Colors to order?

[HippieMomOf5]

I ordered what I thought were the rainbow colors from dharma and was unhappy with the blue and purple.  They were both a bit too dark, and in some tees, the purple looked more blue.  What colors should I order??  I ordered scarlet, bright yellow, deep Orange, Kelly green, azure blue and blue violet.  Thanks!

[tiedyejudy]

I have altered some of my rainbow colors over the years, but here is what I usually get:
Fuchsia (I mix this lighter than the recommended intensity); lemon yellow; for orange I mix 1 part deep orange with 3 parts lemon yellow... less garish; bright green, turquoise and deep purple.  Sometimes I substitute scarlet for fuchsia, and sometimes I use cerulean blue for the purple...
Here's a sample of my colors in a shirt:

I used scarlet and cerulean blue on this one.

This one has light fuchsia and deep purple.
Hope this helps!  And don't be afraid to experiment with the amount of dye powder you mix.  Dharma recommends 2 tsp per cup for medium intensity, except where the indicate otherwise with '*' on the label next to the name, or in cases like fuchsia which is a very strong color.  I use about 1 tsp of fuchsia per cup of water, and even then I sometimes dilute it some so it doesn't overpower the swirl.
Have fun!  You'll get the combination you like... just takes a little eperimenting!
Judy     

[digitalcanvasimages]

Both shirts are very beautiful, but I'm particularly attracted to the top one. I think I will start getting stingy with my fuchsia. Not only is it very strong, but I go through it faster than the other colors.

[pburch]

If you didn't start with the basic colors, you should. Premixed colors can be fun, but it's a good idea to start with the unmixed pure colors first so you have a better idea of what you're doing, and so that you can mix the brightest colors.

Dharma's scarlet, bright yellow,  kelly green, azure blue and blue violet are all nice colors, but all are mixtures of other colors, and therefore they do not include the brightest, clearest colors. Only deep orange, from your list, HippieMomOf5, is a pure unmixed color.

I have two pages from my website to suggest:

• What colors should I buy to start out with? and
• Which Procion MX dyes are pure, and which are mixtures?

I suggest you get turquoise, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, grape, light red, fuchsia, either deep yellow or golden yellow, and lemon yellow, plus one of the black mixtures. If you don't want to buy that many, the most important primary colors for bright results are lemon yellow, fuschia or light red, turquoise, and a black for contrast to make all the other colors look brighter. It's fun to use premixed colors, as well, but sometimes you get odd colors where they overlap, and the premixed colors are not as bright as the brightest unmixed colors.

-Paula

[HippieMomOf5]

This one has light fuchsia and deep purple.     

Thanks Judy!  I love the second shirt!!  I bought hot pink but I think I really prefer the fushia!  I am leery about mixing colors but I guess I should try!  

[HippieMomOf5]

Here is a pic of a bunch of shirts I made for a benefit yard sale we were having.  Someone donated a bunch of white shirts to a family raising money to adopt and asked me to dye them to sell for them.  I definitely want a different batch of colors because the green/blue/purple section doesn't flow well to me.

[HippieMomOf5]

I suggest you get turquoise, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, grape, light red, fuchsia, either deep yellow or golden yellow, and lemon yellow, plus one of the black mixtures.

Can you explain to me what I do with those colors?  Will I need to mix some to get other colors?  I dont see what I'd use for green, or orange?  And the light red and fushia both look too pinkish.  Thanks for the links... I am going to check them out now!  

[pburch]

Mix fuchsia or light red with turquoise to get royal blue.

Mix fuchsia or light red with strong orange to get a true red.

Mix turquoise with lemon yellow to get bright green.

Mix cobalt blue with lemon yellow to get a darker green.

There is no Procion MX dye that is green. All Procion MX greens are mixtures of a yellow plus turquoise or blue.

There is no readily available Procion MX true red. All of the reds you see at Dharma are either bluish, or are mixed from fuchsia or light red, plus yellow or orange. There is one you can order from another country that is very expensive, but it's no better than a mixture made of light red plus strong orange. US suppliers don't carry it because it's not worth the cost. To get a true red, you must mix a magenta color with either yellow or orange. Fuchsia plus lemon yellow will give you yellow halos around red when you tie-dye, but light red plus strong orange stays together without separating out on the fabric.

Light red and fuchsia are the magenta colors you need for mixing. You MUST have what you think of as a "pinkish" color (actually bluish) in order to mix bright clear colors. You do NOT want a true red for mixing other colors, because it will give you brownish purples, instead of bright purples. You don't want to use royal blue for mixing greens, because the red in it makes your greens muddier - that is, use royal blue only if you want a more olive-toned green, not for a bright true green.

There's a reason why printers use cyan (turquoise), magenta, and lemon yellow, plus black, as mixing primaries. The colors they produce are much truer than anything you can get with a fire engine red or royal blue.

I could go on and on, but I have to go cook right now....

-Paula
 

[HippieMomOf5]

Mix fuchsia or light red with turquoise to get royal blue.

Mix fuchsia or light red with strong orange to get a true red.

Mix turquoise with lemon yellow to get bright green.

Mix cobalt blue with lemon yellow to get a darker green.

There is no Procion MX dye that is green. All Procion MX greens are mixtures of a yellow plus turquoise or blue.

There is no readily available Procion MX true red. All of the reds you see at Dharma are either bluish, or are mixed from fuchsia or light red, plus yellow or orange. There is one you can order from another country that is very expensive, but it's no better than a mixture made of light red plus strong orange. US suppliers don't carry it because it's not worth the cost. To get a true red, you must mix a magenta color with either yellow or orange. Fuchsia plus lemon yellow will give you yellow halos around red when you tie-dye, but light red plus strong orange stays together without separating out on the fabric.

Light red and fuchsia are the magenta colors you need for mixing. You MUST have what you think of as a "pinkish" color (actually bluish) in order to mix bright clear colors. You do NOT want a true red for mixing other colors, because it will give you brownish purples, instead of bright purples. You don't want to use royal blue for mixing greens, because the red in it makes your greens muddier - that is, use royal blue only if you want a more olive-toned green, not for a bright true green.

There's a reason why printers use cyan (turquoise), magenta, and lemon yellow, plus black, as mixing primaries. The colors they produce are much truer than anything you can get with a fire engine red or royal blue.

I could go on and on, but I have to go cook right now....

-Paula
 

Ahhh, this is all making sense now!    A few questions...

What is strong orange?  I don't see that listed anywhere!   

Is everything half and half?  I guess I just feel afraid to mix and just "play around" when it's expensive (for a stay at home mom to 5) when you add it all up.  I guess I couldn't really ruin the color too much, it just wouldn't be the shade I was expecting?? 

Sorry, I guess I'm newer to this than I thought!!  I feel like I have a good handle on the tying, I need to work on colors and dying!!

[tiedyejudy]

Here are some combos I use based on fuchsia, lemon yellow and turquoise:
These colors are made with dyes already mixed with water. 

Color                    Recipe
True blue           1-2 Tbsp fuchsia + ½ cup turquoise
True red          1-2 Tbsp. lemon yellow + ½ cup fuchsia
Orange           ½ - 1 tsp fuchsia + ½ cup lemon yellow
Purple           ¼ cup fuchsia + ¼ cup turquoise
Green          ¼ cup turquoise + ¼ cup lemon yellow
Lime          2-3 Tbsp. turquoise + ½ cup lemon yellow
Teal          2 tsp. lemon yellow + ½ cup turquoise
Pink          2-4 Tbsp fuchsia + ½ cup water
I got this from a basie tie-dye book I have had since I started.  I especially like the lime and teal that I get from these combinations.  Hope this helps!

[tiedyejudy]

Thanks Judy!  I love the second shirt!!  I bought hot pink but I think I really prefer the fushia!  I am leery about mixing colors but I guess I should try!  

The fuchsia I used here was just diluted, not mixed with other colors.  I probably used 1/2 tsp fuchsia dye powder to a cup of water on this one, maybe less.  So it's the ratio of dye to water that has been adjusted here, as opposed to mixing dye powders to create the color.

[pburch]

Oops, I used ProChem's name, strong orange, instead of Dharma's name, deep orange, even though I knew you'd ordered from Dharma. I mean orange MX-2R, anyway, whose generic name is Colour Index Reactive Orange 4.

I wrote this last night and didn't have time to post it. Judy's color mixing guidelines are a great approach. Here's another. You can't go wrong by doing this, and it will give you a feel for the colors, depending on how many bottles you have:

Mix up one squirt bottle each of fuchsia or light red, turquoise, and lemon yellow. (Use fuchsia if you like the way it separates, out from the other colors; use light red, instead, if you want your colors to blend very smoothly, without yellow halos around the red, or blue halos around the purple.)

Into a clean squirt bottle, put equal amounts of your dissolved fuchsia and your turquoise, for purple.

In another bottle, put equal parts of fuchsia and lemon yellow, for red-orange.

In a third bottle, put equal parts of lemon yellow and turquoise, for green.

In a fourth bottle, put a lot of turquoise and just a little fuchsia, for blue.

If you still have bottles left, consider making orange by mixing the red you mixed with additional yellow, making red-violet by mixing fuchsia with purple, and making blue-violet by mixing fuchsia with more turquoise.

Do a rainbow like this: fuchsia...red...orange...yellow...green...turquoise...blue...purple...fuchsia (starting at whichever point of the rainbow you like). Or just do part of the rainbow.

With just the three mixing primaries, cyan, magenta, and yellow, you can make the entire rainbow.

For a mild change, but still bright, substitute cerulean blue for turquoise. For a more 'autumnal' palette, substitute a golden yellow for the lemon yellow. For a more 'wintry' palette, substitute cobalt blue, which is one of several navy blues, for the turquoise.

-Paula

[pburch]

Here are some combos I use based on fuchsia, lemon yellow and turquoise:
These colors are made with dyes already mixed with water.  

Color                    Recipe
True blue           1-2 Tbsp fuchsia + ½ cup turquoise
True red          1-2 Tbsp. lemon yellow + ½ cup fuchsia
Orange           ½ - 1 tsp fuchsia + ½ cup lemon yellow
Purple           ¼ cup fuchsia + ¼ cup turquoise
Green          ¼ cup turquoise + ¼ cup lemon yellow
Lime          2-3 Tbsp. turquoise + ½ cup lemon yellow
Teal          2 tsp. lemon yellow + ½ cup turquoise
Pink          2-4 Tbsp fuchsia + ½ cup water
I got this from a basie tie-dye book I have had since I started.  I especially like the lime and teal that I get from these combinations.  Hope this helps!

Judy, what book did you get that from?

I have three Procion MX color mixing guides on my site, linked from the page How can I mix Procion MX dyes to get specific colors?. I think I should add that list, too, but, since it's already been published, I need to give the right credit.

-Paula

[tiedyejudy]

I'm sorry, Paula!  I should have posted the source.  It is 'Rainbow Tie-dye' by Sulfiati Harris, published in 1994.  I got this when I first started to tie-dye late in 1997, and you can tell!  It's stained with dyes, slightly ragged around the edges, but it has been a very good reference book!
Judy 

[pburch]

I have that book! I couldn't remember. That was a very good book, slim though it is. Long out of print, but Dharma's selling a new one by her that is supposed to contain the same info, plus more.

I didn't mean to be calling you on not citing your source. I don't generally expect it in a forum post.

-Paula