Acid Dyes Pros:
Best dye hands down for solid color dyeing of silks, wools and other proteins. Economical. Beautiful vibrant colors! Can be painted on as well. Cons:
Needs hot simmering water to use or needs to be steamed.
Vinyl Sulphon Liquid Reactive Dye Concentrate Pros:
Quite economical for the production artist. Two ounces of concentrate can yield up to 40 ounces of medium shade dye/paint. Cons:
Must be steamset or used in a hot dye bath for best results; cannot be fixed with Jacquard Dyeset Concentrate.
Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes Pro's:
Best dye for cotton, rayons, linens, hemp and other plant based fibers. Best dye for Tie-Dye and Batik. Vibrant wash fast permanent colors. Easy to use. Does not need hot water. Economical! Con's:
Colors are still vibrant, but shift on silks and wools. Need to use with the proper chemicals. Do not work on synthetics.
Fluorescent Yellow Dye Pro's:
bright, true fluorescent dye used like an Acid dye Cons's:
limited color selection
Natural Dyes (from plants and insects) Pros:
Historically fascinating to use dyes that have been in use for 100s to 1000s of years! Cons:
Fabrics or fibers have to be treated in a mordant before dyeing. Some of the metallic salts used to "mordant" (prepare for dyeing) the fabrics before dyeing are fairly toxic. We don't carry the worst ones.
