# Non fading dye



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I have some white, Blue face Leicester roving I want to Dye.

But I want to use a Non fading dye. So what is out there?


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Acid dyes are very colorfast.
Here are the ones I like (and they are the best prices I have found).

http://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-acid-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html

Here is a recent handpainting project I did using fire engine red, sunshine yellow, and sapphire blue.
This is some Border Leicester handspun and that color is not going to wash out.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

I recommend Cushings, Greener, and Jacquard because...those are the only ones I have tried.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Ooo.. Excellent! 

Thank you for the photo of your colorful yarn and the link! And Thank you WIHH, for that info too. Lots to check out.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I use the acid dyes from Ashford and have been very happy with them.


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## Sarah J (Jun 28, 2003)

I love the Jacquard dyes. I got some gorgeous blues and yellows - haven't tried the red or green yet, but they're waiting in my closet for the right moment.

Please holler if I should get my own thread - not trying to hijack this one! Just reminded me that you guys might be helpful.

I'm looking to try some natural dyes soon and just purchased some Madder Root (among others). I know some of the natural ones fade faster and sometimes it depends on the mordant used. Any ideas on which ones/colors work better on regular wool?

Oh - my sheep are Sufflandics (Suffolk ewe with an Icelandic ram). They have the length of daddy's outer coat and have to be sheared twice a year, the softness of the undercoat and the crimp and thickness of mom! (this is also the white wool that I used the bluing on)


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I don't mind Sarah. Would like to know that too!


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Natural dyes need different PH levels depending on the dye. Madder root does best if you let it ferment for a couple weeks in water before use. Woad/indigo works well on wool but needs a ph of 10, while most wool likes things acid, so you have to be careful. Onion skins (which I am saving) can make lovely shades of pink, but are not very light fast. Same with some lichens. 

I had a chemist explain why natural dyes don't usually last as long to me last weekend, but now all I remember i something about ph and the "rings" of the dye molecules. But madder and woad and weld are usually pretty colorfast, which is why I suppose they were so popular long ago.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Someone at quilting group just gave me some lichens scraped off of granite rocks to make into dye. She said to put them in 50% water/ 50% ammonia and then let them ferment for three months or longer. Supposed to get magentas, pinks, lavenders and blueberry blues out of it. Should be interesting. No mordant, no boiling. My kinda dye.

Otherwise we dye with fresh indigo. Which is another no mordant, no boiling sort of dye. It actually oxidizes (rusts) the color onto the fiber. 

I've used the Jacquard, which if you don't mind boiling is a good dye. I can't really recommend Ritt or Jell-O though, as fast dyes.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I know lots of professional dyers use Lanoset (sp), I've not tried those. I've been using the Cushing Precusion dyes, they are a powder and come in little packets. GAM has a lot of dying experience so I would trust her recommendations, not that others are knowledgeable, they are. I've just seem a lot of GAMs work.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Hotzcatz, how are you so lucky as to get orchil lichens for dye?!? I've been wanting some for Viking things for about two years now!

I guess I just need to get up to the northwoods of Minnesota here and find some of my own. WIHH, are there any lichens on your property? :whistlin:


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## JanetJ (Aug 19, 2002)

I don't know how really 'natural' it is, but I think its pretty safe, I've used food coloring quite a bit for dying. I hand-painted some romney wool yarn and knitted it up into a hat for dh. He's been wearing that hat regularly for a year now, and no sun fading that we can see. I dyed some mohair very dark blue with food color to make the socks that I last knitted. I've worn them and washed them a few times now. There is a little blue color to the wash water, but the socks don't look like they're fading.

To use food color for dying, you presoak the yarn/fiber in vinegar water to open the pores, then add the food color to to the vinegar water. Put everything in a crock pot and cook it for at least an hour. When it's done, there is no more color left in the water. It's easy to do, and since its just food color, I consider it to be relatively safe.


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

The Gaywool dyes from Australia also work well, and they have lots of gorgeous pastels and interesting colors that the other brands don't have; their color choices are huge. They are an acid dye and already contain the acidifier in them. They cost about the same as the Jaquard dyes. Food coloring for dying isn't lightfast, which is a consideration for all dyes, even acid ones. Some colors are more lightfast than others, no matter the brand.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

One thing to consider is that so many of the dyes may be colorfast in terms of not washing out, they most likely are not 'light fast', meaning that they will fade when exposed to too much sunlight.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Thank you for the lightfastness issue. Something I will also have to do some research on.
I am hoping.... once I get the BFL fleece spun up and dyed, to have it made into a sweater for me...
So I am looking for color and light fast dyes.


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## notasnowballs (Dec 28, 2010)

I did a search, looking for how lnong the colnor with food coloring lasts, and so far I see a post here that they got a year out of it. The lightfastness issue never even occurred to me, although it makes sense. I only have 1 gaarment that the sun bleached out and that was a pollyester coat left outside for... months. I lost it and then found it. Here in Western WA we don't get enough sun for. The light to really be an issue.

I have been looking for a ceap and somewhat naturaL dyeing process for a while as I am getting bored w white and brown wool. Kiddo made some vvery l8ovely pink food coloring. Dyed wool. That is as far as I have gotten because we got busy. The plants are intriguingbut that may be in the future yet.


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## Rose1317 (Jul 26, 2011)

I use Cushing a lot on wool, but also like the economical and very color-fast KoolAid and Easter Egg tablets. Bright colors, and it is possible to mix and blend, they seem to
keep their bright shades for a very long time.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

My mother decided to re-dye her bathrobe using KoolAid to see if it really worked. It came out quite pink. Colorfast? I only know I have not been able to get the "pink" out of the once-upon-a-time white shirt of mine that she inadvertently tossed in with her robe.


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## JanetJ (Aug 19, 2002)

It's not 'colorfast'. It will leak little bits of color into the water. However, the item will still keep enough color to look good. be careful what else you wash with it, I guess. Dying method counts a lot. You can't just dump something into water with food color. I pre-treat the item with vinegar, then take the item out of the vinegar-water, add the color to the water, then put the item back in. I do this all in a crock pot. When I have added the color, then I turn on the crock pot, let it get VERY hot and stay hot for, oh, probably 20 minutes or so, then turn off the crock pot and let it cool all night.

The hat that I hand-painted with food color has not noticeably lost any color over the last year and more. I did the hat first, because hats are subject to sunlight more than other things. Of course, you can't just abandon the thing in the yard for months....


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

I dunno, she just brought them to me. She is a "snow bird" and spends half her time in Maine and half in Hawaii and she was all excited and brought me lichens. I still haven't put them in ammonia yet. :ashamed: There is something written on the package "Uintrilicaria mumulata Rock Tripe" The writing is hard to decipher, it could be much different than it looks. There's probably a half cup to three quarters of a cup if they were all squishes into powder. 

There's lichens that grow on coconut trees around here which also make pink/lavender/blue dye. Does the specific type of lichen make a difference or do all lichens make the same colors?

I guess I really aughta go get some ammonia and put them in a jar. She went to a lot of trouble to collect 'em, no doubt. Do you think they'll work on angora yarn? There's some white bunnies out there lined up for haircuts soon.



SvenskaFlicka said:


> Hotzcatz, how are you so lucky as to get orchil lichens for dye?!? I've been wanting some for Viking things for about two years now!
> 
> I guess I just need to get up to the northwoods of Minnesota here and find some of my own. WIHH, are there any lichens on your property? :whistlin:


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