Dye Basics and Referene Books

My mind is a flutter with several dye projects I'd like to get underway to further hone my skills for work. I have yet to encounter a project I don not know the basic theory on, however some skills (such as color matching) can only improve with practice.

Years of studio art classes have provided the groundwork for my understanding and practice of color theory. However, as I delve deeper into the world of textile arts I find dying deviates largely into the areas of physics and chemistry as well as a tremendous amount of math.

The hues of dyes, being transparent, are much more akin to the light color spectrum, not pigment. The primaries being fuchsia, cyan (bright yellow) and turquoise. But these three primaries, being pure colors cannot blend to created the depth of shade some colors, say black or navy, require. Thankfully, several companies exist that produce dozens of hues of the various classes of dye.

In my down time over the next two weeks, I want to explore the limits of these three basic colors. Each color is unique to itself. The turquoise and fuchsia may appear to deepen in color as you increase the depth of shade, whereas the yellow seems to become brighter. Granted, brighter, darker, deeper...these are all relative terms. The proper term is saturation. However, yellow's apparent "brightness" does translate in the need to add more than one may think to produce the secondary colors. In equal parts, yellow and turquoise will produce more of a teal and less of a true green.

One project in the works is a depth of shade chart for each of the three primaries. The depth of shade is a perctage reflecting the ratio of the weight of the dye over the dry weight of the fabric. In theory, a 1% DOS is a pale shade, 2% a medium, 4% a dark and 6% for navy and black. I've found, in projects calling for dye immersions, I tend to use a higher DOS to yield the color I need. My own ignorance in the chemical process as well as a lack of familiarity with Procion dyes (fiber-reactive dyes used for cellulose fibers) inhibits my ability to resolve the problem. In following a meticulous process, controlling as many variables as I can, I hope to create the reference I need to determine exactly what "pale," "medium," and "dark" are.

The second project is a color mixing chart. Mixing a pre-determined amount of each of the primaries together I will create recipes with reference swatches for the secondary colors as well as several hues in between. As I mentioned before, the dye companies offer a huge selection of stock colors to choose from, limiting my need to mix a color solely from these pure primaries. However, experimenting with the pure mixing colors with deepen my understanding of how they interact with each other.

The dye is in transit at the moment. In the meantime, I've acquired a selection of books from my own library as well as from the public library, in order to devour additional information and fill in the gaps where I can.

To date:

Fabric Painting Dying for Theatre by Deborah Dryden

This was the first book I added to my collection because, well, it was focused directly at my profession. The book touches on all aspects of dying that a textile artist in theatre may encounter, focusing largely on health and safety and the different types of dyes (interestingly a recent article in TD&T mentioned the first addition had little to say on health and safety. We've come a long way in promoting safe work environments). The book then goes onto to cover the various techniques used with the dyes and paints...some more in depth than others. It provided a great foundation for the techniques, but offered little explanation behind the why.

The Surface Designer's Handbook by Holly Brackmann

This book has become my new favorite reference. Like Dryden, Brackmann covers a huge expanse of materials and techniques, however she delves farther into the chemistry behind what is happening. Knowing what the alkali solution in a fiber-reactive bath is actually doing, or discovering that the dye particales react to water can greatly aid in trouble shooting when a dye project does not turn out as planned. It is however geared more towards the textile artist, and less towards the more practical theatre practitioner.

Dyer's Companion by Dagmar Klos

A great little reference book covering the basics for immersion dying, with less emphasis on direct applications (stamping, stenciling, silk painting and the like). However, her explanation of dye stock solutions (and the math behind it) was a little clearer than that by Brackmann. Klos also includes an incredible amount of oon natural dyes and their processes. While natural dyes are fascinating, they have little application in my field.

Dyes and Paints by Elin Noble

Focused more on small batches of fabric, she appears to cater more towards the quilter interested in creating thier own colors, however Noble imparts much of the same basic information that Dryden and Brackmann do. The organization and lay out of the first half of the book seemed a bit erratic at first, but everything fell into place as I delved deeper into the book. The second have is much more project oriented, perhaps making it serve better as a classroom textbook. Or perhaps catering to those more interested in creating a specific outcome than learning the process. It was the section on color mixing that I am using as the jumping point for my swatch chart.

Shibori Designs and Techinques by Mandy Southan

A bit weak on the explanation of the dyes themselves, but she beautifully explains several of the wrapping, binding and stitching techniques used in shibori.

And websites worth pursuing:

http://www.dharmatrading.com/
An online store with a little bit of everything, including how-to's and great tech support

http://www.prochemicalanddye.com/
Probably one of the most recognized names for Procion dyes and auxiliaries. They offer decent instruction on most of their products as well as all related MSDS's

http://www.jacquardproducts.com/
I personally use mostly their acid dyes and textile paints, however they offer a wide range of other dye stuffs as well. Their online forum is also worth checking out as some well known textile artists seem to be frequent fountains of answers.

http://www.pburch.net/dyeing.shtml
This is the site of a dye hobbyist with a PhD in chemistry. The perfect site to answer the more technique "why" oriented questions. She posts several book reviews as well.