All purpose dye

All-purpose dye is a hot water dye. It includes an assortment of dyes that'll run many different types of material and yarn, however particularly really on some of them. It's found in situations whenever a different sort of dye would do much better, largely because people are unaware that there are higher quality dyes they could use.

Understanding All-purpose Dye?

"all-purpose" dye is a mixture of Acid dye, associated with leveling acid type, for dyeing wool alongside pet (necessary protein) fibers, along with nylon, and Direct dye, for dyeing cellulose materials including cotton fiber, rayon, linen, etc. In some cases it could consist of an acid dye which also happens to get results pretty much as a direct dye. All-purpose dye is not familiar with color polyester or acrylic, therefore can not be found in cold-water.

Remember that business that produces Rit dye changed the remedies with regards to their all-purpose dyes in 2010. This page has not yet however been updated to mirror those changes. The latest treatments wont work with acetate, even though the old treatments did.

Great for Dyeing Fiber Blends

All purpose dye is best when coloring a blend of necessary protein dietary fiber (or nylon) with a cellulose fiber particularly cotton or rayon. Both fibers could be dyed roughly similar shade, at exactly the same time. A few examples of these combinations feature linsey-woolsey, Nycott (unless addressed with Teflon, which makes it undyeable), and any cotton fiber or rayon garment with plastic lace trim. Both of the sorts of dye in all-purpose dye tend to bleed and fade in the laundry, but a commercial dye fixative can be used to improve overall performance.

Wasteful for Single Fibers

However, whenever dyeing a pure dietary fiber of every type, or a mixture of a pure fiber with undyeable synthetics particularly polyester or acrylic (which need completely various dyes), this mixture of dyes represents a waste of dye and cash. If you should be dyeing pure cotton, the acid dye brightens the dyed item up only until it's cleaned for the first time, whereupon every one of the acid dye disappears into the sewage system. Alternatively, if you should be dyeing wool or nylon alone, the direct dye is squandered, and ultimately ends up down the strain. Why waste money on dye that wont also put on your fibre? It generates even more feeling buying pure direct dye (or, even better, fibre reactive dye), if you are dyeing cotton, also to purchase pure acid dye if you are dyeing wool or plastic.

Also, the treatments for all-purpose dye generally have countless sodium. Salt is low priced, nonetheless it makes the package may actually contain much more dye than it surely does. Salt is advantageous in dyeing solid colors, but triggers issues for specific dyeing approaches to that your dye is coated from the product.

If you purchase a pure acid dye by mail-order, or pure direct dye, or a fiber reactive dye, you can expect to usually become spending much less money in the long term. Only in the case of dyeing just one apparel, or while you are in a fantastic rush and high quality doesn't count, or when you are dyeing a mixed-fiber garment, does it sound right purchasing all-purpose dye.

Common Brands

All-purpose dye is sold under some brands, including Rit® brand dye, Dylon® Multi-purpose dye (Dylon® also offers fibre reactive dyes, inside their cool water and automatic washer outlines of dye), DEKA L® warm water Dyes, and Tintex® Fabric Dyes. The old Cushing® Union dye has also been an all-purpose dye, however they have actually since switched to selling their acid dye and direct dye independently, a move that we heartily applaud. The single top dye offered for house used in the US is Rit® brand all-purpose dye. The reason for its appeal is its ubiquity: just about any supermarket and pharmacy in america sells an assortment of Rit® brand name dye on a rack. Many people do not know that another type of dye is out there. Other dyes are discovered, with trouble, in a few crafts stores, or bought by mail. (See Sources for Dyeing Products.) The specific situation differs from the others in Canada and the UK, where Dylon® chilled water Dye is almost as easy discover.

Use the Right Recipe!

We have gotten numerous, many sad emails from people who tie-dyed tops with Rit® brand name all-purpose dye, and then see the dye wash out of the very first time they washed it. The reason for their particular problems would be that they utilized not the right meal! In the event that you use all-purpose dye cool, with squirt bottles, you will not be dyeing your material, just staining it. This is simply not the fault of the dye, but associated with use of the wrong technique.

To color cotton fiber with all-purpose dye, you must utilize heat, and sufficient time. Submerging the apparel becoming dyed in Rit® brand name dye and simmering hot-water will produce pastels after five full minutes, or much deeper, more intense shades after 30 minutes. The perfect temperature is far hotter than tap water can achieve, about 190°F (or 87°C). (observe could I tie-dye with all-purpose dye?.)

Remember that vinegar is neither essential nor ideal for dyeing cotton fiber with all-purpose dye, but should-be made use of whenever dyeing plastic or dyeing animal fibers eg wool. The producers of Tintex® High Temp all-purpose dye recommend the application of 100 ml (2/5 cup) of white vinegar per 4 liters of liquid when dyeing wool, silk, or nylon.

Try not to bother to incorporate soda ash when dyeing with all-purpose dye. Soda ash is employed only if dyeing with fibre reactive dye. It does not become a dye fixative for all-purpose dye.

Use enough Dye

Each packet of all-purpose dye includes just adequate dye for 4 to 8 ounces of material (100 to 200 grms). Black calls for two to four times just as much dye as other colors. Weigh the apparel you are dyeing, and be sure to make use of adequate packets of dye! lower amounts of dye can lead to paler colors. Attempting to dye black colored with only one packet of dye typically results in grey, not black colored.

Beware of Bad Advice

Some workers of a Michael's® Craft Store really advised one of my correspondants in order to make this wretched error. It will not matter, they said; just put the Rit® brand dye into squirt bottles, like Procion MX kind fibre reactive dye. Just how could they offer these types of completely wrong advice?! We have also seen webpages giving the exact same misinformation, which will be sure to doom any tasks made while after it.

Dissolving all-purpose dye in boiling water does nothing to make it stick to the fiber, if you let the dye cool before applying it. As a substitute, you may possibly apply a concentrated combination of liquid with Rit dye at room-temperature, wrap-up your material, yarn, or fiber in synthetic place even though it is nonetheless extremely damp with dye, and steam it for at least 30 minutes, in quite similar method in which might steam veggies. Heat of a prolonged amount of steaming may help the dye to install towards the fibre. Dry-heat cannot work; moisture should be present. Research to observe how really this deals with your products.

Make use of an After-Treatment to avoid Bleeding

If you dye cotton along with function dyes, really the only part of the dye that truly does such a thing is the direct dye. Direct dye is commonly poor at surviving washing; it sometimes wash-out slowly, bleeding on various other materials. The answer to the problem, which will be extensively employed by the textile industry, is apply a cationic dye fixative a while later which seals the dye into the dietary fiber. You can do this in the home by acquiring an item particularly Retayne®, Raycafix® (from G&S Dye), Dyefix® (from Batik Oetoro), Dye Fixative (from Dharma), or Pro-fix PCD® after-treatment (from Aljo). These products are now and again offered by the local quilting supply store, but usually should be purchased by post; see Sources for Dyeing products. Retayne is a cationic bulking broker which really glues the dye into the fiber, making the washfastness of even direct dyes rather acceptable. The organization which makes Rit dye has recently introduced their very own brand of dye fixative simialr to Retayne, that they call Rit Dye Fixative. I have maybe not however seen it in stores, however it is readily available by mail-order. Do not use vinegar to attempt to make all-purpose dye more permanant. This much-repeated guidance merely can not work, on cotton fiber.

Advantages of the Direct Dye in All-Purpose Dye

initial washing out All dyeing must certanly be followed by the removal of unattached dye. Fiber reactive dyes frequently take repeated washings to complete this; the popular Procion MX kind show could be the worst, inside regard, calling for a minimum of one cold clean pattern followed closely by two hot wash cycles. While all-purpose dye features the same issue in that the unused types of dye must certanly be washed out, the direct dye it self needs less washing down, from cellulose fibre, than Procion MX kind dye. Normally a significant concern just for large commercial dyers, but could be much more considerable, even for folks, during serious water shortages. lightfastness a bonus of certain direct dye colors is the fact that they might be more lightfast than specific dye colors in another dye class. It is definately not universal, but since many Direct dye colors are no more lightfast compared to the various other dyes we utilize.

Disadvantages of the Direct Dye in All-Purpose Dye

laundry Even with the application of a dye fixative eg Retayne, products colored with all-purpose or direct dye should not be washed negligently in heated water, as dietary fiber reactive dyes may be. A t-shirt colored with Procion MX kind dye is properly cleaned in hot water with a lot of white garments, once it's had the first few washings to remove every trace of extra dye. If you make a habit of always using only dietary fiber reactive dyes, you need never ever sort your washing for color once more! With direct dyes, you have to sort carefully in accordance with color, and wash only in chilled water. color strength Another disadvantage to direct dye such as that found in all-purpose dye usually most of the colors are quite lifeless. Compare the colors into the pictures of tie-dyes on well-designed and informative Rit® Dyes site to those in my gallery, say, and you'll notice a marked difference in the degree of brightness associated with colors. Observe that you can always combine opposing colors of a bright types of dye collectively to help make duller colors, however cannot mix bright colors from lifeless people. However, there are many direct dyes that are reasonably bright; see, as an example, PROchem's Diazol Direct dyes. protection

Many people suppose all-purpose dye is less dangerous than dietary fiber reactive dye, because it's so available. There is no foundation with this belief, nonetheless. Deborah Dryden, in her guide Fabric Painting and Dyeing for the Theatre, unveiled that all-purpose dyes have actually, in the past, contained a specific direct dye that was considered carcinogenic; since the producers of all-purpose dye do not disclose their particular components, however, there is no way to tell whether it is nonetheless true.

Indeed, in to the 1970s, all-purpose dyes for home usage are known to have included some quite dangerous direct dyes. More hazardous dyes consist of derivatives regarding the chemical substances benzidine or o-dianisidine, including direct black colored 1, direct red 28, direct black 38, direct blue 6, direct green 6, direct brown 95, direct brown 2, straight blue 2, and direct black 4. (understand government document "Benzidine and Dyes Metabolized to Benzidine" [PDF].) Some workers of dye makers in past times experienced bladder disease that was caused by experience of benzidine and benzidine-based dyes. (workers of dye organizations are exposed to higher amounts of dyes and their chemical precursors than other people.)

Claims that any art product is non-toxic are poorly controlled, and mean that it will not cause intense poisoning if inadvertently used; they cannot imply total security. It is usually vital that you prevent breathing powdered dye, of every type. Constantly put on gloves when working with dyes. Wear protection eyeglasses whenever pouring dye fluids.

Some acid dyes are much safer than the others. We don't know which are contained in all-purpose dyes, since this is a trade secret. I really believe that all-purpose dyes are safer than some of the most dangerous acid dyes, and far less dangerous than standard dyes or napthol dyes, but not safer than fibre reactive dyes.

Since no all-purpose dye has been tested for safety when eaten by people or pets, you must not expect to recycle your dyeing cooking pot for food preparation. Make use of a non-aluminum pot that you will never be utilizing for cooking. Should you want to manage to utilize a relatively inexpensive synthetic container, versus a cooking pot, use an awesome liquid fibre reactive dye, like Procion MX dye.

Conclusions

Use all-purpose dye should you want to make use of a single action to dye an apparel that's a combination of a cellulose fibre, such as cotton fiber or rayon, with either wool, another animal fibre, or plastic. (DyersLIST user Doug Wilson has revealed united states it is really feasible to color both cotton fiber and plastic in a mixed-fiber apparel with the exact same fibre reactive dye, but this involves a two-step process with two different pH levels. Wool could be dyed with fibre reactive dyes at a pH of 8 or 9, but nylon calls for an acid pH.) Otherwise, as much as possible, prevent all-purpose dye, in favor of a particular acid or direct or fibre reactive dye that specifically matches your dietary fiber and fulfills your needs. If you prefer an acid dye that's washfast, use a unique style of acid dye, eg Lanaset dye. If you need a cotton dye which washfast, choose a fiber reactive dye. For dyeing large quantities of cotton cheaply, mail-order direct dye in volume. Very carefully follow the producer's instructions for just about any particular dye. Do not use chilled water dye recipes for hot-water dyes such as those found in all-purpose dye. Follow the use of direct dyes, including the usage of all-purpose dye on cotton, with an after-treatment to enhance washfastness.