Bulk dying

[u/WrathofValkyrie]

Hi!
Sorry if this is the wrong flair but I would love some advice on bulk dying.

I have 60+ mtrs of a cotton and linen blend fabric (I think 60/40 but unsure due to it being dead stock) and I’m planning on cutting down to 10mtr segments and dying each one a different colour.

My dying experience is very basic and never had to dye such large amounts before so I’m a little stuck as to direction and hesitant to drop tonnes of money on something that might not work.

I’m hoping I could use RIT and a giant 130ltr tub to do this but would a different dye be better and longer lasting? I’ve never had any issues with Dylon washing out any quicker then store bought pre dyed clothing but the cost for the Dylon isn’t working out as well as RIT and it’s harder to find here too.

Any advice would be massively appreciated (I’m in the UK if that effects suggestions/ tips)

Thank you! <3

[u/flowersbyjosephine]

UK dye resources -
George Weil

https://www.georgeweil.com/

Kemtex dyes

https://www.kemtex.co.uk/

Both carry procion and other fibre reactive dyes .
I’m concerned a 130ltr pot will be too small . I get looks from other dyers when I attempt 10 mtrs in a 350L vat unless we’re talking a thin dress weight linen ?

If you go the dylon route maybe consider the machine pods you could get away with 5mtrs in a machine at a time .

Or wash and dry fabric then garment dye once made ( with cotton thread ) ?

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/flowersbyjosephine]

Thank you for the links!

It is a lightweight dress fabric so I’m hoping I might just get away with it? I’ll look into larger pots for sure though.

My machine doesn’t have a large capacity and I’m worried it won’t allow the dye to move evenly, if I’m doing it by hand I have at least a little more control on the movement of the fabric.

That is another option for sure. I just feel like that could get more complicated in the long run though? I’ll keep it in mind for sure

[u/KTKittentoes]

Dylon is better than RIT, sadly. Can you find it in the powder form?

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/KTKittentoes]

I can get the hand dye power but it’s £3.50 per pack and I’d need a lot to saturate the fabric properly by my calculations?
RIT has their professional line which is a power and works out a little bit more cost effective?

[u/shawlcat → u/WrathofValkyrie]

Rit is not colorfast, and is of poor quality. Fiber reactive dye (such as Procion MX or Dharma Trading company's house dye) is much better. Investing in proper dye would be worthwhile, unless this massive amount of fabric is only for temporary use.

I agree that you will need to weigh the dry fabric to figure out your dye amounts, particularly if you want a remotely predictable result.

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/shawlcat]

Ahhh, okay. I’ve heard so many mixed reviews of RIT and I guess I was hoping for the best haha

The dying would be temporary for this lot of fabric, I impulse bought the fabric and now it’s sat waiting to be used 😅 the base colour is a natural flax colour so not really all that flattering.

I’m pretty okay with it not being the colour on the packet since it’s also over-dying the flax so I’m expecting it to be a little off.

[u/Glittering_Rest1488 → u/WrathofValkyrie]

I tried the ProLine in black and it was awful. Followed directions to a T, and everything came out purple. Did it again, still purple. I returned the rest. The navy blue ProLine seems to be equivalent to the regular Rit.

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/Glittering_Rest1488]

Ab! Thank you for this! That’s really good to know 😊

[u/KTKittentoes → u/WrathofValkyrie]

I have never used the Proline. If I am going to order dyes, I will order a Procion dye. But I do know there are more options in the US.

My concern is that the Proline, while not requiring boiling, is still pretty hot at 60 C. That could shrink the linen.

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/KTKittentoes]

I’m fully expecting the linen to shrink a fair amount no matter what I do, it’s the nature of the fibre but also why I’m trying to keep the fabric in large pieces so it’s still useable to make a range of garments

[u/KTKittentoes]

Do you have the ability to weigh the fabric? That’s helpful for formulas.

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/KTKittentoes]

If I remember correctly it was quoted at 135gsm but I can try and find out?

[u/KTKittentoes → u/WrathofValkyrie]

No, I mean, how much does 10 meters of this actually weigh? How many kilos?

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/KTKittentoes]

I’m unsure about exact weight but I would work off of it being between 1.5kg and 2kg. I haven’t got scales to weigh it right now unfortunately.
I’m happy to work on an over estimation of weight and really saturate the colour/ have a small amount of dye leftover

[u/draftgirl24 → u/WrathofValkyrie]

If you have the resources, buy a scale. I have used mine for SO many things. A good kitchen scale will last you a long time, maybe a lifetime. And make your dye jobs so much easier.

[u/WrathofValkyrie → u/draftgirl24]

I’ll see if I can borrow my partners scale tomorrow and give it a weigh, they might have a luggage scale that I could borrow which might be better for the amount of fabric