Fiber Arts! Give me fabric and I'll give it color.

Every week I will answer a fiber arts related question you have asked through my Guestbook or that I have come across elsewhere. So ask away!

No question is too big or to small. And if I don't know the answer off the top of my head I will find the experts that do. Heck, I like learning new things!

If you saw a previous question/answer you want to check out again, no worries, they still available. See the links below the current weeks answer.

March 13, 2008

"hello!
I'm a artist at heart who is stuck in highschool doing chemistry. I tried to make it interesting for myself, so my research project is on tie-dying. My question is, can you tell me (or give me a link)to the chemical equation when dye bonds with fabric (cotton and/or rayon)? I can't find this anywhere!
And i keep reading that the soda ash "raises the pH" level...okay, so? raises the pH level and does what? Where can i find the most specific, chemically-related dyeing information?
thanks a lot! Neat site."

A.J.,
The best source I can direct you to is Paula Burch's site. She has a short lesson plan that involves the chemistry of using Procion MX type fiber reactive dyes. On the page she does have the chemical structure of two dyes drawn out. Further on she talks through how the cellulose and specific dye are "brought together" by the use of soda ash. I think she also touches on your second question of how the raised pH promotes the bonding of dye and fiber.

Paula herself has her Doctorate in Chemistry. More specifically, she focused her studies on dyes so she is a great source of information of the type you are looking for. As for myself, I have gained a lot of understanding about the inner-workings of dyeing from her. Which, in turn, has given me a better understanding of what I do.

*****

1/19/08-Soda Ash vs. Vinegar

1/13/08-Why is the color bleeding?

There are many facets to the world of dyeing. It has been a craft around the world since time immemorial. According to the World Shibori Network, evidence of adding color to fabric has been found from pre-Colombian society in Peru and ancient tombs in China. The greatest historical record of dyeing is the technique called Shibori, or bound-resist dyeing. We are familiar with this today in the form of tie-dyeing. Traditions over the centuries have not been limited to South America and the Far East. Surviving traditions can be found in the Middle East, India, Africa, and Indonesia.

As the weeks go on I will be posting information on other types/classes of dyes. However, I will start with fiber reactive dyes since these are what I primarily work with and most familiar with.

Fiber reactive dyes are a class of dyes that have been primarily formulated for cellulose fibers such as cotton and viscose rayon. You will notice that I talk a lot about working with silk a lot in this lens. Despite being formulated with cellulose fibers in mind, fiber reactive dyes will dye natural fibers in general; cellulose and protein. But I will go into this later.

How they work?
Fiber Reactive dyes bond on a molecular level with the fiber of the fabric. Thus, becoming part of the fabric instead of sitting on the surface, so to speak, like other dyes. To exemplify this, think of a radish and a beet. On the surface a radish is a nice bright shade of red, but once you cut into it the inner layers are white. Compare that to a beet which is purple through and through.

However, the dye needs a little help to actually be able to bond with the fiber. This is where soda ash aka Sodium Carbonate comes into play. I have mentioned in answers to questions that time, temperature, and moisture are very important to a proper reaction but none of it matters if you don't have a high enough Ph in the whole mix. Soda ash is your key ingredient to raising the Ph.

You may ask, "Well, I have a box of baking soda in the pantry. Can't I just use that?" The quick answer is no. The more long and involved answer is yes and no. For the fiber to properly react with the dye a Ph of 10.5 to 11 is required. Baking soda will only raise the Ph to about 8. So you would need a lot more of the baking soda to get the results you would with Soda ash. It will, however, work o.k. with high heat fixing such as steam setting. For most applications soda as is ideal. (thanks Paula!)

For information on how much dye and auxiliary chemicals for different applications, please see my Recipes.

Variety

There are 6 types of fiber reactive dyes; Procion Mx, Cibacron F(Sabracron F), Drimarene K, Procion H, Remezol H, and Levfix.

The most common and easiest to use is the Procion MX type dye. This is what I use and what most other dyers commonly use. It is easy to work with in a variety of applications and very washfast.

Another familiar fiber reactive dye to the general crafter and hobbyist is Drimarene K. This is the type of dye marketed by Dylon as their "Dylon Cold-Water Dye". Be careful not to confuse their cold-water dye with their all-purpose dye which is comparable to RIT. All-purpose dyes lead to messes and frustration.

I will not expand on the other types of fiber reactive dyes for two reasons; their use is not as common as Procion MX and I do not have experience with them. However, if you would like more information on them Paula Burch has a great page giving detail about each of them.

Adding color and patterns to fabric can also be achieved through a variety of other methods besides tie-dyeing. These include Batik, stamping, silk screening, and painting. Batik utilizes wax as a resist(method or substance preventing dye from penetrating fiber). The wax is applied using a Tjanting,Tjaps, or brushes.

Stamping, well, utilizes stamps to apply dye or pigment to create designs and patterns on fabric. Stamps can be created from a variety of materials. Do you remember using vegetables and fruits to stamp paint on paper in preschool? One of my favorite things to do is to make stamps out of craft foam. It is a simple and easy way to create great images on your fabric.

Here is an example of a foam stamp I made

I think silk screening is a method that everyone is most familiar with. Heck, the t-shirt you are wearing right now was printed using silk screening methods.

Some of the most beautiful painted images I have ever seen were painted on fabric. Fiber, especially silk, takes color marvelously. Combine this with the creativity and skill of an artist and WOW!

How will you add color!?

Low Water Immersion Dyeing
Well, that pretty much describes it; you're using a low water to fabric ratio to dye.

But seriously, it is a process that leads to a varied amount of outcomes. It can be used with single colors or multiple colors. You can use it to get a mottled/variegated effect or solid shading.

As with most dye processes, everybody has their own way to do things. So the following is my process, which has been gleaned from a variety of resources including PBurch.net and
Prochemical.com.

You might be asking 'Well, how much fabric do you use per cup of dye solution?'
Quite honestly(and some dyers may cringe at this) my primary criteria is whether or not my final dye bath, which includes the soda ash solution, will leave my fabric mostly submerged. I like to have the level of liquid be level or just above the level of the fabric in the container. Some dyers are more precise about the amount of dye based on the weight of fabric. If you would like to be more precise than I am Prochemical's LWI instructions are a good place to start.

When my dye(s) is mixed and my item is crammed to my liking in its container, I pour the dye solution over my fabric. I may or may not choose to manipulate (by hand, with a spoon or by shaking the container) my item to encourage the dye to migrate to certain areas. The more manipulation you do to your fabric during the process the more blended and less mottled/variegated your end dye results will be.

If you are dyeing with more then one color, I suggest pouring on the lighter color first then the darker. Sometimes I mix it up; I'll pour on half the light color then half the darker then the light color again, topping it off with the darker. Just one of my many quirks!

After my dye has been poured on and my fabric has been manipulated or not to my satisfaction, I let this sit for about 20 minutes or until I remember! I then pour a solution of 1 ½ tsp soda ash to 1 cup water over my concoction of fabric and dye. Just to note I use 1 cup of this soda ash solution per cup of dye solution.

I let all this sit to react for at least 4 hours.

Coming Soon!