Harmony Hand Dyes hand-dyed Fabric MX Procion Dye Shiva Paintstiks Tisdale SK Sask Saskatchewan Canada
Dye Mixes – for 2 cups of liquid dye. You can do 1 meter of fabric with 2 cups dye. The mixtures below will dye 1 meter of strong
colour and also 1 meter of medium and 1 meter of light colour values. To get shades, add 1/8 teaspoon black dye.
Always exercise caution when working with chemicals. You should wear a NIOSH dust mask when working with the dyes in
powder form and wear rubber gloves. Keep out of reach of children.
The dye solutions are strongest within 4 hours of being mixed.
Prewash your fabric if not using PFD (Prepared For Dying) fabric
1. “Procion Dye Activator” – this can be kept and reused. Soak the fat quarters in activator then wring out.
In a tub or bucket, combine:
1 gallon water + 1/4 cup sodium carbonate (soda ash) Place fabric in the solution and let sit 15 minutes.
Take out fabric, squeeze out as much liquid as possible and loosely scrunch into ziplock baggies or containers.
2. Prepare Dyes WEAR a NIOSH MASK until the water is completely incorporated.
IMPORTANT: mix the dry ingredients then add HOT water (or you will have a solid glob of sodium)
1/2 cup urea 1/2 cup sodium sulfate Dry dye quantities listed in table below
2 cups hot water - add to dry
If you have hard water, add a teaspoon of Calgon or other water softener product to each of the dye mixtures.
3. Prepare Baggies or buckets. Wear rubber gloves: after the fabric has soaked in the sodium carbonate, fluff it up then
scrunch it into a baggie or bucket. If you scrunch it or twist it tightly, you will get lots of white or light background. If you scrunch it
loosely and squish it around, you will get more even dye throughout the fabric with a “suede” appearance.
4. Prepare dyes based on the following proportions in the table below. Note: Once you have the dye mixed, if you want to
make a second set of medium or light intensity, take out ¼ cup (medium) or 1 Tablespoon (light) from the 2 cups of mixed dye
and place in a second measuring cup. Fill to 2 cups with water. NOTE: dyeing is not an exact science. Round to the nearest
1/8 teaspoon.
colour and also 1 meter of medium and 1 meter of light colour values. To get shades, add 1/8 teaspoon black dye.
Always exercise caution when working with chemicals. You should wear a NIOSH dust mask when working with the dyes in
powder form and wear rubber gloves. Keep out of reach of children.
The dye solutions are strongest within 4 hours of being mixed.
Prewash your fabric if not using PFD (Prepared For Dying) fabric
1. “Procion Dye Activator” – this can be kept and reused. Soak the fat quarters in activator then wring out.
In a tub or bucket, combine:
1 gallon water + 1/4 cup sodium carbonate (soda ash) Place fabric in the solution and let sit 15 minutes.
Take out fabric, squeeze out as much liquid as possible and loosely scrunch into ziplock baggies or containers.
2. Prepare Dyes WEAR a NIOSH MASK until the water is completely incorporated.
IMPORTANT: mix the dry ingredients then add HOT water (or you will have a solid glob of sodium)
1/2 cup urea 1/2 cup sodium sulfate Dry dye quantities listed in table below
2 cups hot water - add to dry
If you have hard water, add a teaspoon of Calgon or other water softener product to each of the dye mixtures.
3. Prepare Baggies or buckets. Wear rubber gloves: after the fabric has soaked in the sodium carbonate, fluff it up then
scrunch it into a baggie or bucket. If you scrunch it or twist it tightly, you will get lots of white or light background. If you scrunch it
loosely and squish it around, you will get more even dye throughout the fabric with a “suede” appearance.
4. Prepare dyes based on the following proportions in the table below. Note: Once you have the dye mixed, if you want to
make a second set of medium or light intensity, take out ¼ cup (medium) or 1 Tablespoon (light) from the 2 cups of mixed dye
and place in a second measuring cup. Fill to 2 cups with water. NOTE: dyeing is not an exact science. Round to the nearest
1/8 teaspoon.
5. Pour dye over the fabric in the baggie and squish the dye through the fabric.
Let the fabric “cure” for 24 to 48 hours. Turquoise can take up to 48 hours.
Squish the fabric in the baggies from time to time to make sure the dye is reaching the inside of the fabric. […but don’t be too
rough or the baggie will leak.]
Once it has cured, take the fabric out of the baggie and rinse in cold water a couple of times. If you want the fabric right away, you
will have to rinse, and rinse and rinse and rinse with progressively warmer water… maybe 20 times until the water runs clear.
Then wash in the washing machine with 1 Tablespoon of T.N.A. or Synthrapol Dyers’ Soap. You can combine "like" colours in the
washer. If you haven’t rinsed them enough, loose dye particles may run and adhere to other fabrics. Dry 30 minutes in a hot
dryer. If you have the time and don’t want to rinse as much, just rinse a couple of times then soak with like colours in a bucket of
warm water with 1 teaspoon of Dyers’ Soap and let it sit overnight. The next day, rinse a couple more times and the water should
be running clear. Then do a final wash in your washing machine and dry 30 minutes in a hot dryer
Note: MX Procion dyes permanently fix to the fabric in a reaction with other chemicals – salt (Sodium Sulfate) and Soda Ash
(Sodium Carbonate). The urea keeps the moisture level high which enhances the product. If your dye and chemicals have not
created the reaction – old product could denature or weaken – there is a remote possibility that they may not “fix” to the fabric. If
you can not stop the dyed fabrics from running, there is a product that acts as a dye fixative. It is called Raycafix or Retayne and
fabrics can be soaked in a solution of 1 tsp (per metre of fabric) and hot water.
Let the fabric “cure” for 24 to 48 hours. Turquoise can take up to 48 hours.
Squish the fabric in the baggies from time to time to make sure the dye is reaching the inside of the fabric. […but don’t be too
rough or the baggie will leak.]
Once it has cured, take the fabric out of the baggie and rinse in cold water a couple of times. If you want the fabric right away, you
will have to rinse, and rinse and rinse and rinse with progressively warmer water… maybe 20 times until the water runs clear.
Then wash in the washing machine with 1 Tablespoon of T.N.A. or Synthrapol Dyers’ Soap. You can combine "like" colours in the
washer. If you haven’t rinsed them enough, loose dye particles may run and adhere to other fabrics. Dry 30 minutes in a hot
dryer. If you have the time and don’t want to rinse as much, just rinse a couple of times then soak with like colours in a bucket of
warm water with 1 teaspoon of Dyers’ Soap and let it sit overnight. The next day, rinse a couple more times and the water should
be running clear. Then do a final wash in your washing machine and dry 30 minutes in a hot dryer
Note: MX Procion dyes permanently fix to the fabric in a reaction with other chemicals – salt (Sodium Sulfate) and Soda Ash
(Sodium Carbonate). The urea keeps the moisture level high which enhances the product. If your dye and chemicals have not
created the reaction – old product could denature or weaken – there is a remote possibility that they may not “fix” to the fabric. If
you can not stop the dyed fabrics from running, there is a product that acts as a dye fixative. It is called Raycafix or Retayne and
fabrics can be soaked in a solution of 1 tsp (per metre of fabric) and hot water.
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Read all the instructions
before you begin.
before you begin.
| "Recipes" for Mixing Dyes |
If you have a problem
viewing this table, try
refreshing the page.
viewing this table, try
refreshing the page.
Pastels or tints - the outer ring of colours
(white added to the pure hue - in this case
weaker colour on white fabric)
Pure hue - 2nd ring from the outside
Shades - 3rd ring in (black added to pure hue)
Tones - centre ring of colours (grey added to
pure hue - or light shade on white = grey)
(white added to the pure hue - in this case
weaker colour on white fabric)
Pure hue - 2nd ring from the outside
Shades - 3rd ring in (black added to pure hue)
Tones - centre ring of colours (grey added to
pure hue - or light shade on white = grey)
When you purchase pre-mixed dyes, you
don't know what the base is for the mix.
Purple for example, looks very different if
mixed with the Prang Royal Blue and Red as
opposed to the purple you get when you mix
the Ives turquoise and fuchsia.
I prefer to mix my own colours. For a lime
green and bright purple I would use the Ives
primaries. For a more "earthy" purple and
green I would use the Prang primaries.
don't know what the base is for the mix.
Purple for example, looks very different if
mixed with the Prang Royal Blue and Red as
opposed to the purple you get when you mix
the Ives turquoise and fuchsia.
I prefer to mix my own colours. For a lime
green and bright purple I would use the Ives
primaries. For a more "earthy" purple and
green I would use the Prang primaries.
Often novice dyers are surprised that you
don't get a "perfect" orange when you mix
equal amounts of red and yellow dye together.
Dyes have different strengths and different
absorption rates.
As you can see from the chart, to get a Prang
orange, you mix about 1-1/2 parts of red to
about 7-1/2 parts of bright yellow. The Ives
orange mixes about 3/4 of a part of fuchsia
with 2 parts bright yellow.
When some dyers have finished curing their
strong dye batch, they squeeze the remaining
liquid out of the fabric and use it again to
create a "pastel". I DON'T RECOMMEND this
method. If you are making a green with
turquoise and yellow, in the first batch the
yellow will be almost totally absorbed but
there will be a fair amount of turquoise that
has not been absorbed, If you are trying to
get a light green pastel, when you re-use the
left-over dye you will get more of a turquoise
pastel than a green. What I DO
RECOMMEND is to take a very small amount
of dye out of the original dye mix and add a
lot of water to it (see #4 on the dyeing
instructions at the left) for your pastel. It will
be an excellent match for a lighter gradation
of the colour.
Dyes are their strongest within 4 hours of
mixing. Some people keep left-overs in the
fridge for up to two weeks and just add more
salt, but they do loose a LOT of their strength.
If you do want to pre-mix dye to store it, don't
add the sodium, only add the urea.
don't get a "perfect" orange when you mix
equal amounts of red and yellow dye together.
Dyes have different strengths and different
absorption rates.
As you can see from the chart, to get a Prang
orange, you mix about 1-1/2 parts of red to
about 7-1/2 parts of bright yellow. The Ives
orange mixes about 3/4 of a part of fuchsia
with 2 parts bright yellow.
When some dyers have finished curing their
strong dye batch, they squeeze the remaining
liquid out of the fabric and use it again to
create a "pastel". I DON'T RECOMMEND this
method. If you are making a green with
turquoise and yellow, in the first batch the
yellow will be almost totally absorbed but
there will be a fair amount of turquoise that
has not been absorbed, If you are trying to
get a light green pastel, when you re-use the
left-over dye you will get more of a turquoise
pastel than a green. What I DO
RECOMMEND is to take a very small amount
of dye out of the original dye mix and add a
lot of water to it (see #4 on the dyeing
instructions at the left) for your pastel. It will
be an excellent match for a lighter gradation
of the colour.
Dyes are their strongest within 4 hours of
mixing. Some people keep left-overs in the
fridge for up to two weeks and just add more
salt, but they do loose a LOT of their strength.
If you do want to pre-mix dye to store it, don't
add the sodium, only add the urea.
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| "Fall" Colour Wheel |
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To purchase Colour Wheel Kits
at left, go to
Quilt Kits - Fabrics and patterns
at left, go to
Quilt Kits - Fabrics and patterns
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Everyone finds their own recipes that work for them. If you want to be scientific and weigh the dry dye as you
use it and record the results, you will be able to duplicate the colours fairly easily. **Your water plays a part in
the outcome. If it is soft water you will get brighter colours than if you have hard water with a lot of minerals.
Humidity plays a part in the weight of the dyes you use. The mixture that works for someone in Saskatchewan,
might be a little different than what works for someone in California.
Everyone finds their own recipes that work for them. If you want to be scientific and weigh the dry dye as you
use it and record the results, you will be able to duplicate the colours fairly easily. **Your water plays a part in
the outcome. If it is soft water you will get brighter colours than if you have hard water with a lot of minerals.
Humidity plays a part in the weight of the dyes you use. The mixture that works for someone in Saskatchewan,
might be a little different than what works for someone in California.