Did You Know - How Ice Dyeing Results Can Change with Different Fabrics?

A Dharma Featured Guide by Carmen & Parris

When it comes to ice dyeing, it seems like the differences in dye results can really be quite striking. Often you can get multiple color results just from using one jar of dye color alone, especially with colors that are mixes of more than one or two pure colors!

Ice melting is the vehicle that moves the dye powder over the fabric. As the ice melts, it liquefies most of the dye powder and moves the dye over your fabric, creating the split patterns. Sometimes the dye doesn't liquefy, leaving dye speckles in spots. Think of these as dye kisses. However, there's more than just the ice and dye that play a part in your final color result. Are you using dye over or under the ice? Are you dyeing on a rack or in the muck? Flat or on an incline? Are you doing a soda soak or mixing the dry soda ash with your dye?

Water chemistry and ambient temperature also play a part in how the colors develop. But what folks often don't realize is that the kind of fabric you use will also play a big part too.

What Kind of Fabric Should I Use?

Fiber Reactive dyes work best on plant-based fibers (like cotton, rayon, hemp, etc.), but each of these fibers can accept the dye at different rates and in different ways. Where one dye particle may create a strong line of color on cotton, that same dye color may travel further on rayon, creating a softer result. Some dye colors also show up more vibrantly on certain fabrics than others due to the fabric's weave or chemistry, such as cellulose vs. protein fibers.

For example, ice dye on rayon bamboo may appear less vibrant than the same technique on rayon satin, as the satin weave of the fabric imparts additional shine to the dye color, making it seem more vibrant. Take a look at these rayon satin examples versus our bamboo rayon examples and you'll see right away what we mean!

bamboo examples

satin examples

What About Silk?

As mentioned earlier, Fiber Reactive dyes are formulated to work on plant-based fabrics. Since silk is an animal-based fiber, it reacts and accepts these dyes differently. This has to do with the dye receptors of the fibers and how they interact with the dye particles. Using silk, you may find that some colors won't strike as strongly as others, and in some cases, you can get very different results compared to cotton.

In general, silk tends to accept magenta and yellow dye particles quickly, while blue dye particles are accepted more slowly. This means some mixed dye colors will appear differently. Dyes also wick through silk much faster than through other fabrics, so the results won't be as sharply defined as on rayon or cotton.

For example, take a look at our silk dye samples down below - you'll notice right away that they're much different than their cotton or rayon cousins!

Thick or Thin: What's the Scoop with Fabric Thickness?

It's true! The thickness of your fabric also affects the dye result. Thinner fabric can make the dye result look transparent, pastel, or lighter due to less fabric accepting the color. Thicker fabrics can make dye results look more dynamic or darker. In some cases, fabrics with thick piles can obscure the dramatic look of Ice Dye splits.

For example, take a look at this ice dyed velvet dress. We used our Phoenix Flame ice dye, and because the velvet pile is so thick, it's harder to see the ice dye splits. The result is lovely, but it's hard to tell at first glance that it's been ice dyed versus another technique, like low water immersion or bag dyeing/microwave dyeing.

velvet dress example

Let's Get Visual!

Here is a lineup of some spectacular ice dye examples showing how different fibers can play a big part in your color results. We invite you to experiment with ice dyes and see what interesting results you get on the different fabrics in your stash!

Please Note:

All ice dye results shown here were done using the same process for comparison:

Pre-soak in soda ash solution (2 cups of soda ash per gallon of water; remember to use a more concentrated solution as the ice will dilute it), then wring out excess soda solution.
Dye-over-ice, with an additional sprinkle of dry soda ash on top of the ice and dye.
Dyed in the muck without using a rack. (Except for the hoodie, bottom right, which was dyed with a twisted incline method)
Let sit for 24 hours in the muck after the ice melts before rinsing out.

cotton examples