I have done multiple searches and have only found tie dye on here as a barely mentioned phrase in any thread. I make this stuff to sell at summer fests, so I'm curious why it isn't very common on a site about the culture that started tie dye to begin with.
Thanks. I guess using SEARCH, just wasn't going to get it. I appreciate it. I found the sticky. I guess if you want to read drumminmama's posts, that's where to go. I didn't find much there other than questions about what dye to use. I already know that. Thanks anyways.
Well, I don't know the forum too well yet, but that thread mentions there were many questions about tie-dye before the thread got sticky'd. So, not sure why search didn't come up with much. If you have some specific questions, you could post them, maybe someone with the knowledge would come up with some answers.
well thanks for starting a topic about it. got anything useful to say on tiedye so maybe when someone searches they will find more info?
MaryJeanne; I set this thing up to notify me of posts after mine, but I guess it must've had something else to do. I just found your post and that was actually by mistake. I'll work on some info to post for future readers. I'm terrible with time, so I'm honestly not sure how long it'll take to get it on here, but I will do it. I'm no expert by any means. Some of the neater stuff is done by my husband now. I tried for a week to get a heart shape and asked him for ideas. He did a perfect heart on his first try. The same happened with the peace sign. I've since figured out that my hands aren't big enough and the arthritis in my fingers is a problem. How I managed a swirl to begin with is beyond me. However, I have become rather knowledgeable in many aspects, such as dye choices and fabric content or weight. I'll post more about that soon.
Duh! I went kinda 'out to lunch' on this one. I caught one bug after another for a while and got brain fog. Sorry. I guess the biggest thing to say is use items with as little synthetic content as possible (poly is evil) 100% cotton or rayon is best. Silk doesn't hold design, it's more like runny watercolor and needs special dyes to do even that. I don't do silk. Use Procion MX fiber reactive dyes. Avoid the store bought stuff like Rit and Tulip/Jaquard like the plague. That stuff will wash out really quickly, if it sticks in the first place. Tea Juice markers and veggie dye are also commitment phobic. Hot water rinse! Unless you like having extra color running down your leg when it rains or you sweat. Remember, when the dye is wet, it is darker. Don't let the near black of a purple freak you, it rinses down. Reds can get "fleck," so mix well. This goes for most browns and purples too, as they have red also. If you make a paste and gradually ad your water to it, mixing the whole time, it's not as bad. If you want to be really safe, run it through cheese cloth. Turquoise needs warmer water to mix and a little salt helps too. Black is not just black. It has "undertones." For example, there is blue-black, green-black, purple/pink-black. The edges of the colored area can show the undertone color. If for instance, you do a white shirt and only want black and white, you can have pink edges to the color. Very slight, but they often shock the first timer. Just remember that black is the absorption of many colors. Soda Ash is a life saver. It "scours" the fabric, kind of rubbing it down to accept the dye better. WEAR RUBBER GLOVES. It is caustic and can cause nasty burns. (Clean up any splash to other items right away.) Soak the tied up whites in a solution of soda ash and warm water for at least a half an hour, squeeze the items out without loosening the design and then dye away. (soda ash/water ratio coming soon) Big rule #1: When your not sure, TEST it before you commit! Now, if your like me, it's no big deal if it's not exact. But, when I have an order where the customer wants a very specific color, it becomes a big deal, so I test. We have had to "re-dye" over some light colors that turned out like "tinted white" paint. First time using those colors and now we just use them to mix other "custom" colors. Big rule#2: Know your fabrics! Learn to judge them by feel. Just because it says "100%cotton" doesn't make it so. I've gotten "cotton" shorts from the store and recently some bandanas that were most definitely NOT cotton. They felt a bit different, which i thought was the "coating," but it turned out that polyester had reared its ugly head. I should have known better. I know cotton well. All you can do with poly is paint it with fabric paints and even that doesn't stay long. Big rule #3: Sometimes cotton will have a "coating" on it when you buy from a store. Get some textile detergent like Synthropol or what I get from Dharma Trading Company is called PTD. PTD, is non-toxic, alcohol free, solvent free and a more eco friendly detergent that works as well as Synthrapol (if not better) and it's cheaper! Use it with HOT water. For that "coating"and any other gunk like the residue left when they used tape on the shirts, baby stuff or underwear in a package, just "pre-wash." THEN, use it for after the dye has "set, "cooked" or "developed" by washing your items in HOT again with the PTD to make sure you get as much "rogue" dye out as you can the first time. Some "bleeding" can still happen, but it won't look like you are sweating rainbows. To protect your other clothes, just wash with "like" colored clothes or alone for the first time or two. In COLD or WARM water now. Big rule #4: Be prepared for some shrinkage. If you are a dead-on size large, buy an extra-large. Better to be slightly loose after shrinkage than to be too small and never worn. Big rule #5: Heat and Patience! I've heard you can rinse after a few hours, if your willing to deal with "weak sauce." I am not. The shortest "cook" anything I've done has had is 12 hours in 100 degree weather. Temperature is a big key factor. KEEP IT TIED, then while your piece "cooks" (well wrapped in plastic wrap or a plastic bag to seal in moisture and prevent color leaks) it's best to have around 80 degrees F or warmer. Something about the heat helps the dye soak in better and "react" stronger to the fabric. I usually wrap mine and set them outside on black plastic in the direct sun. In the cooler months, they're wrapped and kept in a tote in the bathroom with a heater and any heat off of the shower. HEAT and PATIENCE! It's the best way to insure bright/dark, long lasting color. For extra heat setting, dry in the dryer on HIGH heat for the whole 80 minute cycle. Big rule #6: NO METAL! I don't mean no Iron Maiden while you work. I mean don't use metal measuring spoons, cups etc. it can react to the dye and chems, either changing the colors some or by leeching toxic fumes. (not the high enducing kind) Big rule #7: DO NOT re-use dye related materials like spoons, cups plastic tubs, etc FOR FOOD! Once for dye, always for dye! This stuff is not a joke or something to put into your body in any way. Big rule #8: This dye is NOT FOR HAIR or SHORT-CUT TATTOOS! This stuff has MSDS protocol for a reason. Be prepared. Have your stuff all laid out before you start. The worst thing is to end up knocking over a bottle of red dye because your reaching for something you forgot. be ready for sprinkles of dye and soda-ash water. Clean up ASAP! Have a wet cloth with a bit of shampoo or laundry soap on it ready for the inevitable color that will get on your washer from when you put the items in. As I said, I'll have ratios posted soon. Any other questions, just ask. If I don't know, I'll do my best to find out.
We always soaked in soda ash to remove the finishes from fabric. Never used Synthropol on the front end. Synthropol was the wash product of choice to eliminate most dye staining, although sapphire was notorious for bleeding on the first couple wearings. Don't give socks with sapphire to heart surgery patients in hospital. You will scare the nurses, and then need to give the crew their own socks. It did the trick for reds and blacks. Some greens discharged in washing for a short timeout didn't wear off on customers. For the record, Jacquard kits are Procion MX. The t-shirt box is a great testing tool to see if you like the process. Jacquard dyes are very nice dyes, far better than Dharma's recipes with one spectacular exception. Dharma's better black truly is. It is a cool spectrum black that holds well and lasts on the dyed item. Batik artists will love this black, as will tie dyers making stained glass effects with large black areas.
Ive tried the soda ash without the pre-wash of Synthropol/PTD. If the item has things like tape goo, the soda ash just made it gummier. Maybe our troubles with Jacquard stem from our hard water? I know they are also PMX, but somehow they just dont function the same for us. I honestly had more bleed and wash out no matter what I did when I used that stuff. I never had an ounce of luck with anything except Dharma. All I know is that I love my Dharma folks, their product and the fact that because they are closer, I get my stuff within 3 days, without paying extra shipping.
Dharma bought the recipie book, and remaining supply, from an established dye company. Can't recall the name. Don't think I have thought about it since the mid 90s. Once that ran out, they went back to their own recipes, for the most part. Again, I have to say Better Black is the best black for resist dyeing. That IS a dharma recipe. I worked briefly with a mass quantity dyer and he used Dharma. The colors varied so much that he had a hard time guaranteeing the correct tones in bulk tie dye orders. For a pair of art dyers, that was unacceptable. We trusted RGS/Jacquard and Pro Chem. We often had to remix in a project, and a vat variation would destroy a $1500 piece. But, for self built kits, Dharma is getting really good. If you have a scout troop, class or bunch of bored hippies, their kits are nice.
Thanks for the background Drumminmama. We have recently had some "variation" issues with Dharma too, but hope its just a bad batch. We havent had the issue to this extent before. Do you have the website for the outfit you use? I know you posted it before, but cant find it for the life of me.
Oh and for what its worth, I did NOT get any notifications that anyone had posted in here, even though I set it up to let me know. SO, if you want a reply right away or as evident by my postings, within a month, please feel free to email me. TieDyeBySara@yahoo.com
