The Learning Curve!

I suppose with a description like "serendipitous", surprises are to be expected. I worked on the ice-dyeing technique with a few different fabrics, like nylon and T-shirts. I had some yellow nylon that had been gathering dust, so I decided to overdye it with acid dyes using the basic ice-dye idea. Nylon is a fiber that must be handled differently than cottons or rayons. It requires a class of dyes and fixatives used for silk and wool, called acid dyes. Acid sounds scary, but I'm talking about vinegar, not sulfuric! I also knew that heat is required to set these dyes and make them permanent. I also know that nylon melts easily. Interesting parameters, to say the least!
I proceeded with one 15" x 25" piece of yellow and soaked it in vinegar. I loosely pleated it and placed it in a microwave safe container for the process. Again, ice cubes were spread over the top and then I sprinkled on the dye powders, and I waited until the next day. I thought the excess liquid would color the fabric into too much brown, so I carefully poured it off. I covered the container with plastic and nuked it. 2 minutes at high with a rest, than another 2 minutes. Somewhere during the last 2 minutes, I smelled the unmistakable odor of burnt nylon. Yikes! Not what I really wanted!

Plain Old Yellow!

Melted Nylon! 

Okay, I can see this will need to be rethought! Nylon's ability to dry quickly has to be brought into the formula. So, I started again. 4 pieces of nylon and new ideas. I still used the vinegar soak, the ice, and the powdered acid dyes. I let it all soak overnight. When the time came to set the dye (nuke it), I tried different power settings on the microwave and different lengths of time. I also made sure there was enough fluid to keep the nylon from burning.

Hey! It worked! In the end I discovered that 2 minutes at high power, a rest, followed by another 2 minutes was needed. To combat the drying problem, I did not drain the excess dye and I added about a quarter cup of water/vinegar solution to the fabric before nuking. I think these will make some cool mini-backpacks!
I tried the technique with a t-shirt and it worked well, no big surprises. I used turquoise, golden yellow and black procion dyes.

Yes, Tay, turquoise is a great color!

I also used a couple of the silk/cottons I dyed in my initial experiment to make myself a couple fancy t-shirts. I dyed  a solid pink for the back, and a solid midnight blue for the other piece.

Now, I need some new shorts!