low impact dyes.... what has your exerience been?

[SillyLilStinkweed]

I have a lot of experience with food coloring as a dye, but it simply won't work for what I am wanting to do.


I have never used low-impact dyes. Can I dye natural fabrics with it, and the fabric will be bright red, as if I bought red fabric, will dye evenly, effortlessly, and will not fad?

I'd love to get some advice.

[ma2maya]

I'm going to assume you are speaking of procion mx type fiber reactive dyes aka dharma's fiber reactive dyes.

They were specifically developed for cellulose fibers but will also work with silk and conceivably wool(though color results are unpredictable). They also bond on a molecular level with the fiber becoming part of the fiber so they are extremely washfast.

You can get an even color with them by using the vat dye method. This method has a high water to dye ratio so there is plenty o' room for the fabric to move around in. And movement is what you want to get even coloring.

If you have yards of fabric you can use the above method but in the washing machine. This makes manipulating the fabric to get even coloring much easier.

For both regular vat dyeing and dyeing in the washer, I loosely follow Dharma's directions. FYI they call for calsolene oil wh/ I find to be completely unnecessary.

For smaller items I have gotten even coloring using low-water immersion

Paula Burch also has loads of info about dyeing with fiber reactive dyes.

Kathy

[SillyLilStinkweed]

Thank you so much, you were so helpful!. I will probably order some of the dyes you mentioned. Yep, I was thinking of dharma fiber reactive dyes. It's good to know wool is a bit different. Yep, food coloring definitely doesn't bond with the fiber! It just coats the outside. I'll do some experiments.

Originally Posted by ma2maya

I'm going to assume you are speaking of procion mx type fiber reactive dyes aka dharma's fiber reactive dyes.

They were specifically developed for cellulose fibers but will also work with silk and conceivably wool(though color results are unpredictable). They also bond on a molecular level with the fiber becoming part of the fiber so they are extremely washfast.

You can get an even color with them by using the vat dye method. This method has a high water to dye ratio so there is plenty o' room for the fabric to move around in. And movement is what you want to get even coloring.

If you have yards of fabric you can use the above method but in the washing machine. This makes manipulating the fabric to get even coloring much easier.

For both regular vat dyeing and dyeing in the washer, I loosely follow Dharma's directions. FYI they call for calsolene oil wh/ I find to be completely unnecessary.

For smaller items I have gotten even coloring using low-water immersion

Paula Burch also has loads of info about dyeing with fiber reactive dyes.

Kathy

[ma2maya]

Originally Posted by SillyLilStinkweed

It's good to know wool is a bit different.

There are fiber reactive dyes that work with wool. I think they are called Lanaset, but for wool acid dyes are probably the best.

Certain colors of Procion Mx dyes can be wonky on silk, browns, black, and in that spectrum. But its just a select few I've had issues with. I have had great success with them.

Kathy

[flapjack]

I've had success with procion dyes and dylon on wool yarn and roving, but the colours have a tendency to go very, very dark unless you are incredibly careful with the temperature.