Dharma Dye Fixative

This commercial product increases the washfastness, wetfastness, resistance to perspiration staining, and resistance to seawater fading. Works with several (but not all) kinds of dye and any natural fabric or blend. Particularly valuable to quilters when bought fabrics are bleeding or when new clothing is bleeding all over. This product can often "fix" these loose dyes to prevent color bleeding in the future. Test if possible, because it doesn't work on all dyes.

You can also use this product to add washfastness to your own dyeing or to get darker colors. Works great with Dharma Fiber Reactive/Procion dyes in this manner, especially as an after soak when dyeing black, for example. (NOT a substitute for normal fixative, Soda Ash, etc., rather an enhancement.) Use it after draining the dye bath, but before rinsing and washing.

For all solid colored fabrics, use 1 oz per lb. of fabric in a HOT soak for 30 minutes to help fix the "fugitive" dye, then, for complete safety, wash after with HOT water and Synthrapol to get out any remaining unfixed dye. Any fading you get at that point is dye that would have come off anyway and gotten all over.

To increase washfastness, resistance to perspiration and seawater in multicolored items like tie-dyes, batiks, etc, you do have to wash out the excess dye first, with your normal rinsing and HOT water wash with Synthrapol detergent, which keeps the colors from staining each other and/or the white areas. After this, just add 1 oz. of Dharma Dye Fixative per lb. of fabric to new COOL water rinse, soak for 15 minutes, then rinse and dry.