I have spent the week experimenting with Procion MX dies and different tie dying techniques. I'm really happy with how light the dyes are and how they leave zero hand-feel on the fabric but I'm still getting used to controlling the colour. Above is the end result of a very round-about dying session I had at the beginning of the week...Below illustrates one of the tie-dying processes recommended for these dyes:
After washing your fabric in soda ash to help the dye set you scrunch and tie your fabric to achieve your desired tie-dye pattern.
With Procion MX dies you pre-mix the powdered colour with hot water which I found a little tricky since I had no idea how weak or strong the colour would turn out. I quickly discovered my 'peach' was actually electric kool-aid orange and my 'warm grey' was really a soft brown. hmmm...
With a squeeze bottle apply the dye onto the fabric until you are satisfied with the colour. I wasn't into my peach or my warm grey so I ended up switching to 'jet black' which has turned my fabric to a light blue. Go figure...
For 12 to 24 hours you let the wet, dyed fabric sit in a closed bag.
When it is ready take the fabric out of the bag and rinse until the water runs clean. Soak with a capful of synthrapol to set the colour into the fabric and dry.
I found a great tutorial on the Jacquard Products website that answered all of my questions. Check it out here.
