Thickener?

[11girl]

Is there anything else I can use for thickener other than super clear or alginate- I want to do some dying NOW and am wondering if there is anything I might have in the kitchen or around the house that would thicken some Procion MX dye.

TIA!

[Jeau]

I heard about using powdered kelp somewhere, but now I can't think of the source.  I've never tried it, but it makes sense.  You can probably find it at your local co-op, if you've got one. 

[pburch]

You can dye without a thickener. It's just a different style.

Homemade thickeners such as cornstarch or wallpaper paste are fine for acid dyes, but they will react with Procion MX dyes just like cotton does, resulting in a lower color yield. Starch also causes problems with washout. I wouldn't risk it. Dye without thickener today, and order some alginate or superclear to use next week.

Paula

[OH tie-dyer]

I tried powdered kelp and it didn't thicken the dyes.  It turned the dye water brown, although it didn't affect the resulting colors.

[Jeau]

Wow...so much for that idea.  Had you found instructions somewhere?  What ratio or how much did you use?

[pburch]

There are different kinds of kelp in the sea. I'm not sure whether all of the kelp sold in health food stores contains similar quantities of the carbohydrates that act as thickeners. It's often sold as an iodine supplement (though in fact most Americans eat too much iodine even without it).

The True Tie Dye recipe in Tie Dye 101 says to use powdered kelp, but only one teaspoon in a gallon of water. That's a lot less than the two teaspoons of purified sodium alginate in Michael Fowler's tie-dyeing recipe.

Paula

[Sarah]

Old thread... Wondering if anyone has experimented with the powdered kelp since the last post.  Just found I am out of sodium alginate and I am supposed to dye tomorrow    Will just do without unless someone has had a positive experience with the kelp.  Thanks!