Dharma Pigment Dye

Sorry, these dyes are discontinued and no longer available.

The Dharma Pigment Dye System...

Dharma Pigment Dye is a concentrated, non-toxic pigment system that when applied to fabrics, feels more like dye than paint. The big thing is that, unlike dyes, you can get wash-fast, dry-cleanable, permanent results without the use of steamers, chemical fixatives, or extensive heat-setting. When you figure how much you can dilute it with water, it becomes more economical too than many products. Just dilute it to taste (we recommend 1 part pigment to 2-4 parts water), apply it, and let it dry and air-cure for at least 24 hours. (If a 24-hour air cure is a problem for you, you can speed up the process with a hair dryer.) We have found that a bit of heat-setting, 20 or so minutes in a home dryer or a quick 1-3 minute run-over with an iron, will produce the strongest colors.

We recommend Dharma Pigment Dyes mainly for direct-application, i.e. hand-painting, tie-dyeing, squirting, dipping, crinkle effect, and even marbling (with the use of a dispersing agent.) It works great on cotton, rayon, silk, silk velvet, and also most synthetics including polyester and nylon. Pigment Dyes are not recommended for solid color dying, as they do not set until they are dry, which means that the color will migrate while drying. Neat effects, but no solids.

On most natural fabrics, especially if you don't heat-set, you get a cool distressed or "stonewashed" look after washing which is unique to using pigments as opposed to dyes. It looks very different than fabric dyed with dyes. It gives results completely different from the usual tie-dye, yet in some ways it's easier to use. Let the garment dry as much as possible while still tied, then hang or lay flat to finish drying. Non-toxic Pigment Dyes are a possible non-toxic alternative to using true dyes when doing projects with small children and/or when you prefer not to work with the chemicals normally used to set the dyes. More like dyes, these are transparent, so best on white and light colored fabrics.

On silk, we have found that a bit of heat-setting is required. Unlike the silk paints we carry, you can heat-set the Pigment Dyes in a home dryer or with a quick 1-3 minute run-over with an iron. The Pigment Dyes don't spread as much as other silk dyes and paints, making it easier to do detail work without the use of resists. Alcohol and salt techniques work as well. On silk velvet we've gotten fabulous results, but you must dilute it, and the setting must be done in the dryer (with iron-setting, too much excess pigment remains and the pile sticks together.)

On nylon, which is very much like silk, we've found that it works best if it's PFP (prepared for printing). Non-PFP nylon often has oils and other substances to make it easier to weave, but that also interfere with the absorption of the pigment and will produce less than optimal results.

On Polyester and other synthetics, we found that this product sticks pretty well, unlike our other dyes.

Dharma Pigment Dyes are available in 12 standard colors, plus white and black. It is also now available in 5 Fluorescent colors, which will glow under blacklight and is great for flags, scarves, backdrops and costuming for blacklit productions. The white is also called a "pastel base." The primaries are yellow, scarlet or rubine, and blue. It is a very concentrated pigment, so a 4 oz. bottle yields approximately 12-20 oz. of dye. The Pearl Base adds pearlescence, and requires iron-fixing in order to be washfast. Thickener makes it more like a paint and must be blended to avoid clumping. Bases should be added to the colors, not vice versa, to achieve desired effects. They may, if over-used, add more to the hand of the fabric.

#80 White Base can be added to make pastels without thinning the dye further.
#85 Pearl Base can be added to make any of the colors Pearlescent. It also thickens the product a bit, making it more like a regular paint.
#90 Retarding Agent is used to slow the drying time down as when silk-screening or when the design idea requires the fabric to stay wet longer.
#95 Thickener is a powerful thickener used to adjust the consistency of the dye to your taste. It must be mixed into diluted dye with a hand mixer. This is normally used, along with the retarding agent above, if you want to use this product for Silk Screening.
The Works contains one 4 oz. bottle of everything except the Fluorescent colors.