SithariRog
New Member
A lot of folks are wondering how to dye fabric for their Kylo Ren costumes (especially the outer basket weave fabric). I thought I would share some of my experiences in dyeing fabrics.
Dying Fabric
What follows is a discussion on dyeing fabrics (both cotton and silk types) using dye systems available through Dharma Trading Company (www.dharmatrading.com).
Dyeing is chemistry, but is also a bit like cooking, in that you can change the recipe a bit and not screw things up too badly. The REAL problem with dying fabrics is that…no matter how meticulous you are at recording your recipes and procedures…you will NEVER be able to dye two batches of fabric exactly the same. So a word of advice would be: dye all that you can in one batch (plus a bit more, if possible). Also, it’s difficult (if not impossible) to get the VERY dark “dark” colors (black, navy) or the VERY vibrant bright colors, as you see in commercial dying. Whenever possible, avoid dyeing if you can find your fabric of choice in the color you want.
In addition, the darker dyes (and I suppose most dyes in general) do a “shift” of colors from one to another. What I mean is…if you make a red color dark enough, it looks black. The same is true with any other color. So, depending on what base color your dye uses in its formula, you could have a tint on the final desired color. So, black really isn’t “black”, it could have a base of red, blue or green. Just something to keep in mind. Also keep in mind, some of these base colors tend to start to show up if you don’t use enough or too much dye. For example…dyeing something a gray, but using “more” dye to get a darker gray might give you a dark slate blue color, instead of a true gray. Can you bleach the darker colors to sort of reverse your screw up? Possibly…I’ll talk on that near the end. Can you mix dyes? Yes…but mixing dyes to create new or darker colors leaves the science of chemistry and enters the realm of magic. Beware, here there be dragons!
There are many different companies that produce dyes. Everyone know about Rit, which comes in liquid, powder and even some pastes. I look at Rit dyes as something to use when you’re dying small batches or a garment***. If you’re dying large amounts of fabric (several or many yards), I think it’s best to use a dyeing system (which I’ll tell you about shortly). Can you use Rit for large projects? Sure, but the end cost might be prohibitive.
***Never make your garment and then try to dye it. Why? Because, unless you use a thread that is the SAME material as your garment, the thread won’t dye the same as your garment. Most general use or all purpose threads are polyester wrapped around polyester or cotton. Polyester, for the most part, doesn’t take dye very well (or at all) because it’s a petroleum based product and not a fiber from either a plant or an animal. If you sew your light tan garment with light tan thread, then try to dye it black, you’ll end up with a black garment that has light tan thread….UGLY!!!
For the purposes of this information, there are two kinds of fabrics:
(1) woven from plant fibers (cotton, linen)
(2) woven from animal fibers (silk, wool).
Then you have synthetics, which I’m not addressing here.
While the dyeing procedure is similar, the chemistries are different:
Plant fibers (cotton, linen) use salt and a basic (opposite of acid) fixer.
Animal fibers (silk, wool) use acid, and there’s no need for a fixer.
When dying large amounts of fabric (6, 10, 20 yards, etc.), I have found that I prefer using a dyeing system and a washing machine. I’ll talk about washing machine dyeing in a bit.
I like the Dharma Trading Company dyes. Dharma basically sells raw fabrics and lots of dyes. They have some exceptional tutorials and instructions on dyeing all kinds of projects. What I learned mostly came from www.dharmatrading.com. I will be giving you cliff notes on these systems. For now, here are some links:
Dyes for plant fiber fabric:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-fiber-reactive-procion-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html
Dyes for animal fiber fabric:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-acid-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html
Soda Ash:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/soda-ash-fixer.html
Citric Acid:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/citric-acid-powder.html
Calsolene oil:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/calsolene-oil.html
This is a wetting agent that supposed to help with plant fiber fabrics (cotton/linen). Do you need this? No. Have I used it? Yes. If you want to use it, then great…if you don’t, well…that’s great too.
Dharma Tutorial for tub or washing machine dyeing of plant fiber fabrics (cotton/linen):
http://www.dharmatrading.com/techni...t-dye-method.html?lnav=techniques_tubdye.html
(pic from Dharma Trading Co.)
Dharma Tutorial for tub or washing machine dyeing of animal fiber fabrics (silk, wool):
http://www.dharmatrading.com/techniques/tubdye/tub-dyeing-basics-with-dharma-acid-dye.html
(pic from Dharma Trading Co.)
Dyeing Fabric:
For the rest of this discussion, I will be talking about dyeing fabric in a washing machine. You can dye in a tub, but for an even dye result, constant agitation is key. The best/easiest way to constantly agitate a dyeing fabric is in a washing machine. In addition, I will approach this discussion as though you are dying 8-12 yards of fabric. For the most part, you can cover your 8-12 yards of fabric with water, in the washing machine on the small or medium cycle. For most standard washing machines, this amounts to 12-15 gallons of water. While water to fabric ratio does play a role in how a fabric will dye, the amount of dye plays a greater role in the results.
An “convention”…from here on out, I will use either “cotton” to represent “plant fiber fabrics” or “wool” to represent “animal fiber fabrics”.
Prep work for dying fabrics:
For dyeing cotton or wool, you want to weight your dry fabric and round to the nearest pound, in order to calculate the amount of dye you need (and again, for the most part, the amount of water used is less important). The general rule of thumb for cotton is 1 tablespoon of powdered dye per pound of dry fabric. For dark fabrics (blacks), you will at least double (if not triple or quadruple) the amount of dye.
Wash your fabric prior to dyeing. This will remove any factory based cleaning products/oils. A light wash is good enough. If you’re not sure of a fabric’s shrinkage value, then you may want to go through a dry cycle to test the fabric. In fact, doing this with a sample before ordering fabric is prudent, because some fabrics (especially cottons) can shrink a LOT. BUT…the fabric needs to be wet when adding to your dye vat (or washing machine….more on this shortly).
hot-Hot-HOT is key. I tend to use three 12-16 quart stock pots, and boil water in order to help get the water in the washing machine as hot as possible.
-For cotton, I will add 10 cups of salt. Salt comes in those 26 oz. cylindrical containers for about $0.50. Each container holds about 2.5 cups of salt. So, I use five of these per dyeing session. For wool, salt is not needed. You don’t need iodized salt, because you’re not eating it. Plain salt is okay. Interestingly, if you go strictly by the cotton dyeing procedure at Dharma, and for very dark colors, it will suggest that you use more salt than can be physically dissolved in a hot (boiling) solution. Just use as much as possible.
Dye slurry: take your dye, and dissolve (or make a slurry) with the boiled water immediately prior to dyeing your fabric.
A word on the washing machine: washing machines have various cycles and then each cycle can be varied with respect to time. The normal cycle will beat the crap out of your fabric, and it will easily end up knotted and twisted together (which can mean uneven dying). Therefore, use a delicate cycle. The longest cycle that can be used is (for most washers) about 10 minutes. You need to agitate your dyeing session for about 30 minutes. To do this, you set a timer when you start the cycle. After about 10 minutes, AND WITHOUT LETTING THE WASHER DRAIN in preparation for rising, reset the cycle to the beginning. You’ll do this three times. Then you’ll add your fixer (if indicated), agitate for another two cycles, then go from there.
A word on fixers:
For cotton you will use Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate).
For wool you’ll use Citric Acid. Yes, you can use vinegar, but my god it stinks!
Both of these dissolve very easily in hot water.
The Procedures:
For Cotton (and using 8-10 yards of fabric on a medium sized delicate cycle of a washing machine):
1. Wash fabric and leave wet.
2. Boil some water (5-6 gallons).
3. Add salt to boiling water.
4. Use some of the salted boiling water to dissolve your dye. Using a glass container is best.
5. Dissolve the amount needed of Soda Ash, in hot water and set aside for later use.
6. (if possible) Prime your pipes with hot water, then select the “hot/cold” cycle on your washing machine. The water that is used to wash will be hot (…and the cold won’t come out until the rinse cycle).
7. As the washer is filling, add your boiling salt water.
8. (OPTIONAL) Add calsolene oil.
9. Add dye slurry, and mix (I use an old mop handle).
10. Add your wet fabric as quickly as possible.
11. Allow the washing machine to agitate the dyeing fabric for 10 minutes. Reset the cycle to the beginning. And repeat for three cycles (or 30 minutes).
12. At the end of the third dyeing cycle, slowly and evenly add the Soda Ash solution.
13. Reset the washer to agitate the fixer (Soda Ash) for 20 minutes.
14. At the end of the last fixing cycle, allow the washer to fully complete the cycle by going through the rinse. NOTE: as the washer is spinning the first rinse, you can reset the washer to a “large” or “oversized” selection so that more water is used.
15. Loosen the fabric and run through a complete wash cycle again, using only water.
16. Loosen the fabric and run through a complete wash cycle once more, but using soap.
17. Dry the fabric and evaluate the color.
NOTE: You cannot fully evaluate the color of your fabric until it has dried. If dying with darker colors, the fabric will look VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY dark on the first rinse cycle. It will even look darker than you want as you throw it in the dryer. Just wait…and have a look at the color AFTER the fabric is dried.
For wool dyeing, the procedure is basically the same. The difference is, you won’t use salt or calsolene oil. And you’ll add your Citric Acid to the second agitation cycle, then continue for a full 30 minutes.
Some tips:
-Sewing an antifray stitch on the raw ends of the fabric is a good idea. The fabric will be beaten up rather severely and will fray, if you don’t secure the ends.
-What if your dyed the fabric too dark? You can bleach it. Bleaching might take several cycles to get some of the color out. If you’re lucky, you can bleach it to the color you want. You’ll NEVER be able to bleach the fabric back to its raw color. Your best bet is to bleach it lighter than you want, then redye.
-Will dyeing in your wasching machine mess it up? Well, I guess it depends on how you define "messed up". The dye will stain the scum that naturally accumulated inside your washer. This means you'll need to clean your washer from time to time or after a dyeing session. How do I do this? I take a hard (plastic) bristle brush, scrubbing bubbles (or what ever you use to clean your shower), and scrub away. Once clean, let the washer go through a cycle to flush out your cleaning solution.
-What about septic tanks and letting all that crap go into your waste system? Umm...well...I've dyed a lot of fabric over the past few years. I've not had any problems yet. Sadly...I probably just jinxed myself. Oh well.
I’ll add more to this tutorial, as I think of new stuff. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to post questions or contact me.
Dying Fabric
What follows is a discussion on dyeing fabrics (both cotton and silk types) using dye systems available through Dharma Trading Company (www.dharmatrading.com).
Dyeing is chemistry, but is also a bit like cooking, in that you can change the recipe a bit and not screw things up too badly. The REAL problem with dying fabrics is that…no matter how meticulous you are at recording your recipes and procedures…you will NEVER be able to dye two batches of fabric exactly the same. So a word of advice would be: dye all that you can in one batch (plus a bit more, if possible). Also, it’s difficult (if not impossible) to get the VERY dark “dark” colors (black, navy) or the VERY vibrant bright colors, as you see in commercial dying. Whenever possible, avoid dyeing if you can find your fabric of choice in the color you want.
In addition, the darker dyes (and I suppose most dyes in general) do a “shift” of colors from one to another. What I mean is…if you make a red color dark enough, it looks black. The same is true with any other color. So, depending on what base color your dye uses in its formula, you could have a tint on the final desired color. So, black really isn’t “black”, it could have a base of red, blue or green. Just something to keep in mind. Also keep in mind, some of these base colors tend to start to show up if you don’t use enough or too much dye. For example…dyeing something a gray, but using “more” dye to get a darker gray might give you a dark slate blue color, instead of a true gray. Can you bleach the darker colors to sort of reverse your screw up? Possibly…I’ll talk on that near the end. Can you mix dyes? Yes…but mixing dyes to create new or darker colors leaves the science of chemistry and enters the realm of magic. Beware, here there be dragons!
There are many different companies that produce dyes. Everyone know about Rit, which comes in liquid, powder and even some pastes. I look at Rit dyes as something to use when you’re dying small batches or a garment***. If you’re dying large amounts of fabric (several or many yards), I think it’s best to use a dyeing system (which I’ll tell you about shortly). Can you use Rit for large projects? Sure, but the end cost might be prohibitive.
***Never make your garment and then try to dye it. Why? Because, unless you use a thread that is the SAME material as your garment, the thread won’t dye the same as your garment. Most general use or all purpose threads are polyester wrapped around polyester or cotton. Polyester, for the most part, doesn’t take dye very well (or at all) because it’s a petroleum based product and not a fiber from either a plant or an animal. If you sew your light tan garment with light tan thread, then try to dye it black, you’ll end up with a black garment that has light tan thread….UGLY!!!
For the purposes of this information, there are two kinds of fabrics:
(1) woven from plant fibers (cotton, linen)
(2) woven from animal fibers (silk, wool).
Then you have synthetics, which I’m not addressing here.
While the dyeing procedure is similar, the chemistries are different:
Plant fibers (cotton, linen) use salt and a basic (opposite of acid) fixer.
Animal fibers (silk, wool) use acid, and there’s no need for a fixer.
When dying large amounts of fabric (6, 10, 20 yards, etc.), I have found that I prefer using a dyeing system and a washing machine. I’ll talk about washing machine dyeing in a bit.
I like the Dharma Trading Company dyes. Dharma basically sells raw fabrics and lots of dyes. They have some exceptional tutorials and instructions on dyeing all kinds of projects. What I learned mostly came from www.dharmatrading.com. I will be giving you cliff notes on these systems. For now, here are some links:
Dyes for plant fiber fabric:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-fiber-reactive-procion-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html
Dyes for animal fiber fabric:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-acid-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html
Soda Ash:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/soda-ash-fixer.html
Citric Acid:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/citric-acid-powder.html
Calsolene oil:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/calsolene-oil.html
This is a wetting agent that supposed to help with plant fiber fabrics (cotton/linen). Do you need this? No. Have I used it? Yes. If you want to use it, then great…if you don’t, well…that’s great too.
Dharma Tutorial for tub or washing machine dyeing of plant fiber fabrics (cotton/linen):
http://www.dharmatrading.com/techni...t-dye-method.html?lnav=techniques_tubdye.html
(pic from Dharma Trading Co.)
Dharma Tutorial for tub or washing machine dyeing of animal fiber fabrics (silk, wool):
http://www.dharmatrading.com/techniques/tubdye/tub-dyeing-basics-with-dharma-acid-dye.html
(pic from Dharma Trading Co.)
Dyeing Fabric:
For the rest of this discussion, I will be talking about dyeing fabric in a washing machine. You can dye in a tub, but for an even dye result, constant agitation is key. The best/easiest way to constantly agitate a dyeing fabric is in a washing machine. In addition, I will approach this discussion as though you are dying 8-12 yards of fabric. For the most part, you can cover your 8-12 yards of fabric with water, in the washing machine on the small or medium cycle. For most standard washing machines, this amounts to 12-15 gallons of water. While water to fabric ratio does play a role in how a fabric will dye, the amount of dye plays a greater role in the results.
An “convention”…from here on out, I will use either “cotton” to represent “plant fiber fabrics” or “wool” to represent “animal fiber fabrics”.
Prep work for dying fabrics:
For dyeing cotton or wool, you want to weight your dry fabric and round to the nearest pound, in order to calculate the amount of dye you need (and again, for the most part, the amount of water used is less important). The general rule of thumb for cotton is 1 tablespoon of powdered dye per pound of dry fabric. For dark fabrics (blacks), you will at least double (if not triple or quadruple) the amount of dye.
Wash your fabric prior to dyeing. This will remove any factory based cleaning products/oils. A light wash is good enough. If you’re not sure of a fabric’s shrinkage value, then you may want to go through a dry cycle to test the fabric. In fact, doing this with a sample before ordering fabric is prudent, because some fabrics (especially cottons) can shrink a LOT. BUT…the fabric needs to be wet when adding to your dye vat (or washing machine….more on this shortly).
hot-Hot-HOT is key. I tend to use three 12-16 quart stock pots, and boil water in order to help get the water in the washing machine as hot as possible.
-For cotton, I will add 10 cups of salt. Salt comes in those 26 oz. cylindrical containers for about $0.50. Each container holds about 2.5 cups of salt. So, I use five of these per dyeing session. For wool, salt is not needed. You don’t need iodized salt, because you’re not eating it. Plain salt is okay. Interestingly, if you go strictly by the cotton dyeing procedure at Dharma, and for very dark colors, it will suggest that you use more salt than can be physically dissolved in a hot (boiling) solution. Just use as much as possible.
Dye slurry: take your dye, and dissolve (or make a slurry) with the boiled water immediately prior to dyeing your fabric.
A word on the washing machine: washing machines have various cycles and then each cycle can be varied with respect to time. The normal cycle will beat the crap out of your fabric, and it will easily end up knotted and twisted together (which can mean uneven dying). Therefore, use a delicate cycle. The longest cycle that can be used is (for most washers) about 10 minutes. You need to agitate your dyeing session for about 30 minutes. To do this, you set a timer when you start the cycle. After about 10 minutes, AND WITHOUT LETTING THE WASHER DRAIN in preparation for rising, reset the cycle to the beginning. You’ll do this three times. Then you’ll add your fixer (if indicated), agitate for another two cycles, then go from there.
A word on fixers:
For cotton you will use Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate).
For wool you’ll use Citric Acid. Yes, you can use vinegar, but my god it stinks!
Both of these dissolve very easily in hot water.
The Procedures:
For Cotton (and using 8-10 yards of fabric on a medium sized delicate cycle of a washing machine):
1. Wash fabric and leave wet.
2. Boil some water (5-6 gallons).
3. Add salt to boiling water.
4. Use some of the salted boiling water to dissolve your dye. Using a glass container is best.
5. Dissolve the amount needed of Soda Ash, in hot water and set aside for later use.
6. (if possible) Prime your pipes with hot water, then select the “hot/cold” cycle on your washing machine. The water that is used to wash will be hot (…and the cold won’t come out until the rinse cycle).
7. As the washer is filling, add your boiling salt water.
8. (OPTIONAL) Add calsolene oil.
9. Add dye slurry, and mix (I use an old mop handle).
10. Add your wet fabric as quickly as possible.
11. Allow the washing machine to agitate the dyeing fabric for 10 minutes. Reset the cycle to the beginning. And repeat for three cycles (or 30 minutes).
12. At the end of the third dyeing cycle, slowly and evenly add the Soda Ash solution.
13. Reset the washer to agitate the fixer (Soda Ash) for 20 minutes.
14. At the end of the last fixing cycle, allow the washer to fully complete the cycle by going through the rinse. NOTE: as the washer is spinning the first rinse, you can reset the washer to a “large” or “oversized” selection so that more water is used.
15. Loosen the fabric and run through a complete wash cycle again, using only water.
16. Loosen the fabric and run through a complete wash cycle once more, but using soap.
17. Dry the fabric and evaluate the color.
NOTE: You cannot fully evaluate the color of your fabric until it has dried. If dying with darker colors, the fabric will look VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY dark on the first rinse cycle. It will even look darker than you want as you throw it in the dryer. Just wait…and have a look at the color AFTER the fabric is dried.
For wool dyeing, the procedure is basically the same. The difference is, you won’t use salt or calsolene oil. And you’ll add your Citric Acid to the second agitation cycle, then continue for a full 30 minutes.
Some tips:
-Sewing an antifray stitch on the raw ends of the fabric is a good idea. The fabric will be beaten up rather severely and will fray, if you don’t secure the ends.
-What if your dyed the fabric too dark? You can bleach it. Bleaching might take several cycles to get some of the color out. If you’re lucky, you can bleach it to the color you want. You’ll NEVER be able to bleach the fabric back to its raw color. Your best bet is to bleach it lighter than you want, then redye.
-Will dyeing in your wasching machine mess it up? Well, I guess it depends on how you define "messed up". The dye will stain the scum that naturally accumulated inside your washer. This means you'll need to clean your washer from time to time or after a dyeing session. How do I do this? I take a hard (plastic) bristle brush, scrubbing bubbles (or what ever you use to clean your shower), and scrub away. Once clean, let the washer go through a cycle to flush out your cleaning solution.
-What about septic tanks and letting all that crap go into your waste system? Umm...well...I've dyed a lot of fabric over the past few years. I've not had any problems yet. Sadly...I probably just jinxed myself. Oh well.
I’ll add more to this tutorial, as I think of new stuff. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to post questions or contact me.
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