The Dye I Use For Tie Dyeing
I get a lot of inquiries about what kind of dye I use to make my tie dye shirts, so I thought I would write a blog post and try to answer those questions.
The specific type of dye that I use is Procion MX Fiber Reactive Dye (also known as a dichlorotriazine dye). It is a permanent dye that works on cotton, rayon, and other natural cellulose fibers. The method for using this dye is not exactly the same for all natural fibers though. For the purpose of this blog, I am only going to discuss the way the dye is used for cotton.
One of the things that makes Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes so great for tie dyeing is that they actually bond with the fabric fibers making the color permanent. I have shirts that are well over 10 years old and they are still as bright and vibrant as the day that they were made. In my experience, the fabric of a shirt usually wears out before the dye ever starts to look faded.
The dyes come in a powder form and are usually sold by weight. The components in each color make them weigh different amounts. Therefore, you can purchase a 2 ounce container of one color and the container may be almost full, where the 2 ounce container of another color may only be partially full. This is normal, your supplier isn’t skimping on the amount they are putting in the container. The dyes are also different prices depending upon the color and components used to make that color.
The dyes come in a variety of colors. In tie dye the primary colors are considered to be: Lemon Yellow, Fuchsia, and Turquoise. Some of the colors are pure colors, but many of the colors are mixed colors. Paula Burch has a table on her website that lists the pure Procion MX colors from several suppliers: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/pureMXcolors.shtml If you haven’t ever visited her website, she has a lot of useful tie dye information. She also has a chart showing how to use the pure colors to mix various other colors. Each supplier uses the pure colors to mix other beautiful dye colors. Resulting in each supplier carrying unique mixed colors.
There are a lot of companies that sell Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes in the United States, and I buy my dyes from several different suppliers. The first company that I ever purchased dyes from years ago was Dharma Trading Company in California: https://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-fiber-reactive-procion-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html Dharma has a very large selection of dye colors and their customer service is great. They also sell the other chemicals need to tie dye (soda ash, urea, etc…) as well as blank clothing and other items to dye - along with a large selection of other fiber art supplies.
I also purchase from Custom Colours in North Carolina. https://customcoloursinc.storenvy.com/ This is a small business that has excellent customer service. The owner offers a rather large dye selection and I believe he also has an Ebay store. To my knowledge, he only offers dye and sodium alginate (thickener for dye).
Grateful Dyes is another dye company that is located in Colorado. https://www.grateful-dyes.com/ One of my favorite colors that they sell is “Royal Purple”, but they have a lot of other beautiful colors as well. You can also purchase the chemicals along with clothing blanks and etc… from Grateful Dyes. Each time I’ve ordered from them they ship my order out quickly and I usually receive it within a couple of days. They too offer great customer service.
Pro Chemical and Dye in Massachusetts is also one of the suppliers that I purchase from. https://prochemicalanddye.net/pro-mx-fiber-reactive-dye.html They have a rather large color selection and great customer service too. Their website offers all the chemicals needed as well as other textile supplies. Each time I’ve ordered from them they have shipped my order rather quickly.
The final company that I’ve ordered dye from is Dyespin in Missouri. https://www.dyespin.com/ I just discovered this company a few months ago and so I don’t have a lot of experience with them yet. I ordered some of their dye to try and so far I am very happy with the results. I made color swatches and the colors were beautiful. The colors on their website were a great representation of what the swatches I made looked like. They offer the chemicals and tools needed, and they shipped my order really fast. I didn’t need to contact them, and so I can’t comment on their customer service.
“Why buy from so many suppliers?” Well, the past couple of years has been kind of tough on dye availability. It kind of started with a shortage of Turquoise, followed by Covid shortages in general, and finally the temporary issues with obtaining Cerulean Blue. So, I had to find alternate places to get the colors that I needed/wanted. Since each supplier mixes their own colors, I’ve fallen in love with some of the colors that each supplier offers. I love trying new colors and having a variety of choices. The suppliers I’ve listed above are not the only United States dye suppliers - they are just the ones that I’ve ordered from and have some familiarity with.
As a side note - Dharma Trading Company, Grateful Dyes and Pro Chemical and Dye all offer tie dye kits that use the dyes they sell. This is a great option if you just want to try tie dyeing in general or if you want to give a tie dye kit as a gift.
Each supplier offers instructions for mixing their dyes to match the color samples represented on their websites. I won’t get into how to mix dyes for each of the suppliers that I’ve mentioned, but you can find their instructions on their websites. You can mix them more or less concentrated to make a darker or lighter shade of the color. However, if you want your colors to most closely match the color sample on your suppliers website, it’s best to mix the dye according to the suppliers instructions. The amount of dye used is also different depending upon the color. Dharma uses an asterisk system to let you know how much dye to use. For example: a color with 1 asterisk beside the color name is mixed using 2 teaspoons of dye and 1 cup of water. A color with 2 asterisks uses 4 teaspoons of dye and 1 cup of water. Finally, a color with 2 asterisks uses 8 teaspoons of dye and 1 cup of water. I have a YouTube video showing how I mix my dyes: https://youtu.be/3oMVD4ilBkE
The dye can also be used in powder form for ice dyeing and hot water irrigation. As a reminder - the dyes are very fine and I always use a respirator with a P100 particulate filter when I handle them in the powder form. The dyes are generally considered to be “non-toxic”. However, some tie dyers have become allergic to the dye from repeatedly breathing it into their lungs. I also wipe the area where I have used the powdered dye with a damp rag to get up any excess dye after I’m finished using it. It’s really important to protect your lungs!
I’m fortunate to have a dedicated dye area that isn’t inside my home. If you are choosing to tie dye in your home, or if you are mixing your dyes in your kitchen - please make sure and clean up the area appropriately before preparing food. I also have dedicated measuring spoons and cups, containers, dye spoons, etc… that I use only to tie dye. I don’t use items for both food and tie dye.
In order for the Procion MX Fiber Reactive dye to permanently bond with the fabric, you must use Soda Ash (sodium carbonate). The sodium carbonate raises the pH so that the dye can bond with the fibers. You will hear it also referred to as a fixative. I purchase mine from Dharma Trading Company. I use 1 cup of soda ash in 1 gallon of water to mix my soda ash solution. Before tying the t-shirt, I usually soak my t-shirts in the soda ash solution for about 20 - 30 minutes to make sure they get really well saturated. Then I put them in my Panda Spin Dryer https://amzn.to/3sYETBj and wring them out until they are barely damp. If you don’t use the soda ash - the dye won’t be permanently bonded to the fabric.
Soda ash is alkaline and can be a skin irritant. I wear gloves when handling dry soda ash or items that have been soaked in a soda ash solution, and I always use my respirator when I am using it in powder form.
I get the question, “Can I add the soda ash directly to my dye?”. The answer to that is - “It depends.” If you are going to add the soda ash to your dye and use all of the dye up immediately - then yes you can. However, once you add the soda ash to the dye the reaction begins and the dye won’t be good for very long. Essentially, if you don’t use it immediately your dye won’t be as bright and vibrant. The only time I’ve done this is when I’ve just dyed a very small area of a shirt (to repair a shirt), or when I used the dye to paint a small area on a shirt.
The only other chemical that I add to my dye is Urea. Urea is a humectant and will help keep the fabric from drying out while it is processing (once an item dries out - the dye will stop reacting and bonding with the fabric). Urea also helps to get the dyes into solution. I purchase my Urea from Dharma Trading Company and I only use it in my liquid dye - not when I ice dye.
I get asked often if Urea is a “necessary” item. My short answer is “No”. Where I live it gets really hot during the summer, and so it’s become a habit for me to add it to my liquid dye. However, if you live where it is cool, or don’t have any issues getting your dye colors to dissolve well - feel free to leave it out.
The final ingredient needed for Procion MX Fiber Reactive dye is heat. After applying the dye to the shirt, it must be allowed to process or batch in a room that is above 70 degrees Fahrenheit for the colors to be as bright and vibrant as possible. Some colors like Turquoise turn out best at warmer temperatures. I usually allow my shirts to batch for at least 24 hours or longer.
I only use Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes for my tie dye and so I am not familiar with many of the other types of dye on the market today. I often get asked about Rit Dye or various kits that are available, along with other types of dye that can be purchased outside of the US. Unfortunately, I haven’t ever used Rit dye and I am not familiar with other dyes outside of the US, and so I can’t help with those questions. I do know that some of the craft store tie dye kits from the US use the Procion dye - but most craft kits dilute down the colors and add the soda ash directly to the dye. Therefore in my experience, the shirts don’t turn out quite as bright and vibrant.
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