Direct dyeing

Direct dyes tend to be a class of warm water dyes for usage on cellulose materials, eg cotton. It really is among two types of dyes which can be mixed in 'all purpose dyes' particularly Rit, Tintex warm water dye, and Dylon Multi-purpose Dye. (others key in the blend is an acid dye, that'll maybe not stay in any cellulose fiber for very long.) Look for all of them pure, without having the ineffective (for cotton) and money-wasting acid dyes blended in to the 'all-purpose' dyes.

duller in color and poorly washfast

The colors on most direct dyes are generally duller than those supplied by fibre reactive dyes, especially after diminishing within the laundry. The washfastness of direct dyes is poor: expect everything colored with them to 'bleed' permanently. They are lacking the permanence of cold water fiber reactive dyes which many hand-dyers favor for usage on cellulose fibers. Because of this, garments dyed with direct dyes ought to be laundered in chilled water just, with closely similar colors. The washfastness problem can be paid off following dyeing if you use a cationic after-treatment particularly Retayne.

inexpensive

Exactly why direct dyes are used is because of cost. Even though acquireable all-purpose dyes that incorporate a combination of direct and acid dyes are very pricey, per lb of textile becoming dyed, direct dyes offered alone and bought in bulk tend to be on the list of cheapest of most dyes.

single dye shower

Direct dyes tend to be used in hot-water, typically between 175°F and 200°F. They can be applied in the same boiling-water dyebath with acid dyes (whether for same-color effects, as in all-purpose dyes, or contrasting effects, as in the case of AlterEgo brand dyes).

protein materials, too

Direct Dyes are utilized on cellulose fibers including cotton fiber, rayon, and linen, nonetheless they will color silk and wool unless dyeing is followed by a chemical 'reserving agent', which unfortunately is unavailable to house dyers (except, perhaps, as a feature in Alter Ego's very costly proprietary 'fixative').

lightfastness

Direct dyes are not typically much more lightfast than dietary fiber reactive dyes; many direct dyes are less resistant to light than similarly-hued fiber reactive dyes, and both tend to be less lightfast than vat dyes. You can find just a couple of instances in which a particular direct dye might be even more lightfast than comparable colors of fiber reactive dyes (see About Lightfastness). For instance, Colour Index Direct Orange 39 and Direct Blue 86 can be reasonably lightfast, with a rating of 6 (on a scale of just one to 8). While many fibre reactive oranges are as lightfast, not all are; the favorite Colour Index Reactive Orange 4 rates just 4 thereon scale, as the Turquoise Reactive Blue 140 prices 5-6 thereon scale.

Regrettably, the cationic dye fixatives, such as for example Retayne, that are expected to render the washfastness of direct dyes acceptable also decrease lightfastness somewhat.

how direct dyes bond towards fibre

Direct dyes are merely loosely linked to the fibre molecule through the property called substantivity, the inclination of this dye to associate with the dye without strong bonds. This substantivity is increased by increasing the size of the dye molecule, so direct dyes tend to be big. Tiny dye particles tend to be brilliant, while big dye molecules are generally duller (as there are many components that can absorb additional wavelengths of light), therefore direct dyes are usually much less bright in color than fiber reactive dyes. Substantivity is believed to derive from a mix of the relatively weak Van der Waals causes plus some hydrogen bonding.

Retayne Fixative

Stops direct dye from bleeding and diminishing when you look at the laundry!

(see just what types of substance bonds attach dyes to fibers?, where this section first showed up.)

resolving the washfastness issue for direct dye

All direct dyes perform rather defectively regarding washfastness. Without an appropriate after-treatment, direct dyes bleed only a little with every washing, dropping their particular brightness and endangering various other clothing washed in identical load. However, you can find special after-treatments that might be always solve this problem. (Vinegar is not included in this! Regardless of claims you may see on contrary, you can not utilize vinegar setting any dye on cotton fiber or any other cellulose products.) A cationic dye fixative, eg Retayne, which basically "glues" the dye to the fiber, works very well to produce material dyed with direct dyes washable without hemorrhaging associated with the dye. ProChem and Dharma Trading business both carry Retayne; if you're fortunate, perhaps your local quilter's supply store will, also. Aljo and Dharma have their very own brands of similar items, too. See Sources for Dyeing materials for email address, to mail-order these items.

where you should purchase direct dyes

Dharma's Industrial dyes tend to be eight different colors of direct dyes—"not as washfast or since bright as our other dyes, but simple & low priced". They have been really inexpensive to make use of, costing as little as 6 dollars per lb of material is colored. A pound of Dharma's Industrial Dye costs just $6.

PRO Chemical & Dye's old list of direct dyes and their Colour Index numbers

DIAZOL DIRECT DYES:

name	PRO Chem #	c.i. quantity
Lemon Yellow	C150	Direct Yellow 50
Brilliant Pink	C309	Direct Red 9
Scarlet	C323	Direct Red 23
Fundamental Red	C380	Direct Red 80
Greenish-blue	C482	Direct Blue 98
Brilliant Blue	C488	Direct Blue 293
Neutral Brown	C516	Direct Brown 116
Jet Black	C622	Direct Ebony 22
Blue-black	C680	Direct Ebony 80

PRO Chemical & Dye until recently sold a cheap type of nine various direct dye colors underneath the title "Diazol Direct Dyes". Dyeing one-pound of textile to a medium color calls for only 2.25 grams of dye, not as much as is needed for many dye kinds. This means a pound of dye could be adequate to color above 200 weight of cotton fiber textile. See their particular directions for Immersion Dyeing using Diazol Direct Dyes. Different colors have various expenses, with rates becoming set reduced for the inexpensive dyes, without all becoming set to similar price as the most expensive color, as with many companies. ProChem ended up being strange among hand-dyers' suppliers in-being upfront about which dyes are included, allowing you to find out far more by what products you are utilizing.

Aljo Mfg. offers the exact same direct dyes that ProChem familiar with, by colors Index Number, along with mixed colors. They may supply their particular dyes in a different power, but you can require 100percent of standard power.

Jacquard items features introduced a type of direct dyes called iDye, to go with their line of low-energy disperse dyes called iDye Poly. The 2 kinds of dyes might be blended so that you can dye cotton/polyester combinations in a single dyebath. Although directions come for dyeing with iDye in washer, dyeing polyester or blends with iDye Poly requires boiling regarding the stovetop. iDye is much more costly per usage than Industrial Dyes or Diazol Direct Dyes, since it is packed in individual-use packets like Rit or Tintex all-purpose dye. Each 14-gram iDye packet will dye two to three pounds of textile, at a price between $3 and $4. Specific identities of this specific dyes found in iDye tend to be not known for this journalist, plus the manufacturer reports that all them are proprietary blends; thus, information for lightfastness and washfastness are not readily available and require examination by the specific user. Two noteworthy people in the iDye range are a fluorescent yellow, that'll appear to glow under sunlight or a blacklight, and a Sun Blocker, whoever primary ingredient is the same as that found in Rit sunlight Guard (we've discovered Rit Sun Guard to be quite effective in turning garments into a strong sunscreen).