Hello from Massachusetts

[bealltod]

Hi, Gang. I joind here last week after returning to enhance my knowledge.
I started searching for tips in the summer about tie-dye while my wife & I were dying some T-shirts for fundraising here following a very damaging tornado on June 1, 2011. As a result of the search, I learned about tying a double-twist (haven't got the triple mastered yet) and dying the "cresting wave" pattern. Wow, that was cool. We've experimented a lot, been kind of free-form and spontaneous and had a lot of fun.

The other day, we did a small batch of the white tornado relief shirts and the colors came out pastel rather than the bold, true colors we had before. So, back I came to itiedye for the answer and found several possibilities including old soda ash, old dyes (procion from Dharma) and ambient temps. More complicated than I wanted, but really reassuring and we'll work it out with your help, I'm sure.

So thanks for the info already; I bet we'll be back frequently. - Tod & Elinor

[brixter]

Hi Tod!
 Welcome back to the forum! Lots of info on this site and tons of cool folks willing to share what they've learned. It's awesome you're doing what you can to help those in need and I for one would be thrilled to pass along any ideas which would help. Did you happen to use dye which you had mixed previously for an earlier batch of shirts? Old dye will make muted colors like you describe. Wishing you luck and vibrant colors!
Peace from PA!
Kenny

[Releaf]

This may seem a bit too obvious, but did you also check the fiber content of the shirts?  That's the first thing I think of when I hear things came out pastel instead of bright.  If the shirts are a blend, instead of 100% cotton, you'll get pastels.  Sometimes they can even be mislabeled -- I remember it happening with a Dharma product once (they made it right once they found out, of course). 
Welcome back to the forum and good luck with your projects.