fleece

[DOGTOW]

Hi
im currently dying 12 oz antron fabric, and was wondering what temperature you recommend dying it at ? The dye that I have says 60 degrees, would that be ok.
thanks
Dogtow

 

[robinthecrow]

If you can maintain that temperature!

I use Dylon Machine Dye... or whatever it is, comes in alittle metal tin.

First I empty the required amount into a jug of hot water and let that stand for a second or two, then I put the whole of my antron into a tub of hot water, and add the dye liquid. Also some salt - which helps the antron take the dye

(usually you'd do this with other materials for dying but I've come out with good results using salt as well, so why change!)

Then its a matter of leaving it in there and occassionally stirrng your stew.

And if needs be, leave it over night.

Hope that helps. I'm sure others have variants on my way, or their own unique ways!

 

[wes]

What do you do after you dye it, do you wash it and let air dry?
I just bought some muppet fleece and have not die it yet.

 

[DOGTOW]

Hi Robin...
thanks for the info.I did a test today in a machine.I washed
my Antron fleece at 60 degree's with 250g of salt and 100g of Dylon
dye.This came out a little lighter than I had hoped.I will dye the same
material again and see what happens.I don't want to ruin the material !!!
The look and the feel of the fleece has changed slightly, looking more muppet
like.

Wes, when I took mine out of the machine it wasn't that wet, I guess it doesn't hold that much water.I put it in the dryer for a few minutes and then let it air dry.Let us know how it goes !

Thanks
Dogtow

 

[DOGTOW]

ok so I did a second wash on the same material with 250g of salt and
100g of the dye on a 60 degree wash and I came out only a little bit darker.
So today I did another test on a completely new piece of fleece this time putting 500g of salt and 200g of dye on 60 degree's and It did the same thing.
Am I doing it wrong ? the fleece just isn't taking on the colour ! Robin how do you maintain the heat when leaving it to soak ? any info would be great !

Thanks
Dogtow

 

[robinthecrow]

Maintain the heat? Um, I just let it soak, for acouple of hours, and the let it out to dry.

Before James gets to this thread - don't put antron fleece into a dryer! You will wreck the material and it will most probably fall to bits. Antron fleece is made of nylon and with excessive heat, via a dryer, the piles on the fleece will melt... or at least that's what I have discovered.

As for the colour, it may be how much it is orignally diluted, maybe for larger cuts of antron, maybe put two packs of the dye in. I do it by hand in the tub now, since when I tried a washing machine, I had large slodges of the correct dye colour all over the fleece and the rest of it was a lighter shade.

 

[DOGTOW]

That's great thanks Robin.I will try your method of just sitting it in a bucket overnight.I am sure i am putting in the right amounts of dye and salt but just maybe it just needs longer to soak in.
Thanks for your help

 

[ravagefrackle]

Before James gets to this thread - don't put antron fleece into a dryer! You will wreck the material and it will most probably fall to bits. Antron fleece is made of nylon and with excessive heat, via a dryer, the piles on the fleece will melt... or at least that's what I have discovered.

actually i put my fleece in the dryer after i have dyed it, never hada problem with it, but im in the US, and maybe your dryers in europe have a higher temp., not sure, but it always comes out good to me,

what i dont do , is dye fleece in the washing machine, i find that makes it very pilly, i boil water on the stove, or on a hot plate, in a large pot of water, (three gallons or something like that), as for getting the color i want, i generally dye small swathches in the dye bath i would use for a full yard of fleece.that way the amount of water and dye is equal to what i will use for the yardage, and i can adjust it to make my colors brighter , or duller before i add the full yard of fabric, , it also has to do with the amount of time in the dye, as well as the temp. higher temps tend to add more strength to the shade, as well as longer dye times, its all about expierimenting .

when im done dyeing, i ring out the piece by hand, and rinse it in cold water , then i wash it using a very gentle detergent, and add some fabric softner ,then i dry it in the dryer (it doesnt take to long , normally about 15 minutes or soin the dryer) havnet had any problems yet , but we dont have the same dyes as you in our stores, the dylon here dosnet work well on synthetics, i mostly use Rit dye, or Algo nylon aceitate dyes

 

[Phantom]

I have used the washing machine's gentle cycle to dye. I stop it half-way and let it soak, then restart and let it finish. It works well, but I do get a little pilly.

RF, do you think if I took it out before the spin would prevent this? It's not bad, but I've noticed it isn't as smooth as close up photos of the stuff you've worked on.

 

[ravagefrackle]

i think it would be ok to do a small load setting on the gentle cycle,