How To Prepare Tie-Dye Bottles And Mix New Colors

Unless you use the bucket method, you’re going to put soda ash dye fixer directly in the bottles. Fixer is necessary for the reaction between dye and fabric to take place.

Use a teaspoon (8 g) of soda ash fixer per cup (250 ml) of water. The amount of soda ash is proportional to the quantity of water used. Add it in your bottles just before dyeing and shake well.

This step is crucial to the good functioning of the dye. The purpose of this activator is to increase the pH of the solution to around 10.5. Using a bit less or a bit more is not detrimental to the result. But forgetting it altogether will result in extremely faded colors.

How long does the dye stay good for?

Dye powder, when properly stored will not go bad, at least not for a few years. Dye solutions, on the other hand can go bad rather quickly, depending on the additives it contains.

A typical dye solution containing only water and dye will stay good for up to a month in the refrigerator. When soda ash is present, the solution only lasts for a few hours.

Dye solutions containing soda ash will exhaust rapidly in a matter of hours. The dye reacts with the water itself over time. This reaction is accelerated when the pH and temperature re increased.

Refrigerating your dye solutions will keep them more than twice as long. As it ages, a solution progressively loses its strength. It may not be obvious while still in the bottle, but an exhausted dye solution will leave you with poor results on the fabric.

How to prevent clumps in your bottles

Clumps happen when a mass of dye powder or additive doesn’t fully dissolve. This can have unwanted consequences. Clumps can block your bottle’s spout. They can also be deposited on the fabric, causing areas of concentrated color.

Always put the dye powder first in the bottle and then add water. Use lukewarm water when mixing dyes. Shake the bottle vigorously for 30 seconds to a minute. Let it rest for a few minutes before shaking it again.

Shaking the bottle is essential to get the dye to dissolve neatly and not leave clumps. Rotate the bottle with your wrist to swish the liquid around. Dye powder can have a tendency to fall out of solution if you wait long enough. It’s a good idea to shake the bottle just before using it.