detergent is Synthrapol (a special dyer's detergent); after that initial washing, you can use whatever laundry detergent you normally use. The temperature of the water is what removes the excess dye, not what detergent you choose.

Using this procedure will give you blood-like spots that will last for a very long time. After completing the hot washing as described above, your clothes will be safe to wash with any other color at any temperature, because properly-fixed Procion dyes are remarkably washproof. Unlike all-purpose dyes, they will not bleed in the laundry.

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

What wool dyes can I use to make wool fabric iridescent?

Name: Barbara

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Jacquard Pearl Ex Set Series 2

This set contains aztec gold, antique copper, antique silver,
duo green yellow, bright yellow, flamingo pink, spring green, turquoise, true blue, misty lavender, blue russet, and sparkling copper.

Country or region: Montana, USA

Message: I want to know which wash fast dyes or kiton dyes to use to dye iridescent wool fabric. I saw a recipe once and cannot find it now even with an interenet search. I would like to get the color purple on black as on a raven's wings, or the iridized green of a peacock or iridized blue also on a peacock. Can you help?

iridescent
dupioni silk

You'll have to use fabric paint, not dye. It is impossible to use dye to make any already-woven fabric iridescent, because iridescence is an optical phenomenon in which different wavelengths of light are seen when your eyes are at different angles. Dye can't do that, unless you dye shiny yarns different colors before weaving them together, as in the case of Thai iridescent dupioni silk. Fortunately, however, there are a few specialty fabric paints or pigments that can provide iridescence.

The best product for your purpose would be Pearl Ex Pigment, made by Jacquard Products, which is a fine mica powder with a very thin coating on the sides of the particles. It is available in a wide range of metallic, pearlescent, and iridescent colors. The iridescent interference colors have a different color on each side of each flat pigment particle, so that the color you see changes as you move your head. Look in particular for the Pearl Ex interference colors and duo colors; the plain metallic and pearlescent colors are lovely but not as suitable for your project. Try a small-scale test of each color you buy on both light-colored and dark-colored fabric, before completing the design phase of your project.

Pearl Ex is a pure pigment. It does not contain any binder to "glue" it to fabric. To use it with fabric, you must mix it with a clear, colorless fabric paint, such as Neopaque Colorless Flowable Extender. Paint or stamp this mixture onto your fabric thinly, allow it to dry, then heat-set the binder by ironing on the reverse side of the fabric with a home iron, as detailed in the manufacturer's instructions.

Another option is to apply a fabric glue to your fabric, then press on special fabric decoration foil, so that the shiny surface comes off onto the glue. You could apply a purple foil to black-dyed fabric, for example. The effect is astonishingly shiny. Dharma Trading Company sells the Jones Tones fabric glue and plain metallic Jones Tones foils in colors including gold, silver, bronze, red, purple, green, and blue. You can find iridescent colors of the Jones Tones foils, which would be more suitable for your project, from other sources, via an internet search. The main disadvantage of using foils as fabric treatments is that they tend to wear off rather quickly when exposed to the abrasion of the laundry, so they are ideal for projects that will not have to be washed more than once or twice.

Before applying either Pearl Ex or foils to your wool, you will want to dye it in your choice of background colors. If you examine a peacock's feather, you will see that the underlying color of the iridescent blue is actually black. Personally, my favorite black wool dye is the Lanaset Jet Black, a mixture of two black dyes which are extraordinarily permanent, compared to other wool dyes. They are so washfast that they can actually be washed in hot water, which will remove most other wool dyes. ProChem's Washfast Jet Black is my second favorite, also very washfast, and much less expensive to use. Other intense colors such as a deep turquoise blue would also make a good background.

The Kiton type dyes, which are leveling acid dyes, are ideal if you want a very smooth level color and don't care too much about washfastness. If you care a great deal about washfastness, either Lanaset dyes or metal complex (pre-metalized) dyes are the best choice for wool. ProChem and Maiwa's Washfast Acid Dyes occupy a mid-point in washfastness, varying according to color. ProChem's Washfast Jet Black is more washfast than the other colors in its dye line, as it is actually the only one of them that is a metal complex dye. Since no dye can confer the property of iridescence, you will be using these dyes only to make a good background for your iridescent pigments or foils, so you can choose purely on the basis of what color seems best to you.

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Color mixing....How can I mix Cushing dyes to make a Christmas Red?

Name: Patti

—ADVERTISEMENTS—

Linda Knutson's book
Synthetic Dyes
for Natural Fibers

This essential book provides a thorough introduction to hand-dyeing.

Maryanne Lincoln's
book

Recipes from the Dye Kitchen

"Time-tested methods of dyeing gorgeous colors along with more than 30 color photos of rugs and wool swatches are included in this easy-to-use book. The swatches show the outcome of the more than 30 dye formulas provided and the formulas use both Cushing and PRO Chem acid dyes. Also included is a glossary of dyeing terms, step-by-step instructions for various dyeing methods, illustrations of dyeing equipment, lessons on color theory and planning, and tips for both novice and experienced dyers."

Country or region: U.S.

Message: I am trying to dye some wool a Christmas Red, do you have any suggestions as to what color combo to come up with this color over cream wool? I use Cushings dyes. Thank you.

You should contact the Cushing Dye Company and request that they send you a free copy of the color card for their acid dyes. You can see it the Cushing Acid Dye Color Card online, but you can't trust your computer monitor the way you can a color card that has been checked by the manufacturer for accuracy after printing. Looking at the online version of their color card, it seems like their Turkey Red might make a good choice for Christmas red. Imagine it just a bit duller and yellower in color, to make up for the effect of the cream wool you are using; perhaps Crimson would be better.

The W. Cushing dye company recommends against mixing their colors, because they believe that they sell enough different colors to satisfy any need. There are 94 different colors in their line of acid dyes. However, if you must mix your colors, they told me that they recommend the use of Canary, Cherry and Peacock acid dyes as mixing primaries for lighter colors, or Yellow, Blue and American Beauty acid dyes as mixing primaries for darker colors.

If your red dye is producing a color that seems too pink to you for using as a Christmas red, you may need to use more dye, because using too little red makes pink. (Beware, though: using too much red acid dye will result in wool that keeps bleeding dye even after you have rinsed it for a long time.) If your red is more of a bright pure magenta, so that it is too blue in hue to use as a Christmas red, then you can mix a little bright orange dye with it, or yellow dye. Do not start with a red that is too dull in color, because you can't mix anything with a primary color to make it brighter. Be sure to do your color testing on the same wool that you will be working with in your project: using cream-colored wool instead of pure white will make your red a little duller, and will turn it a little more to the yellow side and less to the blue, so tests done on pure white wool will not be completely useful to you.

Cushing dyes are a line of leveling acid dyes, used for wool and other animal fibers. Leveling acid dyes are also known as acid levelling dyes, or by the original brand name for this type, Kiton acid dyes. See my page, "About Leveling Acid Dyes (Kiton type Dyes)". Cushing Perfection dyes used to be a mixture of the Cushing acid dyes, for wool, plus the Cushing direct dyes, for cotton, but now these two different types of dye for different fiber types are purchased and used separately.

As their name implies, leveling acid dyes are noteworthy for leveling very well; this means that the color smooths and evens on the fiber easily, resulting in a single solid color. They are particularly suitable when you want a perfectly even color throughout your work. However, they are also known for being less washfast than other classes of acid dyes. Leveling acid dyes tend to run in the wash, even when washed in lukewarm water; materials dyed with leveling acid dyes must never be washed in warm or hot water, unless you are trying to remove some of the dye. It is important to use leveling acid dyes only in applications for which a high degree of washfastness is not needed; if you are dyeing yarn for baby clothes, for example, you will wish to choose a more washfast line of acid dyes, such as the Lanaset dyes, which can be safely washed even in hot water. Items dyed with leveling acid dyes should be labeled with instructions to hand wash separately in cool water, or to dry clean only.

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Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Do I need to remove brown prior to dyeing or can I dye right over the brown & achieve an eggplant type purple?

Name: Terre

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G&K Craft Retayne Color Fixative, 4-Ounce

Retayne is the most economical and effective
of the color fixative aftertreatments. It makes Rit dye stay bright much longer, instead of fading quickly in the wash.

Rit Dye Liquid Fabric Dye, 8-Ounce, Purple

Rit All Purpose Dye is a hot water dye, best applied in boiling water. It is not safe to use Rit Dye in cooking pots that will be reused for food preparation. Rit Dye fades quickly in the wash, compared to Procion dye, but a dye fixative such as Retayne can help it to last much longer.

Jacquard Products Procion Four Color MX Dye Set with Soda Ash

Procion MX fiber reactive dyes can be used to mix any color you wish. Must be used with soda ash or washing soda as a fixative; machine dyeing also requires salt.

Country or region: USA

Message: I hope I'm not asking questions already asked-I did check the FAQ. I've read numerous articles on dyeing & now I'm totally confused; having problems from a head injury doesn't help. I have a dark brown, 100% cotton dress with some silk(?) ribbon bands sewn on around the hem line & several other places, as well as some crocheting at the top. I want to dye it dark purple. I have liquid Rit dye, Rit color remover, soda ash fixative & Retayne. Do I need to remove the brown prior to dying or can I dye right over the brown & achieve an eggplant type purple? I'm leaning toward a stove top method. How do I go about this? I've read all kinds of instructions from a multitude of sites (including Rit) & now I'm overwhelmed & just plain confused. Any help & direction you can give me would be so very appreciated. Thank you for your time & trouble.

First, do not bother with the soda ash. Soda ash works as a dye fixative for fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dyes, but it does nothing to fix Rit all purpose dye. Save the soda ash for another project.

You will need to remove some of the dark brown color from your dress before you can dye it. If you had a light brown dress, then you could use purple dye to get a brownish purple, but purple dye will not do much to change the color of a dark brown dress. Dark brown is such a dark and muddy color that the only other color you can dye it is black. Other colors are too light to change a dark brown. The original dark brown color will always show through.

Rit Color Remover is a good choice for lightening the color of your dark brown dress. (see "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?".) It might not work, depending on the dye, but that's always the risk, with color removing. There are two different choices for how to use the Rit Color Remover. The most effective way is on the stovetop, but the easiest way is in the washing machine. The difference in the amount of effort trouble is so great that I always try the washing machine first. You will need at least two or three boxes of Rit Color Remover for the washing machine method. Use the hottest water possible, because Rit Color Remover needs very hot water. It will not work in cool water. If the washing machine method does not remove enough of the color, you can try again with Rit Color Remover in a huge cooking pot for the stovetop method. Chlorine bleach in the washing machine is also a possibility (wash the color remover out of the dress before using bleach), but it will damage any non-cotton fibers in the dress, especially including silk or nylon. Rit Color Remover is kinder to delicate fibers than bleach is.

The "silk" ribbons on the dress are probably not made of silk, by the way; decorations are more usually made of synthetic materials. Rit Color Remover is a good choice for the trim, but it's impossible to predict whether their color will change as much, or more than, the color of the dress. They may look just fine in the original color, though, after you dye the dress a dark purple.

Don't try dyeing until after you have lightened the dress considerably. The dress does not need to be white for you to dye it, but it does need to be a lighter color than dark brown. After you're done with the Rit Color Remover, wash the dress, before you try to dye it.

Rit All Purpose Dye is a mixture of a kind of dye called direct dye, for cotton and rayon, and another kind of dye called acid dye, for wool, silk, and nylon. It must be applied in very hot water. You can apply it in a washing machine; applying it in a huge cooking pot is more effective, but you should not use one of your good cooking pots to dye in. You should not plan to reuse a dyeing pot for cooking, later on. Rit Dye is not safe for use in food preparation containers. If you do not want to use hot water to dye, you can buy a different kind of dye; Procion MX fiber reactive dye is a cool water dye which, unlike Rit, works in room-temperature water. You can use Procion dye without heating it, so a plastic bucket makes a perfectly good container for dyeing a dress with Procion dye, but a plastic bucket is no good at all for dyeing with Rit dye.

For instructions for using Rit dye in the washing machine, you can see the Rit dye website. One bottle of liquid Rit dye is equivalent to two boxes of powdered Rit dye. You will also need to add salt. Personally, I prefer to use Procion MX dye in the washing machine; see "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". However, Rit All Purpose Dye has the advantage of also working on nylon, though not polyester, and it can be satisfactory if treated afterwards with a cationic dye fixative and always laundered carefully.

After you have completed dyeing, after you have rinsed out the excess dye, you can use the Rit Fixative. It is a very similar product to Retayne Dye Fixative, both being cationic dye fixatives, though it is much more expensive because each bottle is highly diluted with water, whereas the Retayne brand is far more concentrated. Weigh your dress when it is still dry so that you will know how much of the Rit Dye Fixative to use. One 4-ounce bottle of Rit Dye Fixative contains enough dye fixative to treat two pounds of fabric. (The same size bottle of Retayne is sufficient to treat twelve times as much fabric.) It is very easy to apply; just add the contents of the bottle to a large bucket of very hot water or to a washing machine full of very hot water, add the dress, and agitate or stir it for fifteen minutes. After applying the fixative, wash the dress in cool water before wearing the dress.

Even after using Rit Fixative, you should be careful to wash the dyed dress only in cool water, separately from other colors. Rit Fixative helps considerably in prolonging the life of a Rit dye job, but, even so, Rit Fixative will eventually wash out in hot water, and Rit All Purpose Dye runs badly in the laundry. Washing in cool water will prolong the life of both the Rit Fixative and Rit All Purpose Dye, and washing separately will minimize damage to other clothing when the Rit All Purpose Dye does run.

Each of these steps can be done on a different day, if your health is not up to doing it all in one day. Please let me know how it works out for you.

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Monday, July 08, 2013

Can you tell me if you have any outlets in the Philippines or UK?

Name: Chitadelacruz

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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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Holly Brackmann's book
The Surface Designer's Handbook

includes directions for dyeing with Procion MX dyes

Country or region: Philippines

Message: Can you tell me if you have any outlets in the Philippines or UK? Thank you.

I don't have any outlets, but I assume you are asking about sources for good fabric dyes in general.

In the UK there are many sources of good dyes, such as Procion MX dyes for cotton. Look at my page "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World" and scroll down to the "Europe" section. In particular look at Kemtex Educational Supplies and at George Weil, both of which sell a wide variety of textile dyes and sell their dyes online as well as in their shops.

Unfortunately, I have less information about finding a dye supplier in the Philippines. I don't know about any small-scale retailers there. With luck, perhaps a large dye company such as Dystar or Huntsman can tell you about local retailers that they supply which sell dye in smaller quantities.

You can order from Dystar directly if you can deal with a minimum order size of five kilograms per dye color, but those amounts are extremely impractical for hand dyers. Dystar no longer sells Procion MX dyes, but they do sell Remazol dyes, which are good fiber reactive dyes. Huntsman Textile Effects, which sells Novacron fiber reactive dyes for cotton, and Lanaset and Lanasol dyes for wool, has similar minimum order quantities. Both of these large dye manufacturers have regional offices for the Philippines in Singapore. You can find contact information for Huntsman Textile Effects and Dystar online.

In some cases it turns out to be best to order dyes from other countries. The individual dye retailers in the US, such as Dharma Trading Company and PRO Chemical & Dye, do not have any outlets in the Philippines; however, many people in various countries around the world have ordered their dyes directly from companies in the US, sometimes finding them to be cheaper, even after paying for shipping, than buying the same dyes in local shops. If you find it more practical to order dyes internationally, in spite of the cost of shipping, it's worth noting that prices per ounce of dye are considerably lower from Dharma Trading Company or PRO Chemical & Dye in the US than they are from any retailer in the UK. You will want to look into the comparative costs of shipping, which have recently increased significantly in the US. The Philippines are listed by Dharma Trading Company as being a country to which companies in the US can ship any of their products, without problems caused by import regulations. (They can't ship flammable products internationally, including solvent-based gutta, but all of their dyes and dyeables are okay.)

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Sunday, July 07, 2013

What fabric paint should I use to restore the color on a pet-stained wool rug?

Name: Steve

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Jacquard Products
Dye-Na-Flow
Exciter Pack, 9-Color

Dye-na-flow is a thin, transparent fabric paint designed to flow like a dye.

Pebeo Setacolor Transparent Fabric Paint

Setacolor Transparent is a thin, transparent fabric paint which flows easily on dampened fabric.

Country or region: West Hollywood, California

Message: Hi, I have a very expensive custom made round wool area rug under my dining-room table. The center is a muddled light colbalt blue. My 12 year old little dog urinated on it and there is a urine stain which discolored the inner circle of the carpet. It turned a lighter blue and is very noticeable. The circumference of the circle where the stain appears is approximately 53in across. Is there any fabric paint you can suggest I use to see if I could paint that inner area of the carpet? That area does not get a lot of wear and tear. I am so hoping you might have a solution for me. The carpet new, cost me a few thousand dollars and I hate to get rid of it. Look forward to hearing back for you. Thanks, Steve

Since this rug has real value to you, I think you should spend the money on getting a carpet cleaning specialist to try to save it, before you even consider dyeing or painting it. Search for a carpet repair company in your area. Pet damage is probably the single most frequent problem they get called for. Some companies can correct the problem with the faded color, with professional results, since they've had a lot of practice doing so.

For a rug that has less value, so you're willing to takes risks but not invest much money, you still must clean it before you do anything else. Pet stain removers are often very helpful, especially in removing any lingering scent that will encourage the dog to repeat the offense, but then any remaining trace of the stain remover must itself be removed. Depending on the size of the rug, you might want to buy a cheap kiddie pool to hold the rug while you take it outside and soak it in water, using a mild detergent such as Orvis paste. Orvis paste is sold as an animal shampoo but is popular among textile conservators.

So, let's assume you're already had the carpet cleaned, and for some reason the pros were unable to restore the color where the stain was, and you're willing to take some very real risks--the risks of applying the paint in a slightly wrong color, or applying too much color so it's too dark, or producing a blotchy effect. The best fabric paint to use would be a very thin, transparent one, diluted with water. You wouldn't want the sort of fabric paint that builds up a perceptible thickness on the pile. Some very thin fabric paints are Jacquard Products' Dye-Na-Flow, Setacolor Transparent, and Dharma Pigment Dyes (which are really paints, not dyes). You should dilute Dye-Na-Flow with one-quarter the volume of the paint (using more water will make the paint wear off more quickly); dilute Setacolor Transparent with twice as much water as paint; and dilute Dharma Pigment Dye with two to three times as much water as paint. Pay attention to the manufacturer's instructions considering heat-setting; many paints bear the recommendation to heat-set, after they dry, by pressing with a hot iron, but you'll need to avoid pressing, since it may crush the pile of your carpet, instead using a heat gun, perhaps, or buying an acrylic catalyst, such as Jacquard Airfix, which can be added to the paint immediately before use, so that no heat-settting is required at all.

Loads of potential problems await you. Fabric painting is easy when you are going to be happy with many different outcomes, but extremely difficult when you want the result to look exactly as you imagine it beforehand. When the paint goes over both the original color and the bleached-out color, it will appear darker over the colored sections, and lighter over the paler sections. You can't use an opaque paint, though, one that will cover all colors the same, because the appearance of an opaque paint will be too glaring and artificial. If you paint onto dry fabric, the paint will show a distinct dark edge; to avoid edges, you need to work wet-on-wet, by dampening the rug first, but then the paint may creep along on the rug, getting into different-colored sections where you don't want it at all. The paint might be more easily absorbed to some bits of wool than to others, causing mottled or uneven results. It will help if you are willing to sponge on a mottled pattern on purpose, since this is good for covering some of the inevitable imperfections; trying to obtain a perfect smooth solid color is not likely to work.

You should not apply any fabric paint to your rug until you've had at least a little practice. Your first attempt at using art materials you've never used before will often have unexpected results. You need to test to see how well the diluted paint goes onto carpet, and you need to test your colors to see how to mix the exact color you need. Try to obtain some cheap or free scraps of carpet with a similar fiber content. Carpet installers should have some scraps that are otherwise worthless, which would be ideal to practice on. It takes experience to be able to make reproducible results that look exactly the way you want them to; this is why it is best to let the pros do your color restoration, if at all possible, unless you have the time and materials to use to become an expert yourself, before ever applying any color to this rug that you care about.

Good luck with your project. I really do recommend you find a professional who can restore your rug.

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Saturday, July 06, 2013

Can you use soda ash after tie dyeing during the first wash? WIll it help if you didn't soak in soda ash pre-dyeing?

Name: Starre and Brian

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Country or region: US

Message: Can you use soda ash after tie dyeing during the first wash? WIll it help if you didn't soak in soda ash pre-dyeing?

Do not wash your tie-dyes if you have not yet used soda ash. (See my page, "What is soda ash, and what's it for in dyeing?".) Soda ash or washing soda in the wash will be too little, too late: the soda ash will be too diluted by the amount of water in the wash load to be able to produce the high pH needed to fix the dye (unless you use a large amount), and the water in the first wash will wash out a fair amount of the dye before the soda ash in it has a chance to fix the dye, so your tie-dye pattern will be considerably muted.

Instead, if you have forgotten to presoak your stuff in soda ash before applying dye, and if you did not add soda ash directly to your bottles of dye (another method that some prefer), you will need to add the soda ash before you do your first rinse. Don't forget to allow plenty of time for the dye to react with the fabric, in a warm place, after you add the soda ash.

The best method for after-fixing would be to pour a strong soda ash mixture (one cup of soda ash per gallon) over your tie-dyes before you even untie them. This will minimize the risk of blurring your pattern, though it may dilute the colors somewhat. After pouring the soda ash over them, wrap each shirt (or whatever you are dyeing) in a plastic bag to keep it moist, then leave the bags in a warm place overnight. This is when the dye molecules react with the fiber in the fabric, forming a chemical bond to make the colors permanent. The next day, you can rinse out your tie-dyes. Start with a cool-water rinse to remove the soda ash, as usual, then wash two or three times in the hottest water available, preferably over 140°F, to remove all of the unattached dye.

Note that this method works only for fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion dyes. Do not use soda ash to fix Rit all-purpose dye, and do not ever wash Rit-dyed items in hot water, because Rit dye is relatively poorly washfast, and will wash out badly in hot water. Always use fiber reactive dyes for doing tie-dye.

If you have already unwrapped your dyed items, then you can put your soda ash solution in a sprayer bottle, to spray an even layer of soda ash over the whole piece. You will get some smearing of the dye, but not as bad as you will get if you wash your stuff before applying soda ash.

Another method is to unwrap your tie-dyes and let them dry completely, then carefully paint on a different fixative, sodium silicate. This method is usually used only for dye painting. See "Sodium silicate as a fixative for dyeing".

Also see my previous blog article, "What do I do if I have forgotten the soda ash dye fixer? Can I put it on after?"

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Friday, July 05, 2013

Is it possible to dye a jacket which is 100% baumwoole? Name: Tracy

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Dylon Machine Dye
Navy Blue

Dylon does not market their Dylon Machine Dye in North America, though it is widely available in Europe, but it is sometimes imported. It contains fiber reactive dye and is slightly easier to use than Procion MX dye, but less versatile in color, and more expensive.

Country or region: Kent, England

Message: Is it possible to dye a jacket (Oska) which says it is 100% baumwoole? The inside feels like cotton but the outside is brushed for a wool effect. Will a cold water dye be ok, or a machine dye. What would you recommend? The major dyes in England tend to be made by Dylon. Or perhaps I'm not up to date with what is available. Thank you for your time. Tracy

Baumwolle is simply the German word for cotton, so yes, IF it is washable, this jacket may be dyeable, regardless of how the fabric has been brushed. 100% cotton is a good fiber for dyeing.

Cotton does shrink, so a cotton jacket marked "dry clean only" (or the German equivalent) will probably not do well in dyeing. (See "Can I dye clothing that is labeled 'dry clean only'?".) Lined jackets, in particular, can be problematic, as the cotton will shrink more, when washed, than the usually synthetic lining material, ruining the shape of the garment. Dyeing always involves a lot of washing. If you have washed the jacket already, without a problem, then prospects are good.

The Dylon dye company makes good fiber reactive dyes, and also less satisfactory all-purpose dyes. Both Dylon Machine Dye and Dylon Hand Dye contain good fiber reactive dyes. Dylon Machine Dye is likely to be your best bet. (Dylon does not make their Machine Dye available in North America, but it is widely available in the UK; sometimes it can be purchased in the US at very high prices from a company that specializes in UK imports.) Dyeing in the washing machine is a good way to get the smoothest, most solid-color results possible, without the bother of stirring by hand for an hour, as you must do for best results when hand dyeing. Follow the packet instructions carefully.

If you don't happen to like any of the colors available in the Dylon Machine Dye line, then it is possible to obtain Procion MX fiber reactive dyes from several suppliers in the UK; see my page, "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World", and look at my page, "How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?". The process is slightly more involved, since Procion MX dyes are sold without the dye activator (soda ash or washing soda) included in the Dylon Machine dye packet, and salt must be added, as well, but it is not difficult.

There is always a chance that dyeing will not go well even if you do everything right, so you should dye a garment only if you can accept a risk. Sometimes clothing that is not sold specifically for dyeing will do funny things when dyed. There may be a wrinkle-resistant finish that will reduce the overall color intensity, as it interferes somewhat with the dye's ability to access the fiber in the fabric. Never try to dye anything that has a stain-resistant finish, since dye is resisted the same way as stains. Sometimes one panel of the fabric, though matching perfectly in color before dyeing, will end up taking the dye much more intensely than another panel does, due to having been cut from a different bolt of fabric. If there is an invisible stain on the fabric, it might show up more obviously after dyeing. Usually, however, a machine-washable cotton garment will dye acceptably. Be sure to pre-wash the jacket thoroughly before dyeing, to reduce the risk of uneven dyeing.

Note also that color choice is important. If the jacket is white, you can dye it almost any color, though you should be aware that the stitching that holds commercial garments together is almost always polyester, which will not take any cotton dye and will remain the original color. It's important to keep in mind that, if the jacket has a color already, you can dye it only to a darker color. Because dye is transparent, the original color will always show through, combining with whatever color you add.

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Thursday, July 04, 2013

I am trying to create a galaxy-like effect on black polyester non-roll elastic. What would I need to do it? Name: Fabulous

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Jacquard Products Lumiere Fabric Paint: Metallic Silver

Metallic Decolourant Plus

Contains both a dye remover and a fabric paint, to remove the background and add metallic color at the same time!

Tulip Paint Starter Kits-Neon/Glow

Glow-in-the-dark and blacklight-reactive fabric paints work best when painted over white spots in the fabric.

Country or region: United States

Message: Hi, how are you? I am trying to create a galaxy-like effect on black polyester non-roll elastic. How would I be able to achieve this or would I be able to do the sprinkle effect? If not, could I do it on the same polyester elastic but in white color? What would I need to do it? Thank you in advance for your time.

There are three different ways you could create white dots on a black background.

Probably the best method is to start with black material, and sprinkle on opaque, metallic, or pearlescent fabric paint, or carefully apply them with a fine-pointed brush. Metallic and pearlescent fabric paints would be particularly nice for a galaxy, I think. (Look at good color photos of space images to see the variety of colors in the different stars in a single galaxy!) Be careful to choose a brand of fabric paint which is recommended by the manufacturer for polyester, such as Jacquard Products Lumiere or Neopaque fabric paints. You could dip a toothbrush in the paint, and spatter it onto the fabric using a gloved hand; be careful to test your technique on some scrap material first! After allowing the fabric to dry, you will probably have to heat-set it with a hot iron; check the manufacturers' instructions. Later, when laundering the material, be careful to avoid abrasion in the washing machine; turn garments inside out, and place them inside a mesh lingerie-washing bag, before washing them, because fabric paint tends to wear badly in the washer or dryer.

It is possible to use a dye remover, instead of paint, to create white dots on a black background. Do not ever use chlorine bleach on polyester or other synthetic fabrics, because the bleach will yellow polyester, and will eat away at lycra and other stretch fabrics. You can safely use a sulfur-based dye color remover, such as deColourant spray or cream, or Jacquard Discharge Paste. It's a little more difficult than using fabric paint. A serious drawback with color remover techniques is that it is impossible to predict whether a given black dye will lose color at all; even if it works well one time, the next time you buy an apparently identical piece of elastic, it may have been dyed with a different black dye which does not work at all.

The third possibility is to apply a resist in the shape of the galaxy before using a black dye. For dyeing cotton, you might use spatters of wax, but this won't work for polyester, since all polyester dyes require high heat, which would melt the wax. However, you can apply black disperse dye by first painting it onto paper, then ironing it on to transfer the dye to polyester and other synthetic fibers; if you were to sprinkle little cut-outs of aluminum foil across the fabric before doing the heat transfer with the iron, they would prevent the dye from accessing the fiber, resulting in white spots in the shape of your aluminum foil cutouts. This is a wonderful method for smaller areas on smooth fabric, but is not suitable if you want all of your elastic material to be dyed evenly, since it is impossible to apply transfer dyes perfectly evenly to all of the material.

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Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Name: Paul

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Fabric Painting and Dyeing for the Theatre

by Deborah Dryden

includes directions for dyeing with basic dyes

Ann Milner's book
The Ashford Book of Dyeing

includes directions for dyeing with basic dyes

Linda Knutson's book
Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers

discusses basic dyes but does not include directions for dyeing with them

Industrial Dyes: Chemistry, Properties, Applications

edited by Klaus Hunger

Color Chemistry, 3rd Edition

by Heinrich Zollinger

Colour Chemistry (RSC Paperbacks)

by R.M. Christie

Country or region: USA

Message: The nice people at Dharma suggested I post on your forum, but my question is so odd that I’m not sure where to place it.

I am trying to stain a granite rock dust to change it from dull grey to black. I was successful in doing this with Rit Black Azabache dye that I purchased at a local grocery store. Based on that success, I ordered Procion dyes from Dharma and am surprised to see that after an overnight soak in a water slurry bath, then drying in an oven, the dye completely separated from the stone and did not change the color at all. Dharma suggests maybe trying iDye since the chemistry is different, but I wanted to ask you first if you had any thoughts or recommendations?

Hi Paul,

What an interesting question!

First I had to wonder what Rit "Azabache" dye is, a more evocative and interesting color name than any Rit black dye name I have seen before. Turns out it's merely a matter of bilingual package labeling. "Azabache" is Spanish for "Jet", and just another way to say "black".

Next, there's no obvious reason to me to chose dye, rather than pigment. Procion MX dye is a dye that reacts with cellulose, other carbohydrates, and proteins; this makes it able to bond to wood, for example, but there's nothing about it that has any particular attraction toward granite. Rit dye is all-purpose dye, containing a mixture of detergent, salt, direct dyes for use on both protein and cellulose fibers, and acid dyes for use on protein fibers.

Dharma's suggestion to maybe try iDye would work if the direct dye is what's working in the Rit dye mixture, since iDye is a direct dye. However, it might be the acid dye in the mixture, rather than the direct dye, that worked in your Rit dye. It's also possible that the fact that Rit dye is primarily composed of detergent and salt, with only a little dye, helped the dye to adhere to the granite. A fourth possibility is that the black Rit dye mixture just happens to contain a dye with some tendency to stain stone, a property which you might not find in other colors of the same brand of dye, since different colors in the same line of dye contain different dye molecules.

Granite (as you must know better than I do) contains quartz, mica, and feldspar. All three of these minerals are based on silicates. I doubt that a dye optimized for attaching to cellulose or protein is going to have much affinity for granite. My experience with Procion and other fiber reactive dyes are that they don't much stain anything other than protein or cellulose.

The dyes in Rit dye and in Procion dye are soluble in water. This means that they would work, physically, to color anything that contains water, such as, say, agar gel. Since granite does not contain water, there is no advantage to water solubility in choosing a way to color it after it is dry. A black pigment, which by definition is not soluble in water, would make just as much sense to me as something to mix with granite dust to color it. Pigments are powdered substances which are used as colorants in paint, or mixed with liquid plastic before making solid things out of it; since they are not water-soluble, they are not likely to wash out in water, which could be important at some point. They are highly suitable for mixing with a liquid substance that will act as glue after it dries, causing it to stick to whatever they have been applied to. The choice of binder for a pigment depends on what properties it has to have in the long run, anything from soy milk to lacquer to polyurethane to acrylic paint binder. Water-soluble food dyes are transformed into aluminum-based insoluble "lakes" for use when pigments are needed, rather than dyes.

Granite dyes currently used on some commercially-available countertops appear to be solvent dyes. Solvent dyes are, as their name implies, soluble in oily substances, rather than in water, and are therefore resistant to washing with water. They are useful for coloring epoxy resin, so they are suitable for use on resin-coated granite or for cultured stone products that contain resin. The drawback of dyed granite countertops, as opposed to undyed ones, is that the dye is present only in a thin layer on the surface, so that it is subject, over time, to wearing off.

Is there any molecular charge to the components of granite? Both cellulose-fiber and protein-fiber textiles are negatively charged, and so are direct dyes, acid dyes, and reactive dyes. Another class of dye, basic dyes, is positively charged (they are also called 'cationic dyes'), so the dyes in that class are more inclined to cling to textile fibers by virtue of their molecular charge. Basic dyes are known for their tendency to stain just about everything else that they touch, too. Procion dyes do not stain plastic buckets or porcelain sinks, but basic dyes tend to stain just about everything the are spilled on. I wonder what they would do with granite. I would guess that there is no charge in granite to make them cling, but I don't know. It is possible that there is some basic dye in the Rit black dye that helped it to stain your granite, but we cannot tell because Rit's choice of dyes is a trade secret. There is no information anywhere, that I can find, on what actual dyes may be included in any Rit dye color.

I am not sure where to advise you to look for the types of dyes I have mentioned here. Solvent dyes and pigments are harder to come by, at least in the small quantities used by artists and home hobbiests, than direct dyes, acid dyes, and reactive dyes, since the dyes in the latter groups are useful in crafts projects. Companies such as Standard Dyes will sell quantities as small as one pound per color; they may be willing to send small quantities of each of several dyes for you to use in testing. They have several different lines of solvent dyes. PRO Chemical & Dye, which like Dharma Trading Company sells both small and large packages of dyes to individuals, sells a carbon black pigment among their PROfab Color Concentrates. Dharma's Pigment Dyes are already mixed with a binder, which may or may not be suitable for your purposes.

Paula,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this informative email! Yes, I think you are correct that it makes sense to test cationic dyes since the granite has a negative surface charge. This may explain, in part, why the Procion didn't work. It also suggests that Rit would contain at least some cationic since it's all purpose dye. Can you tell please me which brand(s) are cationic? It doesn't seem like many websites offer this information, but I may be looking in the wrong place.

I'm glad to learn that granite has a negative surface charge, so basic dyes might meet your needs. I doubt that many of the Rit all-purpose dyes contain basic dyes, but some dyes used as acid dyes are actually basic dyes.

I know a few good places to buy basic dyes. The best one for small quantities is Aljo Mfg, in Manhatten. (Please tell them I sent you.) They sell them as "alcohol/water" dyes, because that is how these dyes are used for silk painting. They sell quantities as small as half an ounce per color. You will have to call them to order, because their website does not have online ordering. Ask whether they have one or several black basic dyes, since you will want to try all of them, if they have more than one.

Jacquard Products still sells basic dyes, in their online Bulk and Specialty Store, but their minimum order is one pound per color, which is a lot when you are just testing. Sometimes if you call and ask, a dye company will send a smaller sample.

Standard Dyes sells Permacryl Basic Dyes for Paper and Kayacryl Basic Dyes for Acrylic. It might be worth testing them, because at least some of them will be different dyes than from the other sources. Their minimum order size is one pound per dye color.

It's probable that all of the black basic dyes are actually mixtures of several colors. I don't have a single unmixed basic black dye in my chart of basic dyes. How satisfactory a given mixture will be depends on its use. You will need to do tests. If one mixture separates into navy blue, orange, and pink, try another to see if it does not separate out under your conditions.

For quite a lot more information on basic dyes, including safety cautions, please see my page, "About Basic Dyes". I would appreciate it if you will tell me how well the dyes you test work out for you.

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Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Can I use watercolor paint for sun p[ainting fabric?

Name: Gail

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A Klutz book
by Barbara Kane

Golden Acrylic Polymer GAC-900 Fabric Painting Medium

Pebeo Setacolor Transparent Fabric Paint

Setacolor Transparent is just one of many transparent fabric paints that can be used for sun printing.

Country or region: Colorado

Message: Re: Sun painting.... I do water color and was wondering if I use watercolor paint (student brands due to cost) if this would work for sun painting. I have considered the setacolors but they are so expensive and I would use then very little. Would mixing dye to a paste with the sodium agate (?) work just as well? I find I am a fabric dyer and not a fabric painter.

In sun painting, a thin transparent fabric paint is applied to fabric (usually damp fabric) that has been stretched on a frame or a piece of card or plastic; small objects are scattered on top of the painted fabric; finally, the whole is exposed to bright sunlight or a hot halogen lamp. As the paint dries in the sun-exposed areas, the pigment tends to migrate out of covered areas into the exposed areas, leaving lighter "shadows" of whatever objects were placed on the painted fabric.

Do not use watercolor paint on any fabric that you will ever want to wash. Watercolor paint will work for you only if you do not subject it to laundering. It would be disappointing to see your work gone after only a couple of trips through the washer. If you're not coloring wearables, most transparent watercolor paint will work for sun painting on thin fabric, assuming that your fabric will never be allowed to get wet again after you are done.

Sodium alginate is a thickener for dye or paints, but it does nothing to permanently attach a pigment to the fabric. For sun painting, you want your paint to be thin, not thickened at all, so you should never use sodium alginate in your paint when sun painting.

If you don't mind the harsh feel, then heavily diluted acrylic paint, such as Liquitex Soft Body Artist Acrylics, could be used for sun painting. If diluted with sufficient water and used on wet, tightly stretched fabric, acrylic paint will generally be able to perform in sunpainting. If you allow acrylic paint to dry on fabric for a long time, say for a month, and then press it with a hot iron, it will be reasonably resistant to being washed off in the laundry (always be sure to turn garments inside-out before washing, to reduce wear). There are two drawbacks to using artists' acrylics in place of fabric paint: one is that the paint feels much harsher to your skin than fabric paint, after it dries, and the other is that it can be more difficult to get it to adhere to the fabric.

The best way to use artists' acrylics as fabric paint is to buy some fabric medium, such as Golden GAC 900 Fabric Medium or Liquitex Fabric Medium, and mix it with the paint to make your own fabric paint. The fabric medium improves the feel of the paint after it dried, and helps it to soak into the fabric. You might be able to find fabric medium in your local art supply store; if not, you will have to mail-order it. I think that ordering fabric medium is as much trouble as just ordering fabric paint to begin with, but it will allow you to mix whatever quantity you need of any color you like. Be sure that you choose a product specifically labeled "fabric medium" or "textile medium"; there are many other types of acrylic media, but none of the others will work for turning acrylic paint into fabric paint.

Setacolor is not the only pre-mixed fabric paint that will work for sun painting. Any thin, transparent fabric paint should work. Setacolor is one option. Other well-tested options include Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow, PRO Chemical & Dye's PROfab textile paints, or really any thin fabric paint that is not opaque. Of course you will want to avoid metallic, pearlescent, slick, or puffy fabric paint. It's a good idea to do a small test with one color before investing in several colors of an unfamiliar brand of transparent fabric paint for a sun-printing project.

Also see my page, "How to Dye and Paint Fabric with Light", for more information about sun painting.

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Monday, July 01, 2013

My greens are either coming out too dark or too bright. Can you help? Name: Gail

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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

Holly Brackmann's book
The Surface Designer's Handbook

includes directions for dyeing with Procion MX dyes

Country or region: Colorado

Message: I've been all over the web and looked at every chart available. I'm trying to mix my primaries (procion for cotton) to get a soft green. My greens are either coming out too dark or too bright. Can you help?

To make a green lighter in value, use less dye for a given weight of fiber (fabric, yarn, roving, or whatever). For a pale pastel, try as little as one-tenth as much dye per ounce of fiber, as compared to the amount you use for an intense green! Weigh your fiber while it is still dry, before dyeing, so that you will be able to make your calculations. See my page "How much Procion MX dye should I use?" , and scroll down to find Table II, showing guidelines as to how much dye powder you might want to use for a given weight of fiber.

To make a green less bright in color, add either a tiny bit of the opposite color on a color wheel, which is red, or add a neutral toning color, such as gray. This will result in a duller green. If you want to buy a pre-mixed neutral toning color, be sure to buy a gray dye, not black, because black dyes, when diluted, usually turn out to not be neutral, but instead have a tendency toward some color such as blue or purple.

Another way to get a green that is less bright is to start with duller mixing primaries. (See "Which Procion MX colors are pure, and which mixtures?" for a good list of Procion MX dye primaries to use.) You can substitute a navy blue, such as Procion blue MX-2G, mostly sold under the name "cobalt", for the usual bright turquoise primary, and you can substitute a golden yellow for the usual brilliant yellow, Procion yellow MX-8G. The golden yellow will make a more olive sort of green than the pure yellow MX-8G will.

Have you tried the Procion color mixing charts on my website? Maybe one of those recipes will work better for you if you just use less dye powder, per pound of fiber. The Jacquard Products Procion Mixing chart has recipes for pea green, seafoam, new aqua, blue spruce, teal, jade, yellow green, chartreuse, vermillion green, lime green, shamrock, fern green, sage, fatigue green, avocado, artichoke, desert green and olive. See my page, "How can I mix Procion MX dyes to get specific colors?".

I strongly advise every dyer to play at least a little bit with Olli Niemitalo's Dye Mixer Applet; there is a link to it on my color mixing page that I just linked to. It's a wonderful tool for visualizing what colors you want to mix in order to get a certain result.

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