Outline for dyeing our cotton/Cellulose yarns:
You will need to use different dyes from the ones you are most likely using for wool. These are known as Fiber -reactive dyes, these also are sometimes branded as Procion MX DYES.
Although our cellulose yarns are prepared for dyeing they do benefit with an extra scouring step, this just helps the dye penetrate better and you will get stronger colours. For this, we recommend the following steps:
For 1 kilo add 20mls of Synanthrapol and 40gms of Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate) to a pot with plenty of water, add the yarn in, and simmer for 1 hour, rinse and then proceed as you would normally for dyeing a cellulose fibre. This is the same procedure if you are using natural dyes on these yarns, or Procion MX/Fiber reactive dyes.
The process when using fiber reactive dyes differs from acid dyeing in that you don’t need acid or heat, however keeping the dyes around 30-40C does help aid colour update. Dyes for cotton rely on a higher pH (10-11) rather than a lower one, cooler temperatures and time.
In addition to your dyes, you will need Sodium Carbonate (soda Ash) to increase the pH and make the yarn more Alkaline. In addition salt will be needed for good colour, preferably non iodised, but if that’s all you have its fine.
You may also find Urea helpful, as the dyes require a longer period of time to fix, this acts as a humectant (just means it attracts moisture). I use this if I am painting yarn with dye, but it’s not necessary for low-immersion dyeing, as the yarn will be submerged in water.
Quantities:
Salt needed per Litre of water:
Light colours 0.5% : 30g
Mid strength colours: 0.5 - 2% 40g
Stronger: 2 - 4% 50g
Strong colours over 4%: 60g
Soda Ash needed per Litre of water:
0.5%: 3g
0.5 - 2% 4g
2-4% 7g
Over 4%: 10g
Method 1: Fluid blended colours
Add salt to warm water and dissolve.
Add the yarn to the water bath and soak in the salt water, remove and squeeze excess water back in. Add the Soda ash and make sure its dissolved, add the yarn back in, and now add the dye solution and move yarn around so its saturated in colour.
Leave in a warm place or you can use a water bath Bain marie for 1.5 hours.
Rinse.
This method gives you good strong semi solid colours and multis.
Method 2: Dye fixing where it strikes more controlled
To note, if you are adding the above soda ash to the dyes for this method, you don’t need to scale up for each later of water as it will be going into the dye mix, it might not all dissolve and therefor you can probably use less, but I haven’t quantified the amounts yet.
Add salt to the water and add the yarn to the warm water, leave it to soak for 15 mintues.
Make up your dye solution and add the Soda Ash directly to the dye, add the dye onto the yarn, the dye fixes quicker this way as its a much stronger alkaline in the dye, this can result in more patchy colour, which can be exploited as you wish.
Leave in a warm place or you can use a water bath Bain marie for 1.5 hours.
Rinse.
Once you are done fixing the yarn it needs to be rinsed. Don’t panic if quite a lot of colour comes out. That’s quite normal with these dyes, rinse with cool water first, and then near the end, you can increase the heat to wash the excess particles out, but don’t use hot at first as this can cause dye release over subsequent washes. You can use Synanthrapol to help, or I sometimes use fairly liquid once I’ve done an initial rinse to remove any residual sodium carbonate.
I hope that’s helpful
J