Mixing Acid Dye Stock Solutions - My First Experience with Jacquard Acid Dyes

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Let's see how the stock solutions are doing 8 months later: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZXXpYtpo819qq8

[@AskALibbieist]

Great video! I've got a tip for keeping your work surface clean while you're mixing dyes (especially if you have beautiful granite countertops!) Keep a crummy old bath towel with all your dyeing supplies (my dyes and dye-dedicated instruments live in a Rubbermaid tub in my garage when I'm not using them.) When you're ready to mix up stocks or combine stocks into new colors, dampen the towel and spread it out over your surface. Then do all your work on top of the slightly wet towel. That way, any dye granules that escape will stick to the towel instead of floating around the house and getting stuck to things you don't want dyed. And if you spill any dye, it will land on your towel so it's less likely to ruin your counters. :) Love all your videos!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you for this suggestion! I have some old towels that would work perfectly. I have a stash of dye only stuff in my shed, so I have place to store something like this. :)

[@mary-ruthflores4107]

I use damp, well washed cotton canvas for the same reason, when I finish I fix the dyes. I’ve had interesting results

[@tallcedars2310]

Good job! One tip I recall from the dye classes is always add the dye to the water. This way it doesn't create a dust when the water hits the chemical. Keep up the good work, I sub'd!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much! I was trying to go for the "make a paste" technique which I'm not too sure how successful it was. I suppose that it would prevent getting a huge clump of dry powder in the pot... I haven't remade stock solutions since this first time because I'm still working through those colors. This amount of dye goes a lot further than I expected! :)

[@mary-ruthflores4107]

Just a hint, put the inner seal back in the cap of the dye, it helps keep out the moisture. Also I add the concentration to my container then add the rest of the water to wash out the mix cup, just to get everything in the jar. Then put the top on the jar and shake it. You did well getting all the dye in! No dye left behind!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I often do that slowly, transfer the dye to the measuring container and then rinse out the original mixing cup. I'm a lot less nervous these days then I was back then!

[@mimim836]

Great teacher!!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! 😃

[@cristinasandoval308]

Thank you for your video! Currently I'm going to dye fishing nets made out with white nylon rope, so they recommended me to use the jacquard acid dyes. I'm kind of nervous about this process due to: 1- do I need to prepare the textile on some type of way? Wet the fishing nets previously of the dying? 2. the hardest part is that the fishing nets need to be half one light color (yellow) and the bottom one (teal) how I can prevent the bleeding of the dye? Tying it with a string? Rubber band? 3- which color should I use first? The lighter or the darker? Any recommendation will be much appreciated. Thank you!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Hi! I'm not quite sure how big the net is and what kind of vat/pot you'll use for the dyeing. Will it fit in a 5 gallon bucket? A trash bin? To prepare the fibers for dyeing, I would presoak the net in a solution with citric acid or white vinegar. I'm not sure how absorbant the nylon is, but this can help prepare it for dyeing. (If you want the most even color coverage I would soak in plain water and then add acid after adding your dyes... but depending on the size of your nets this may not be easier.) I would dye the lighter color first. If the yellow goes past the area you want then it can be easily covered up by the teal. Then I would tie off the middle portion to try to stop the dye from moving up - but also to be a marker for yourself to know where you want the middle to be. I recommend you check out kettle dyeing, cold process dyeing, and semi-solid dyeing videos on my channel for more tips. Good luck!

[@MsSassySean]

Thanks so much for this video Rebecca. Looking forward to learning about concentrations and color mixing.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're very welcome! I've tried out a bunch of my favorite techinques so far, and they create BEAUTIFUL colors. I feel a bit clumsy as I use them right now since I don't have as good of a gut feeling on how much to use of a color right now. (With food coloring I have a good sense of how much I want to use for a given project.) I am super excited to play around with them more!

[@stjames3540]

Well Done Tutorial. . . TY ~

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@irinialexandridi3522]

Thank you for sharing...

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thanks for watching!

[@susiearmstrong2377]

I dyed an off white sweater I knit (it was too yellow for me) pink. It look great in the water, but when I took it out to dry it had streaks on the front. The back at sleeves look great. Not sure what went wrong, but now I’m wondering if I can overdye it? Will the streaks just get darker and remain, even if I dye a darker color? Do you have any experience, advice?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I haven't dyed a sweater before, but it is possible that there were some areas that were folded and you didn't get as much dye there. If you overdye it, you can minimize the contrast between the different areas but it won't be covered completely. I recommend starting cold with a lot of water and no acid. Stir the sweater a LOT so that you can make sure you get good coverage. THen add acid, stir and stir and slowly bring it up to heat. Ihope this helps

[@MarieH528]

Loved seeing this process! I'm so excited to see what gets dyed up soon! Rebecca, I have never seen those 1litre canning jars before-can you tell me where you purchased them? (Apparently, I don't get out much, lol) just work home and Knitting lol! Thanks for sharing! Happy Dyeing!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I found them at the container store! I'm not sure about canning in these ones specifically, but the insert inside of them had some canning information. www.containerstore.com/s/kitchen/food-storage/jars/34-oz.-quattro-stagioni-glass-bottle/123d?productId=10013119 I like that they have a lid that I can tightly screwn on, AND that thye're glass. Glass can crack, but it is a bit more obvious than when plastic does.

[@janinerosenke5463]

How awesome. Thx for sharing. ❤️🇨🇦

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're very welcome!

[@marilynnpowell8916]

Rebecca, I love your videos! They are so helpful. I am having a problem with my colors not exhausting. What am I doing wrong? Please help . Thanks!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Many acid dye colors will exhaust, but there are a few that will leave a hint of color behind. If there is a bit of color tint, I'll consider it done and go to wash. Other colors (like purple pop) require that you let the yarn cool completely in the dyebath.

[@marilynnpowell8916]

The weird thing is that my yarn is holding color but my dye bath looks the same as when I started. I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I try to use the left over dye a second time and the color changes from uses so I see the dye breaking from each use. Thanks Rebecca for your help!

[@cm4107]

Do you know if these solutions can be stored in plastic? I was just looking at my empty 32 oz creamer container and wondered if that would work.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I use some plastic squeeze bottles now, so yes. I would want it to be super sturdy, though, to prevent cracks.

[@helenstanley4975]

I like this video - but there is something wrong with my phone.

[@harjotkisme]

Hey, thanks for sharing, how much acetic acid did you add? A specific ratio to acid dye?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

It depends on the technique I'm using. A starting place I use a lot is 2T white vinegar per 8 cups tap water.

[@rohitart9926]

Hlo mam I have acid dyes and acetic acid and I wanna do silk painting so how can I mix the colours only with acetic acid yah hot water?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Hi! Unfortunately I have no experience with silk painting so I'm not sure about the right way to mix the dyes for that. BUT if you use vinegar + water it should work just fine. (I'm not sure if you mean using JUST vinegar and no water... if so, I would try to heat the vinegar up to make that happen easier.) Sorry I couldn't be more of a help!

[@sabrinasloth5607]

Very useful! Do I need to buy citric acid to dye tops using jacquard acid dyes?

[@SeerWalker]

the fixative you add depends on the fibre you’re dying. check the jacquard website for more information :)

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Yes, you will need an acid source with jacquard acid dyes. A lot of dyers prefer citric acid, but I personally prefer white vinegar since it is easier for me to find in person. So it doesn't HAVE to be citric acid.

[@rachelgoulding9946]

Hi just wondering if I’d need the jacquard citric acid? Or if you could point me to one of your videos commenting on citric acid. I’m new to the idea of yarn dying, but I’m super exited! C

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Hi Rachel, if you want to dye with Jacquard acid dyes you will need an acid source. The most common ones people use are either vinegar (acetic acid) or citric acid powder. The citric acid doesn't need to be Jacquard brand. I have food grade citric acid I use for fizzy bath balls. I don't have any good videos with Citric acid... unless you count all of the KoolAid dyeing videos. I started out using vinegar so that is what I'm most comfortable with at this time. I have plans to use more citric acid in the future. I think it ultimately comes down to preference. Some people don't like the smell of vinegar in their workspace (it doesn't bother me.) Others like that Citric acid, as a powder, takes up less volume in the house so it is easier to store more of it. Good luck on your dyeing adventures! Are you in the ChemKnits Lab facebook group? facebook.com/groups/ChemKnitsLab/ The group has many home dyers and I know some of the members prefer citric acid.

[@rachelgoulding9946]

Thank you so much for your speedy reply! And ooh I will deffo join the fb group! Just one more quick question. I know you can add the vinegar for, say dip dyed yarn over the stove, but how do I go about adding it for “painted on” yarns, that are done with multiple colours on the kitchen worktop. Hope that makes sense! Do you just add it to the stock solution then microwave the finished yarn for the heat aspect? Thank you so much!

[@lyn8999]

Can you storage the color solutions in a plastic 1 liter instead of glass?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I think that a lot of people use plastic. I really wanted to buy the square 1L corning storage bottles but I couldn't really justify the cost. I think the desire from glass goes back to my lab days. :)

[@kellykiehnhoff6935]

Where did you get your jars for the stick solution?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I got those at the container store. They are 34 oz quattro stagioni glass bottles.

[@radhikabiyani91]

Can I use acid dyes to silk paint?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I think that you can with certain types of thickeners. You absolutely can use them on silk, and I think the Dharma website might have some instructions and suggestions for this.

[@jodiekingsley5181]

Where did you get them have nice day from jodie

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I ordered my acid dyes from Dharma Trading Company www.dharmatrading.com

[@payaltandon1880]

What are you mixing in? Water?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Yes, hot water.

[@peachydandy2570]

How about showing us WHAT material you mixed that stuff with? And how much of THAT material??

[@jabearquadpilot9615]

The woolery has more colors of jaquard dyes than knitpicks

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Jose Alvarez I bought mine from Dharma trading company.

[@jabearquadpilot9615]

ChemKnits Tutorials i haven't looked them up there but i will since i need to resupply my dyes

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Dharma has their own brand of acid dyes, too, which I know a lot of indie dyers use. They are cheaper than Jacquard. I have three colors that I've been told break, although I haven't played around with them yet. :)

[@AskALibbieist]

True! However, you really only need six colors to make every color you can think of: a warm and a cool tone each of yellow, blue, and red. Of course, it's a lot easier to use a pre-made black or navy blue (or other very dark neutrals) than to mix it. But in a pinch, you can do it all with just six colors!

[@jabearquadpilot9615]

If you use warm to hot water it desolves easyer

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I was using hot water (boiling water I poured into a pyrex container) to dissolve the dye and then I would dillute it with warm or room temp water as needed. Some of the dyes (I'm looking at you sun yellow!) REALLY needed hot water to stay in solution.

[@dianathefiberfan]

You look cute in your mask....😬

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Safety first! :D