Procion dyes & CPFs

[Elowyn]

I have a few questions for the dye gurus:

1) I'm planning on dyeing some CPFs with procion dye from Dharma. (Nothing but the best! ) How much dye should I expect to use per infant CPF? regular CPF?

2) These are new, unworn CPFs. Should I do the three to four hot washes to fluff them up first? Or dye first, then the hot washes? Or does it matter?

Thanks in advance. Can't wait to get dyeing! I'm also going to do some Bummis Whisper Pants with Acid dyes, will let you know how that goes!

[lizabird]

I don't know for sure, but I would think you should wash them several times first to make sure they will absorb your dies.

I don't know the answer about how much dye, etc., but I would think that 1 CPF is approx the same as 1 adult t-shirt, or maybe 2 (depending on the size of the dipes and the t-shirt) and I know the Dharma dyes or instructions say something about how many shirts you can expect to dye from 1 unit of their dyes.

I was thinking of dying some CPF's too, but haven't gotten around to that quite yet. what fun!

[she]

I haven't dyed diapers, but I've dyed many other things...

you're on the right track, you'll need to wash them at least once, not so much to fluff them, but to remove the sizing and starch.

If you are immersion dyeing a solid colour, the rule of thumb is 25 gm of dye powder will dye 1 lb of dry weight fabric a medium colour.

If you're tie dyeing or otherwise directly applying the dye, you can stretch it much further. In the end, the greater intensity of colour = more dye used.

Good Luck and have fun! Remember, do no inhale the dye powder, it can damage your lung tissue (this is more of an issue with repeat exposure). Keep a damp cloth nearby to wipe up any powder spills right away.

[ma2maya]

Definately scour them first(HOT water wash with synthrapol and soda ash). This will get out any chems./sizing etc. on the fabric from the process of creating it and that can hinder optimal dye absorbtion and reaction.

As far as how much dye, well it depends on the dye process. Are you tie-dyeing them or vat dyeing them(solid color dye)?
For tie-dyeing my mix is 1 tbs. dye powder/cup of chem.water(urea +h2o). There are a multitude of factors that will affect how far a cup of mixed dye will take you. i.e. wetness of the fabric, weight of the fabric, if the dyes are thickened etc. As far as cpfs go, a conservative estimate would be 2.5 premium cpf's/cup of dye. It will probably stretch a bit farther when you are doing more than one color.

In vat dyeing there is a different ratio of dye to amount of goods because there is more h20 present in the dye process. Per lb of fabric I generally use 1 rounded tbsp. of dye powder(double for turqouise, quadruple for black). per lb of fabric I use 3 gallons of h20. For vat dyeing in the washer(med. load approx. 8-10 gallons of h20) I use 4 rounded tbsp. of powder. Don't forget your salt either in vat dyeing.

Here are some very useful links
Fiber-arts.com
Prochem's product instructions
Paula Burch's site

Have fun!

Kathy