Dylon Permanent dye contains good
fiber reactive dye, mostly Driamene K, though the black contains a Remazol dye, my
favorite black dye, in fact, though I prefer to buy it from ProChem. Here's a link to a post on the dye forum on my site with more details than you need about
what dyes are used. The dye colors are premixed and are not designed for mixing your own colors.
Even on sale, Dylon Permanent dye is going to be
a lot more expensive, per pound of fabric that it can dye, compared to Procion MX dyes ordered from Colorado Wholesale Dyes, PRO Chemical & Dye, or Dharma Trading Company. Remember that each packet can only dye about eight ounces of fabric. If you're using pure Procion MX dyes, you need only about 4 grams of dye to dye that much fabric, but a two-ounce jar (58 grams) costs no more than two or three times what a single packet of Dylon Permanent dye costs.
The big thing you need to realize about Dylon Permanent dye is that it already contains soda ash or TSP, mixed into the dye powder, so there's no need to add any soda ash. Each package is supposed to be mixed with four cups of hot tap water (104°F to 140°F is ideal, not boiling water like cruddy
all-purpose dye), and also some salt, if I recall correctly. Follow the instructions on the package, as nearly as you can, because using way too much or way too little water will alter the final concentration of the soda ash or TSP, changing the pH so that it might not work quite as well. Also, don't save the dye, as it will be used up within an hour or two after you add water to it.
Dylon is GREAT dye compared to Rit dye! It makes brighter colors, lasts a hundred times longer before fading, and doesn't bleed onto other clothing in the laundry even if you don't sort your clothes (except for the first washing or two). You can use Dylon Permanent on cotton, rayon, linen, tencel, hemp, bamboo, or silk. Don't use it on wool because the high pH will damage the wool fiber, and don't use it on nylon because nylon, unlike silk and wool, does not take dye at a high pH.
I would not use Dylon Permanent dye for tie-dyeing, but you can use it for
low water immersion dyeing. Just stuff your clothing or fabric into a small container, mix the dye with the recommended amount of hot water, pour one or two colors of the dye onto the fabric until it is barely covered with dye liquid, wait the recommended time or overnight, then wash the fabric out, first in cold water and then in HOT water, to remove excess unattached dye. It's very easy.
Paula
Poll
