I have since tried overdyeing with more turquise and avocado to get the softer tones, but the dyes do not seem to be making any difference. I'm wondering if it is because I don't have enough liquid in the bucket? Is there a minimum amount of liquid required to get the dyes to take using LWI? I was actually dyeing the pants and 2 tanks, and the last application I think I applied 5 cups of dye and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Any suggestions? I'm about ready to try direct application or start over!
To get softer, lower-contrast tones, I'd try overdyeing with a duller color, instead of more turquoise and mixed green, and use a higher water ratio and more stirring to get the added color to be sort of smooth over everything, instead of intense in some places and not others. ProChem's Chino used to be the favorite for this back in the days before it was reformulated (when brown MX-5BR disappeared). It still might be the best choice, or whatever brown or grey seems best to you.
Cotton and rayon can usually be dyed several times (washing out between successive dyeings) before its dye sites get used up; the thinner the fabric, the fewer times you can redye it. I think this is probably not yet the issue in this case. Thin silks are where you normally run into the limitation of running out of dye sites.
I always have my fabric submerged, or nearly so, under the water by the time I've added all my dyes, extra water, and soda ash at the end, in LWI, even when I want strong contrasts. It sounds as though you use far less water even when you don't want so much contrast. If the garment is not submerged in water, it's more of a direct dye application situation than LWI. Not that there's anything wrong with direct dye application.
It's worth pointing out that the high-contrast version you've come up with looks quite nice. A little harder to wear than the muted version, though.
Paula
