Dyes for silks?

[zoebugsmom]

What's my best bet for dying play silks? I'm planning on dying @ 2 dozen silks and a couple veils for Christmas presents. I don't want to spend a fortune but want them to look nice. What do you all recomend?

[ma2maya]

Koolaid is the easiest to get ahold of but Procion MX fiber reactive dyes will give you the best results. If you are getting your silks at Dharma Trading then you can get your dyes there as well.

Kathy

[SleeplessMommy]

Also wilton sugar paste colors (used frosting!)

Though I like the procion acid dyes much better.

[zoebugsmom]

Originally Posted by ma2maya

Koolaid is the easiest to get ahold of but Procion MX fiber reactive dyes will give you the best results. If you are getting your silks at Dharma Trading then you can get your dyes there as well.

Kathy

The only Procion dye I'm seeing at Dharma is Procion liquid H. Oh, wait a sec, is this what you mean?


http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/en...lnav=dyes.html

And how many silks would a 2 oz container dye?

[ma2maya]

For solid color dyeing I use the Low-Water immersion method of dyeing. For 3 35x35 silks I use 1tsp of dye powder in 1cup of water then add 1cup of soda ash solution alittle bit later. I would say you could dye give or take 30 silks.

I use those big 24 oz wide mouth mason jars to do this.

ounce for ounce Procion MX dyes are the cheapest to use. If kept in a cool dry place the powder will last for quite some time. So if you think you might use it again down the road for a project or fun then its worth the money. Remember you can also do some coloring mixing then you only have to buy a few basic colors to get a range of color options.

Kathy

[zoebugsmom]

Oh, thanks for that link! It's very helpful. I'm going to go with the Procion dyes. The kids and I do a tie dye project once or twice a year with stained shirts/towels and stuff so it's worth the extra money to me. Last year's stuff is pretty faded because we just used one of the cheapo kits from Micheals.