I keep my dye concentrates in a mini frig.
I mixed them up last January 2015.
I have been using them all year long...
I was getting concerned that maybe
they were losing their potency?
This green fabric was dyed with them today...
I am pleased with the way the fabric
took the 10 month old dyes.
This piece was dyed with 3 or 4 different green dyes.
I decided to use up all of the dyes in the frig today:
This is black dye.......
It definitely has lost most of his potency...
I have been told that black dye works best when
it is freshly mixed up and used right away.
Maybe that holds true?
This piece was done with Azure Blue and Deep Purple...
These 2 colors dyed really well
Deep and Rich colors!
The warm colors dyed really well...
I am pleased with this red piece of fabric.
This is dyed with several different red dyes.
This piece is dyed with reds and oranges.
This piece was dyed with yellow then orange on top.
All of the 10 month old dye concentrates
were used up today to create these fabrics...
Other than the very light black fabric,
I don't think there was much color loss with
the 10 month old dyes.
I guess I can relax and quit worrying about my
dye concentrates getting old...
I will mix up new dye concentrates in 2016
and not worry about them for the rest of the year!
I tested concentrates once and they all started losing potency between 5 and 9 weeks. At that point I stop using them for customer work because I can't depend on my recipes but I never throw them out. Those are my personal "free" dyes! The one color that I found really does die after a few of month is lemon yellow. I've experience that a few times but I rarely have leftover lemon because it's the base for so many of my customer's favorite greens and reds.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me that I have some very old powders that might make some wonderful quilt backs!
I won't even tell you how old some of my dyes are I use!!! I do tend to make my dyes stronger will mixed so perhaps that's why they last. I also have 'heard' as long as you don't add soda ash to the solution that will allow the dye to keep as well. I never add soda ask to my dye mixture...only to my dye bath. You did get some beautiful pieces!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the deep purple and azure. What green (s) are you using for the pieces at the very beginning of the post? I am looking for some greens that are close to that color.
ReplyDeleteWow! Impressive how well those dyes kept their strength. What ratio of dye powder to water do you use for your concentrates? You must mix them by the gallon to still have some left this late in the year with all of the dying that you do through out the year. Your pieces look great!
ReplyDeleteDye Concentrate Recipe:
ReplyDelete1 cup water
2 Tbsp Urea
2 Tbsp Dye powder
Store dye concentrates in the frig when not in use.
Yummy, yummy, yummy results. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Will hang on to that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your recipe for dye concentrate. Do you use it at this concentration for dyeing? Or is this just your concentrate that you dilute further for use? I have not dyed fabric for about a year and am starting to get the bug to do so again!
ReplyDeleteI add water to the dye concentrates, unless you want a very deep, dark color....then you can apply the concentrate directly to the fabric.
ReplyDeleteLuAnn