On the Bench Today - Fiber Reactive Dying Day 1

Well, on the sink actually...but dying silks is what I am up to here ;) It is a good trade skill to have, and when I can I will make some posts on using plant based dyes too.

We generally make them for Tarot Cloths, but one customer I know uses them to wrap gifts...another made patchwork curtains with them. So many creative uses!

Anyways, we begin with white silks, and also need;

Soda Ash
Urea
Dyes
Synthropol (or other dye suspension)

Stainless Steel measuring and stirring spoons
Stainless and or Glass measuring cups
Either a plastic bucket, or dishpan
Gloves

So We Begin...
Fill the bucket with some Cold water, and add 1 C soda ash per gallon. (soda ash will heat up in the water before it melts in) Then with gloves, mix it in until dissolved and set it aside.

I use a measuring cup for mixing the dyes, because it makes life easier.

For each cup of HOT water, we add 1 T Urea and mix it in very well

Once the water becomes clear again, we add 2 t of dye per cup (1 t for pastel versions, or more for over-dyes)

I use these same ratios for t-shirts, sheets, socks, or whatever we want to dye, so long as they are natural fibers.

Mix it all in very well, and then let it sit while putting the fabric into the soda ash bucket

Once the fabric is well saturated and swished around a bit...I squeeze it out and drop it in the sink with the dye pot...

Then one at a time, open them up and then submerge in the dye. I tend to squeeze them a bit and swish them around

I use regular plastic baggies (like alligator bags), and once dyed, gently squeeze out the excess dye and drop them in a bag. Only one colour to a bag of course...

Now we let them all sleep for 24 hours...tomorrow we rinse and wash.

*Note to self, get stainless sink!

Clean up Tip...Baking Soda will neutralize the soda ash and the urea. Please add 1/2 C per gallon and mix it in well. Let sit for 30 minutes before dumping any down the drain!