Belated Dye Help

[Betty & David Eyer <Betty_and_David@compuserve.com>]

Poster: Betty & David Eyer <Betty_and_David@compuserve.com>

Reponse to  Nicole Honeycutt <ladyemma@mindspring.com>


>>I need to get this Dye to set, like yesterday,
anyone have any ideas?<<

Sorry for the delay in response - not only is this not yesterday, it is not
even tommorrow, but I wanted to check some references before I answered. 

You do not say if you bought this red, or if you dyed it yourself.  Also no
mention of what kind of dye, natural, modern, what brand, etc.  However, it
is not really important to my message.

This "setting the dye" thing is an old wives tale with almost no basis in
fact.  There are only a few reasons to add anything to the rinse water - to
remove something in the dye that is injurious to the fibers (like acid or
alkaline) or because you are instructed to do so by the manufacturer of the
dye.   Think, folks!  Vinegar is just a mild acid.  What are you doing here
that a mild acid would help?  

Dye colors textiles by either combining with the fiber directly, or by
combining with a metal salt that has combined with the fiber or by sitting
in suspension within or around the fibers.  If the metal salt is likely to
re-attach to the rinse water because the rinse water is full of metal or is
off balance pH wise, there may be some argument to adjusting the rinse
water.  To succeed at that, you would have to have a very good
understanding of the chemical process going on in your dye pot and the
chemical state of your water.  It is generally easier for most folks to
just use better water.  If the dye is in suspension rather than truly
bonded to the fiber, it will wash out eventually and vinegar and salt are
not going to change that.  Some dyestuffs have a more stable bond to the
fiber than others and will not recombine with the rinse water - this is
spoken of as their "wash fastness".  I do not recall seeing any mention of
"setting" after baths in any period or modern recipe for natural dyes.   
If anyone out there has heard of a period "setting" procedure, I would be
glad to hear of it.  

Salt added to the dye bath can assist in the uptake of some dyes by making
the water "wetter".  Vinegar or washing soda can change the pH of your
water to neutral before, during or after the dying and this is generally  a
good thing unless your dye process depends upon pH to work (vat dyes like
indigo or orchil, for instance).  You can use a cheap pH test kit from a
pet shop to do this.  Alkaline can be very damaging to protein fibers like
silk and wool - the vinegar afterbath theory  has some basis in fact here,
partially due historically to the use of harsh lye soaps.  If you dye wool
or silk in an indigo bath, by all means, rinse it in a mildly acidic bath
of the same temperature as the dyebath to remove the remaining alkaline. 
However, you are doing nothing to "set" the dye by adding the vinegar.  You
do not need to do this with cotton, linen or hemp as they are not adversely
effected by alkaline. 

It is a really good idea in all natural dyes and most modern dyes to let
the fibers dry in the open air before rinsing the dye out of them.   With
indigo dyed wool or silk, I would dunk it in a mild vinegar bath the same
temperature as the dye bath and then hang it up to dry on a clothes line or
laundry rack.  This allows any active chemical processes to complete before
it goes in the rinse.  

I have read in modern accounts of using indigo, especially for intensive,
high contrast tasks like paining, batik and tye or stitch resist, that you
should "set" the dye with heat.  This includes ironing or tossing it into a
very hot dryer.  I do not remember ever seeing this in period writing,
probably because they did not have easy access to a heat process.  I have
used an iron to dry tie dye silks dyed with other things, such as cochineal
and it seems to work.  

I am not an expert on modern dyes, but I do know a few things about it.  If
you use RIT, it will bleed and it will fade and there is nothing you can do
about it.  Buy Deka or Procion dyes, to be had from a variety of mail order
craft suppliers, including Earth Guild.  These two come with instructions. 
Follow them.  

Some commercial dyers, especially those from third world countries where
hand dyed textiles are very valuable, deliberately use modern dyes in such
a way that they will bleed.  This is to make the consumer think they have
used natural dyes.  Look for this if you buy tie dye, batik, ethnic prints,
etc. 

You said this was a silk/linen blend.  Linen is notoriously hard to dye,
takes different treatments than silk and is partial to some dyestuffs more
than others.  The stuff washing out could be coming out of the linen
fibers.  Once again, not much you can do but keep rinsing.  

Magdalena de Hazebrouck
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