Easy to use and mix. Truer color with lasting results. So much better than Rit dyes. But follow mixing instructions to a tee. DON'T GO BY THE MIXED LIQUID COLOR YOU SEE. The first time I tried to dye pants an emerald green, I mixed the colors per the instructions and the mix looked mustard yellowish pea green. Yuck. So I played chemist and added colors until the mix was a beautiful green. When I ran it through the soak process my pants came out dark BROWN. I had to bleach them four times to get the color light enough to color over. When I did the process again (following the color mix chart this time) the nasty color mix turned the pants the beautiful green I wanted. Lesson #1 learned.
Another instruction to not skip... I pulled a pair of shorts from my drawer to dye navy blue. They were beautiful at first but then faded with the first wash. My fault! I didn't think I needed the pre-wash step since the shorts were clean. But I use a fabric softener and that binds to the cloth so the dye won't hold. Definitely wash first with a detergent that has no additives or softeners. And don't use a fabric dryer sheet either. Lesson #2 learned!
Since following the instructions I've successfully dyed several pieces and they all came out great.
P.S. I'm posting this review for the Jet Black, Turquoise, Lemon Yellow and Fuchsia as I bought the four colors that are the basis for all other colors in the spectrum (CMYK in printing terms).
I bought this kit to dye a few white t-shirts that I've been using as undershirts for the last few years. The t-shirts had perspiration stains under the arms, but I love the fabric and fit so much that I wanted to see if I could rescue them. Now, all the dyeing websites will tell you not to work on old, stained clothing. That is probably prudent advice, as I'll discuss later! I was willing to take the risk, especially as practice learning how to dye in case I decide on a larger project down the road.
What I love about this set is that it contains the printer's primaries -- cyan, magenta, and yellow, plus black -- so that you can mix your own colors. With just three shirts to dye, I could have bought three premixed colors instead of four primaries. But I find that a bit limiting, and wanted to have fun mixing my own. This kit also includes enough soda ash to do about 5-6 dye baths (bucket method), but if you run out, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda is 100% soda ash and readily available for a few bucks at the grocery store or drugstore.
I dyed my shirts using the immersion method in a 5-gallon bucket (actually, mine was a 4-gallon kitty litter bucket). You can do this in the washing machine, but you have to use a lot more dye, soda ash, and salt, and you still have to babysit the machine to make sure it doesn't start the rinse cycle before you're ready. I find it more economical and not that much more labor-intensive to just do it in a bucket. For the first shirt, I was trying for sort of an indigo color, a deep blue-purple. I mixed 3/4 tsp. of the fuchsia dye and 1 1/4 tsp. of the turquoise in a mason jar and added a little bit of water to make a paste, then a little more water to get a pourable dye. I filled my bucket a little over halfway with water, added two cups of non-iodized table salt, stirred to dissolve, and then added the dye. Finally, I added my t-shirt, which I had dampened. After stirring off and on for about 20 minutes, I mixed 1/3 cup of soda ash into warm water in the mason jar and added a third of it to the bucket, stirred for 5 minutes, added another third, stirred for 5 minutes, then the last third and another 5 minutes of stirring. Finally, I gave the shirt another 45 minutes in the dye bath, stirring periodically. I put it in the washing machine, ran a rinse cycle, then washed it with detergent in hot water and tumbled dry. (This technique came from pburch.net, an incredibly thorough site on dyeing.)
You can see the result in the far left of the customer image I uploaded. It's hardly the indigo I was going for! In fact, it was a happy accident, because I was planning to turn one of the t-shirts into a raspberry color, and that's exactly what I got. But what went wrong? Well, I did a little research and learned that turquoise is a particularly finicky dye. On the Procion dye jars, it says to mix the dye into cold water, and that's where I went wrong. My research revealed that the water should in fact be at *least* room temperature, if not warmer for turquoise. I even saw some suggestions to put the dye-soaked fabric in the microwave to accelerate the process!
I wasn't brave enough to do that, but I was happy to try warmer water with my second shirt. This time, I placed my bucket in a bathtub and filled it with warm-to-hot water, about 110 degrees. I also filled the bathtub with hot water to try to maintain the warm temperature in the bucket. I used much, much more turquoise in the second batch: 2 tsp. of turquoise and only 1/4 tsp. of fuchsia. Otherwise, I followed the procedure exactly as I had for the first shirt. The result was a very pretty periwinkle, not quite the rich indigo I had aimed for, but again, a lovely color I'm thrilled with.
(I should note here that the amount of dye you use determines how light or dark the final result. It's suggested to use about 1 tablespoon of dye for a medium color or 2 tablespoons for a dark color, per pound of fabric. You scale up or down based on fabric weight. My t-shirts each weighed just 1/4 pound, so this suggests 1/4 tablespoon for medium or 1/2 tablespoon -- 1 1/2 teaspoons -- for dark. In fact I used more than this, yet got medium colors.)
For my final shirt, I wanted to crack open the jar of yellow dye, so I decided to go green. I had definitely learned from the first two rounds that color mixing is an imprecise science. I wanted to err on the side of more turquoise rather than too much yellow (I love lime green but it doesn't suit my complexion at all), so I mixed 2 tsp. turquoise with 1/2 tsp. yellow. This gave a very pretty emerald, pretty much exactly the hue I was aiming for! However, this shirt ended up with blotches in spots and I can only conclude that there were some invisible marks or stains on the t-shirt that only became evident when I dyed it. This is one of the dangers of working with old fabric! Incidentally, I was most worried about the perspiration marks on the shirts, but in all cases those were nearly completely hidden by the dye.
I would absolutely recommend this kit if you are willing to roll the dice a bit with respect to color. It's definitely a matter of guesswork, and I found that even testing the dye mix first on a small piece of paper towel or just observing the fabric while it was in the dye bath didn't really give a good indication of what the final result would look like. It's as much about how well the fabric takes the dye (and what technique you use, etc.) as it is about what proportions of colors you use. But it was great fun, and I still have enough dye for many more projects, especially if I replenish my turquoise supply.
PROCION far better than Ritt (at every grocery store). Yes, follow the directions. But, in my experience, it is so much better to let the fabrics sit with the dye for at least 24 hours!
For me, the black dye always turns out dark purple/ dark gray. It's okay, but it works really well to restore faded black clothes, such as black jeans. I've used it to renew the look of several pairs of black jeans! The 8 ounce size will dye A LOT of fabric
Easy to use and mix. Truer color with lasting results. So much better than Rit dyes. But follow mixing instructions to a tee. DON'T GO BY THE MIXED LIQUID COLOR YOU SEE. The first time I tried to dye pants an emerald green, I mixed the colors per the instructions and the mix looked mustard yellowish pea green. Yuck. So I played chemist and added colors until the mix was a beautiful green. When I ran it through the soak process my pants came out dark BROWN. I had to bleach them four times to get the color light enough to color over. When I did the process again (following the color mix chart this time) the nasty color mix turned the pants the beautiful green I wanted. Lesson #1 learned.
Another instruction to not skip... I pulled a pair of shorts from my drawer to dye navy blue. They were beautiful at first but then faded with the first wash. My fault! I didn't think I needed the pre-wash step since the shorts were clean. But I use a fabric softener and that binds to the cloth so the dye won't hold. Definitely wash first with a detergent that has no additives or softeners. And don't use a fabric dryer sheet either. Lesson #2 learned!
Since following the instructions I've successfully dyed several pieces and they all came out great.
P.S. I'm posting this review for the Jet Black, Turquoise, Lemon Yellow and Fuchsia as I bought the four colors that are the basis for all other colors in the spectrum (CMYK in printing terms).
I bought this to dye my daughters Halloween costume. Jacquard dyes are the only ones I use because they hold up so well, I have stuff that I've dyed almost 3 years ago that is still almost as bright as it was immediately after I dyed it.
Feature Product
- Use this dye for immersion dyeing tie dye batik airbrushing garment dyeing screen printing spatter painting gradation dyeing and more!
- It will dye all cellulose and some protein fibers
- This package contains a 2/3oz jar of dye
Description
JACQUARD PRODUCTS-Jacquard Procion MX Dye. Use this dye for immersion dyeing tie dye batik airbrushing garment dyeing screen printing spatter painting gradation dyeing and more! It is a cold water fiber reactive dye when added to tap water it is the most vivid of all dyes for cellulose fibers. It will dye all cellulose and some protein fibers. This package contains a 2/3oz jar of dye. Powder solution changes color when adding water. Final result matches bottle label. Available in a variety of colors each sold separately. Conforms to ASTM D 4236. Made in USA.
I used this to dye a chair slipcover from beige to blue. I followed the directions and added soda ash to the water per instructions I saw in a video. The results were beautiful, though I ended up soaking for 2 days to get the desired color, and intentionally used a low concentration of color to water for a subtle effect. Very happy with the overall result!
RIT dye is junk, I like Dylon, but this stuff is the best Ive used. I dyed curtains from my twins’ nursery from teal to dark blue as they’ve gotten older. I mixed it up in 2 five gallon buckets and put 2 panels per bucket. I mixed it maximum strength and added the salt and it mixed up easily and thoroughly. Did a nice job, no spotiness, very even. The midnight had a definite purple undertone to it if that matters to people. Highly recommend. It’s cheaper than store bought because you have to do multiple coats to achieve desired results, with this that isn’t necessary to nearly the degree it is with say a RIT dye. I did 2 coats just because I wanted them DARK and they turned out beautifully.
This color is amazing. Just beautiful. I dyed silk charmeuse in a fade from peach to raspberry, for use on a lampshade. Pretty!
Wow this stuff is BRIGHT! I’ve tried just about every other fabric dye’s brightest green dye, and none of them compare to this stuff. Dyed some white denim shorts following the directions for use with salt and soda ash, NOT disappointed at all!
I dyed a 16 year old white denim sectional sofa covers (80 pounds) - It came out spectacular! I mixed four 8oz the dye containers in - small kids swimming pool with about 300 gallons of water, 40 pounds of salt( pre partially dissolved in boiling water) then added the soda ash. Came out better then I expected.
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