Dyeing silk

[tracey]

I hold my hands up and say I know nothing at all about dyeing silk and it is not in my list (at the moment!), but I was watching a shibori tutorial and the artist dyed the silk by use of the microwave.  She did it this way to be eco-friendly, so there was less dye to dispose of.

I liked this and was curious as to whether anyone does it?, maybe with exceptions when dyeing a lot of fabric.

[zed]

I haven't dyed massive amounts of silk, but using acid dyes you don't have loads of dye to dispose of. Or shouldn't anyway, you can use what's left if you make too much. You can use a pot of dye and emerse your fibres, or add dye directly to your fibres and steam or microwave. There are probably other methods/techniques too.

I find fibre reactive dyes less eco friendly, so much rinsing and water waste.

What kind of dye were they using?

[tracey]

I checked the tutorial again and the kind of dye was not mentioned sorry Zed.

[MTRuth]

I have used the microwave with acid dyes. The issue for me is that you should have a dedicated microwave for dyeing and not use it for food anymore.

[jwugg]

Another method. I use silk paints instead. No waste. They come in little jars, ready to use, in lot of colours. Can easily be mixed to create different shades, I often use water to get a softer look. Then they can be heatset with an iron, making them washable. The type that requires steaming can give slightly more vibrant & intense colours.

[Pandagirl]

I've used acid, fiber reactive and silk paints, but not with the microwave since I don't want to dedicate it to dyeing. Zed, is right acid dyeing if done correctly there should be little waste. The same with the silk dyes used for painting. I'm not a fan of the fiber reactive just because of all the rinsing as Zed mentioned.

[Shepherdess]

I have used acid and fiber reactive. I don't find I need to rinse the fiber reactive ones more but It may be because I have hard water and fine my acid dye needs more rinsing then other peoples.

[zed]

Do you need to add more 'acid' when you dye, Ann to counter the hard water?

[koffipot]

I only use Eurolan dyes and used to dye in the microwave with success and little waste, as I re-used the dyes, achieving paler shades and exhausting the dye. I used glass jars for small things like carrier rods and throwsters waste and plastic bags and/or boxes for larger items.

Sadly my old dedicated dyeing microwave died! Punny? and will not be replaced. Now I only use dedicated pans.

[Shepherdess]

Zed Yes I have to add more acid. I plan to try dyeing with rain water. I was going to do it last year but never got enough water in the rain barrel. I seem to slightly felt my wool when rinsing the acid dyes. I just saw on Dharma fiber Hot reactive dye. Has anyone tried it?

[zed]

I've not tried it, no. I don't dye much wool, mostly it's locks if I do, or scoured fleece. The Eurolan/Ashford dyes work the same, hardly any rinsing required. You do large amounts in big pans though, don't you, Ann? That would require more squeezing, general handling wouldn't it?

[Shepherdess]

Yes i use a big pot for larger amounts. I try hard not to squeeze at all but I have to rinse to many times so I have drain water a lot. I spin them out to get the excess water out