How do I dye my prefolds?

[carrots]

I am trying to spice things up a bit in the diapering department and would love to dye some dipes......how can I do this?

[pilesoflaundry]

You can order dyes from dharma and you need soda ash and I think some kind of special soap. Since I only wanted to dye a few and didn't want to deal with all that I just got some Dylon dyes from walmart and it takes about an hour in the sink, you need a pack of dye, salt and warm water. It was really easy and cheap, you can get those dyes at craft stores too I think.

[Book Addict Jen]

How does the Dylon stand up against Dharma dyes?

[JennInSeattle]

Moved to S&C

[pilesoflaundry]

Jen, I don't know as I haven't tried dharma dyes. On the pack of dylon it does say avoid direct sunlight to avoid fading. But the colors are pretty bright and each pack dyes 1/2lb dry weight fabric for deep colors or a bit more for lighter colors. I got a pack on clearance for $1.50 and all I needed at home was salt and water so for me even if they fade over time it was worth it instead of the big outlay of expense from a ton of stuff from dharma and the soda ash etc just to dye 4 prefolds and a few onesies! I went over the lb. limit and the color is still pretty bright. I will post pics soon, the stuff is in the dryer right now.

[Brayg]

I used a tie dye kit from Joann's and they turned out wonderful! Here's a pic...

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMWzFi1cOWjG2A

[ma2maya]

Originally Posted by Diaper_Addict_Jen

How does the Dylon stand up against Dharma dyes?

Procion/fiber reactive dyes like the ones sold at dharma actually become part of the fiber so they are pretty resistant ot fading(of course anything will fade if left exposed to the sun long enough!) After you first dye and wash the fabric you may get some residual running of the dye but that should not happen after a few washes and doesn't effect the color unless the dye process was not done right and the dye did not bond with the fabric. Anyways...check out this site to learn a little about the chemistry behind procion dyes http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/chemist...s_lesson.shtml

You can get procion dyes in tie-dye kits at places like Joanns and Walmart(?).
If you are only going to do a small amount of dying you could use the dylon dyes, though I don't know anything about them so I have no advice.

Happy Imagining!
Kathy

[Book Addict Jen]

Thanks!