blending

[HelenaBouquet]

What i am wanting to happen is for my colors to blur or blend on the fabric (in a narrow width, say an inch or less).  I saw/read somewhere in this forum some examples (i couldn't find again) of dyeing on dry fabric and drying on wet or damp fabric and appeared that the dry, surprisingly, seemed to blend more.  Well, im not having that experience.  I am getting frustrated with lack of blending, i dont like a harsh line/color difference, i like a blur.  Sometimes it seems i get that but im not sure how i get that, i have squeezed the damp fabric and it seems like it has to be pretty darn wet to get that mix to occur but i think i lose a lot of color intensity by having it so wet.  I like to paint with watercolors so it's just taking forever for it to sink in that these dyes just dont do what watercolor does.  If you have wet paper in watercolor and add pigment it just blurs, expands out and all lines disappear.  It just doesnt happen with dye, feel like Homer Simpson, i just never learn.

[tiedyejudy]

Hi!  I think the posts you are looking for are under Dyeing Techniques, LWI wet vs dry.  I recently tried LWI as described by Kathy and I was surprised as well that dyeing shirts that were dry, vs wet, made the dyes blend more.  I have a half-baked notion that if you use this method with dampened shirts, the moisture acts as a resist to allowing the dye to migrate.  Oddly enough, I have had just the opposite results with direct application dyeing.  So I give up trying to grasp the chemistry part... Paula can probably do a much better job of explaining the why.  I also learned through my experiments the importance of using ENOUGH dye!  I had some cases where I didn't totally cover my garments with dye and water, and didn't get the results I had hoped for.  At any rate, read the posts and you may also want to browse Paula's instructions at:
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/lowwaterimmersion.shtml.  I have benefitted from both sources.

Happy dyeing!

Judy

[pburch]

What i am wanting to happen is for my colors to blur or blend on the fabric (in a narrow width, say an inch or less).

The real key in getting dyes to blend smoothly on the fabric is to allow them to migrate on the fabric before fixing them with soda ash. Once they have bonded to the fabric, they are not going to move at all!

If you use soda ash as a presoak, fast-reacting dyes such as fuchsia (red MX-8B or reactive red 11) will strike very quickly and not blend at all. In contrast, a slower reacting dye such as turquoise (turquoise MX-G or reactive blue 140) will have plenty of time to migrate on the fabric before reacting, even if you have presoaked with soda ash.

It helps to create bands on the fabric of intermediate colors of fabric. For example, if you want a blue-to-red shading, mix up a bottle of red using red MX-5B (reactive red 2) instead of fuchsia, since it strikes the fabric more slowly and blends better, and mix up a bottle of turquoise, and have several empty squirt bottles handy. In the middle bottle, place a mixture made up that is half red and half blue, just mixing some of the liquid dyes you've already mixed up and placed into the first two bottles. In another bottle, mix a small amount that is 3/4 red and 1/4 blue; in another, 3/4 blue and 1/4 red. Then when you squirt the dyes on the fabric, there is less blending on the fabric that needs to be done. Apply a wide band of red, then a very narrow band of red-purple, then a narrow band of purple, then a very narrow band of blue-purple, then a wide band of blue.

To get dyes to really spread and mix smoothly, let them blend on the fabric before you fix them with the soda ash. Don't presoak with soda ash as for tie-dye. Even fuschia will migrate and blend nicely on the fabric if you add the soda ash only after the dye has been allowed to spread on the fabric for a little while. The dye will not react with the fabric until the soda ash is present. You can squirt the dye on the (dampened) shirt, which you have laid out flat, and then let it sit for a while for the dye to deep and blend on the shirt; then you can pour on either After-Fix, which is sodium silicate,  or else a mixture of soda ash (0.5 to 1 cups of soda ash per gallon) and salt (add a little more than can dissolve, about two ppounds per gallon). The high concentration of salt helps keep the dye on the fabric from releasing into the soda ash solution. Or, you can buy After-fix sodium silicate solution and use that in the same way; it is a liquid substitute for soda ash that is sold by dye suppliers.

Paula

[pburch]

I have a half-baked notion that if you use this method with dampened shirts, the moisture acts as a resist to allowing the dye to migrate.  Oddly enough, I have had just the opposite results with direct application dyeing.  So I give up trying to grasp the chemistry part...

Not that you want me to tell you this, but I think this one's an issue of physcis rather than chemistry. What encourages dye to wick along the fiber? In LWI, prewetting seems to retard blending, and in direct application of dye on soda-soaked shirts, the reverse seems to happen. It seems that we are all agreed on these observations, we're just not sure about what is going on. None of us are sure, I think; I know I'm not.

I think that the key is that in LWI, the more squashed-together parts can't absorb much liquid. These correspond to the tightly-tied regions in tie-dyeing. Since we are not moving around or manipulating the fabric at all, we're not encouraging the dye to creep into places where at first it doesn't want to go, so the only force actually getting the dyes into the more compressed sections is wicking action. If we put in water first, it wicks into the fabric, and no more wicking occurs. So, in LWI, prewetting increases color contrast.

In tie-dyeing, most of the garment is not actually compressed by the ties. The parts that are often remain white, depending on your personal style. If we squish the dyes around a lot, though, we can encourage them to flow into areas that they cannot wick into, so the white parts do get colored. It is okay to have prewetting parts because wicking is not the main means by which dye spreads, in tie-dyeing. Most of use tend to manipulate our tied items a lot as we dye them. So, wicking is not the issue, unlike the case in LWI, and so prewetting does not impair dye flow.

That's all more my guess than any actual knowledge. What do you think, Judy, does it make sense?

Paula

[tiedyejudy]

Hi, Paula.  That's the first time I think I have heard or seen that term.  But the impact of wet vs dry, depending on whether you are using LWI or direct application, does agree with my experience.  As for chemistry or physics,  it's all greek to me!  I barely passed my H. S. biology class!  I have learned more science from you than I ever did in school!  Thanks, teach!

Judy

[HelenaBouquet]

I think i get it now, at least the idea , thanks for the input.  I'm trying to resist doing anymore dyeing, because i just have such a hard time with it but i did come across a craft store that sold procion dye and decided to try a different red.  I bought, carmine red, medium blue and lilac.  Before all i ever had was fuchsia, turq.,  yellow and blue voilet and lavender.  I wasnt getting the colors i wanted with these.  There's a shade of purple and blue i really want but cant seem to make so i'm hoping these colors will help, i really dont like the red purple that seems to dominate what i have, it's just the wrong shade for what i want.
thanks again for the help,
Helena

[tiedyejudy]

Don't give up hope!  I struggled with purple (both purchased and mixed by me) for quite awhile before I came up with what I am using now.  I got Prochem's Mixing Red and Mixing Blue, and I get a very vivid purple now.  Turquoise, Fuschia and Yellow are the 3 colors usually found in starter kits, but they are just the beginning.  And I do recommend at least getting a catalog from one of the major suppliers, available at www.prochemical.com, or www.dharmatrading.com, or do some research on the web to come up with others.  My experience is that local craft stores don't carry nearly enough selection or quantity... they may get you started, but you will need to expand if you want truly awesome results!  
Keep on dyein...


Judy

[steve]

Helena--

Give Prochem an email--they have the best variety of dye shades available. They also sell 2 ounce containers of dye at the same price as those tiny jars found at craft stores. Make sure you ask for their color chart. Ultraviolet is a nice blue purple. Check out the purple swatches I dyed in the color area. While you are there check out the reds and blues.

Also when it comes to blending colors--I just overlap my application of colors when I want a less distinct transition. It can result in great effects! I throw dye all over the place when doing spirals.

Judy--What is your formula for the purple? Could you post it in the purple thread and perhaps a picture that shows us what it looks ike?

Steve

[tiedyejudy]

Judy--What is your formula for the purple? Could you post it in the purple thread and perhaps a picture that shows us what it looks ike?

Steve

My current formula is half mixing red and half mixing blue.  I will post a picture, but I find purple to be very difficult to get a true picture of.  Let me run it thru my editor, then I will get one up for you.

Judy

[dewms]

  then you can pour on either After-Fix, which is sodium silicate,  or else a mixture of soda ash (0.5 to 1 cups of soda ash per gallon) and salt (add a little more than can dissolve, about two ppounds per gallon). The high concentration of salt helps keep the dye on the fabric from releasing into the soda ash solution.  

Do you just "pour on" out of a squirt bottle?  Or can you soak it in a bucket?  Thanks, De

[HelenaBouquet]

I might try the home version with salt and soda ash just for the fun of it, thinking of maybe spraying it on, if the sprayer could handle it.

Very much appreciate Everyone's input!

Thanks:)