lets talk tie dying

[AngieB]

My kids and I tried tie dying this weekend. We used Rite dye and the turned out great not really bright but still looked good. The I tryed washing the shirts and all the colors ran together and faded. So what did I do wrong? What dye should I use and how do I make the colors set? I want to do this with my kids, so I don't want it to be to toxic. And we are hoping to make gifts out of the shirts so I would like to do it right.

[SleeplessMommy]

You are using RIT dyes?
* prewash in spectralite
* with RIT, a HOT soak for a long time (an hour) will be helpful, and add some salt. obviously this is a problem for multi-color tie dye.

dharmatrading.com has a tie-dye kit with a different type of dye chemistry in it, can be used cold and also faster I believe.

For kid-safer dying, you can do koolaide or wilton sugar paste colors on SILK.

[2Sweeties1Angel]

I only use Procion dyes. You can get a kit from Dharma Trading Company.

[Jenlaana]

I have that kit in front of me, unused. It says in big letters "keep away from children".

This is what it says inside:

Fiber reactive dyes are considered relatively non-toxic, but as when using any dye or chemical, use common sense. It is a fine powder and repeated inhalation of the dye powder can cause an allergic reaction in some people......Some colors contain faint traces of Formaldehyde and/or copper which in California requires a special warning label....keep out of your eyes. DO not eat the dye. Supervise children and pets - there is no telling what they might do.


Kinda vague after reading the inside.

[ma2maya]

Fiber reactive dyes are safe to use with kids and they will give you the best results with cottons and do pretty darn well for silk too. Just premix the dyes away from the children. The primary "toxicity" of the dyes is that the powder is considered a lung irritant. When not handled properly when mixing people have been known to develope an allergy to the powder, so always wear a mask when prepping the dyes.

The only imminent danger with kids a fiber reactive dyes is colorful hands and clothing(and possibly the space around them!)

Kathy

[Britishmum]

Originally Posted by ma2maya

The only imminent danger with kids a fiber reactive dyes is colorful hands and clothing(and possibly the space around them!)

Kathy

Yeah, my 2 y/o ds loves the Hot Pink color, and has been known to squirt it pretty much all over his body and the kitchen counter while I try to wrestle the bottle from him!

I use fiber reactive dyes with my kids, but I mix them when they are not in the room. (I wish I could get kid-sized gloves that would stay on them, but I can't, so they have multicolored hands for a couple of days afterwards.) But they also have some cool clothes - they chose to dye all their summer clothing this year, with matching bandannas for our dog. They look, umm, very 'individual' when we go out, and they are definitely easy to spot in a crowd.

I love the dharma reactive dyes - the clothes wash and wash and wash, and don't fade. I say, go for it. You won't regret it!

[kokonutmama]

I have also used dharma fiber reactive dyes with my little dude. ditto the mixing away from him, etc etc. they tie dye kits come in bottles already, you only have to add water and shake. don't let your little one put his/her hands in the bucket of soda ash water, either, it stings. no, ds didn't do it, I did, dumb mommy moment, lol.

oh and ditto the dyed hands, body, hair... grout........ pants...............

[FiveLittleDucks]

Thank you so much for this thread! I was just coming here to post about tie dyeing myself. All of the posts have been very helpful, thank you.

ETA: I meant I was coming here to post with questions about the process...not to report on how one's skin is affected. LOL