DESIGN

Alternative Fabric Dyes?

Does anybody know of a versatile alternative to fabric dyes?

I have tried a few inks and also food colouring but these seem to either wash out or just fade quite noticeably.

I found that diluted acrylic paint works quite well as I can mix them into whatever colour I want, which is ideal. They also airbrush very well (as long as they are diluted enough).

However, they do appear to fade as well, although no way near as much as some of my other experiments.

Is there anything I can use to stop the paint fading as much or are there any better alternatives that I can also use to mix custom colours easily?

I am a complete novice when it comes to textiles as you may have guessed.

Thanks! )

You don’t need an alternative to fabric dye. You need a much higher quality fabric dye!

Poor quality dyes such as Rit dye inevitably fade quickly, but if you choose the right dye for your fabric, it will last for years. If you are dyeing cotton, use a fiber reactive dye, such as Procion dye. It reacts directly with the cotton and forms a permanent chemical bond. If you are dyeing a synthetic fiber such as polyester, you must boil your fabric with a special polyester dye called disperse dye.If you are dyeing wool or nylon, the best and longest-lasting dye is called Lanaset dye. It can be washed even in hot water without fading.

Inks and paints will fade. Unless they are specifically intended for use on fabric, they will not attach permanently to the fabric. High quality fabric paints, when properly heat-set, last much longer, but because they sit on the surface of the fiber, even the best paints will tends to wear off in the wash. Hand wash carefully, or at least turn your painted clothing inside-out to wash; avoid machine-drying if possible, because line-drying will not cause the paint to wear off as quickly.

Acrylic paints that are not marketed as fabric paints will color the fabric at least temporarily, but they add an unpleasant scratchy feel to the fabric. Fabric paints are much nicer, though not as nice as a really good dye. You can make fabric paint from acrylic artist’s colors by mixing it with Liquitex Fabric Medium, but it’s harder to find than a good fabric paint such as Setacolor or Dye-na-Flow.

Food coloring will just wash out unless you are dyeing wool, silk, or nylon. You can use food coloring as a textile dye if you are dyeing protein fibers, or nylon, but it’s no good at all for cotton or for synthetic fibers other than nylon.

The most permanent color for cotton fabric is Procion MX fiber reactive dye; it will last for years without fading, even if you wash it in hot water. This is the kind of dye used in the best tie-dye kits. You can also buy it in crafts stores in the form of Jacquard Procion dye, Tulip One Step Fashion Dye, or Dylon Cold Dye. For an enormous range of color choices, mail-order Procion MX dyes from a good dye supplier such as Dharma Trading Company, which sells over a hundred different shades of Procion dye. Find a good recipe that calls for soda ash to set the dye. Your results will be so much better once you finally get some high quality dyes!

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