Ok, this is going to be a VERY picture heavy post, essentially I am going to narrate a step by step on experimenting with iDye polyester & nylon fabric dye. No Makies were harmed in this process and I felt due to the nature of the experiment for now, It wouldn't be a good idea for them to be present, since this is my first go.
This Jacquard dye is a special dye is specifically used for dyeing synthetic fabric. It states in the packaging that it could be done using the boiling and non boiling method. I kind of created my own method as I went along :P I will point out that at no time did I need a rolling boil and there was just a little smell, like you were burning plastic on a flame but it did not permeate the room or the rest of the house!
Step 1 - I bought myself this morning from Tescos a 24cm stockpot stainless steel pan with lid (£12.99) and stainless steel slot spoon £2.50) - I felt this essential as the dye says don't use the same pots that you use for cooking. Because of my time limitations, I just bought new but you could buy from a Charity Shop.
Please excuse my dirty stove top My son's had used it the night before and I didn't clean it before starting
Step 2, I gathered the following 'ingredients' as such
Assorted Makie bits
a pan lined with foil
Dye
scissors (to open the dye & intensifier)
slotted spoon
plastic cup
Gloves (rubber or latex - already on my hands when I took the pix :O)
pomegranate for snacking (optional)
wooden coffee stirring stick (not shown) or unused chopstick leftover from Sushi takeaway.
Stockpot - stainless steel (It also suggests you can use enamel)
Some paper towel for drying.
Step 2
Fill the pot with some hot water- I put in about 4 inches worth - Place on stove top
Step 3
Place about 1/4 teaspoon of the dye powder into the plastic pot and add a little hot water and stir until mixed.
Step 4
Add some Makie bits to the water in the pot. Turn on the cooker to heat the water. I then added the dye liquid to the water in the pot. I stirred a bit then added a small squirt of the intensifier. Just before boiling point (steam coming up) I covered the pot and let it sit, stiring periodically. (pomegranate - NOM!)
Step 5 - This is the part you go Holistic. It's all up to you how dark you want your Makie to be so you will have to watch the coloring as it goes along. I do suggest you buy some bits, and use a timer and experiment with shades before you commit to doing your Makie
After about 10 mins of stewing- the results so far
I also decided to try dipping some bits in for different lengths of time, so this one is about 3 mins. I also decided as the water started cooling, I would start up the cooker again and gently add some heat, again so it just reaches just before boiling point then switch off again
Step 6
I decided after about 15 mins it was a lovely brown that I liked so I removed the bits with a slotted spoon- word of advice- count how many bits you put in and make sure you get that many out- it's hard to tell with the dark colored water LOL
Step 7
Rinse the pieces under cold water thoroughly
You can see that the temp (in Fahrenheit) is about 168 which is almost about 3/4 way to boiling point- It seems that you can keep it at approx this temp (give and take a few degrees) that it is perfect for dyeing Makies and hopefully won't cause shrinkage. I'm hoping the lab can do more testing to confirm that. I just covered the bottom of my thermometer with plastic wrap to stop contamination.
I thought well, while I am testing, I would see if pieces of another color could be dyed too.
If you go back to one of my earlier experiments, I used a water based artist ink and painted it on the bit (watered down) This is one of the bits. The first pieces was watered down and painted on. The 2nd piece was the ink directly being dropped onto the nylon piece itself
This was the bit that had the ink directly put onto it- After about 3 mins in the dye bath
Here are all the bits I experimented with, all done- They were all rinsed under water and this is how they turned out. Please note that they are a bit darker as they are still wet.
This picture is under inside lighting
These next few pictures are daylight outside
Take note of these two pieces- they were the ones that had some existing ink coloring on them. The one with the non watered ink came out splotchy tho the lighter colored ink panel (watered down ink) actually came out fine so we could almost say you could dye over an existing lighter hue.
I also wanted to test if the coloring rubbed off. When I have colored fabrics in the past, the colors have run or bled a little when washed. I did rub a bit against a paper towel (while still damp) and there was just a touch of color, so I decided it would need a wash!
Test piece- before washing
Placed in cup of warm water- you can see that some of the color bleeds a fraction
The package suggests you wash your fabric in mild detergent so I thought what the heck, I would try using some fairy dish washing liquid. So I added a smidgen, agitated it a bit
After rinsing, you can see the color didn't change after washing in detergent, so I am happy with that
Had to hang out the Laundry- so out they went onto the line for half an hour too!
Time for that nice Chai Tea Latte that hubby made from scratch for me! (and a bit of a kit kat chunky- NOM!)
Part 2 - the results to come whilst I make a Quiche for dinner first (OMG)
