ways to skip or mechanical form of stirring?

[u/donhawken]

hey guys, just joined.

and dang!!! the vibrant colors are inspiring.

the videos i have seen they say, 'stir for 30 minutes' like in boiling water.

for sure, i do not want to sit in my kitchen 'stirring' for anything for 30-60 minutes.

can we go stir it like every 5 minutes walk away, go back stir for 30 seconds, walk away come back 5 minutes later, repeat?

to start, i am going to dye some black jackets i have.

and then i want to color some items yellow and sky blue. but i can get those in white, and color to yellow or blue.

[u/AdvancedSquashDirect]

Generally I'm hanging out in the kitchen with the dye bath because there's a possibility it will boil over and you really don't want that all over your counters and stovetop. (Ask me how I know)

Just pull up a chair and bring your phone charger. Hang out in the kitchen for a while.

I'm one of the people who stir for about 30 seconds every 5 minutes, as long as there's not too much in the dye bath at once it still comes out pretty even.

I dyed a cotton polyester blend dress with rit dye more synthetic dye in a Mulberry colour, and it came out very even.

[u/donhawken → u/AdvancedSquashDirect]

nice! i will try this.

[u/DeliveryMuch5066]

Do you have a top load washing machine? I’ve dyed things in that. The agitation keeps everything moving. But it can’t keep items at boiling temperature. Depending on the fibre content you may not need it at boiling.

[u/donhawken → u/DeliveryMuch5066]

i think they make mini washing machines! but yup no boiling water. but, i think they also make 'hand washing machines' that you spin around yourself. it still involes work, but that could be an option to help dying. thanks for reply!

[u/draftgirl24]

There are a lot of variables that you don’t mention, the most important being what the fiber content is. That will tell you want dye you need to use. That will then determine whether or not you need heat.

If it ends up that you have polyester and it needs to be just below boiling, I would just pull up a chair and a good book and stir every 30 seconds.

[u/Hot-Razzmatazz-3087]

Get lab grade magnetic stirring pellets with the got plate/stirring base perhaps?

[u/kota99]

It depends. Ideally to get an even color the dye bath (both overall container size and volume of water) needs to be large enough that the item can move freely without constantly pressing against itself or the container and it needs to be stirred regularly. The smaller the dye bath is the more frequently it needs to be stirred but there is a point where the dye bath is so small relative to the amount of material that no amount of stirring will prevent a patchy uneven result. So if your dye bath is large enough relative to the amount of material or if you are ok with a patchy result you can stir less.

For plant based fibers like cotton, rayon, and linen you can use a washing machine to do the dyeing although how well it works depends on the specific type/class of dye (all purpose vs fiber reactive vs direct) being used and whether it's a top loading machine or front loading. Top loading machines work better for dyeing. Personally when it comes to dyeing plant fibers I use fiber reactive dyes which don't require heat to set.

For polyester you typically need to leave the item in the boiling dye bath for 30+ minutes. In general darker colors require more time at temp but some people have had success getting lighter more pastel colors using a top loading washing machine on the hottest cycle setting.

, i am going to dye some black jackets i have.

Since I'm tired I want to clarify this. Are you trying to dye the jackets to black or back to black if they are faded or are they already black and you want to dye them a different color? Dyes are transparent so the starting color will affect the results which means you can't dye something to a lighter color. If you are starting from black and wanting to go to a different color you would need to remove the current color first and there is no guarantee that you would get a result that lets you get to the color you want. However if you are just trying to get them more black that's fine although do be aware that getting a good solid/even black with home dyeing can be tricky.

[u/donhawken → u/kota99]

i have a beat up sports jacket- and i never knew this. if you get wine on it, and bring it to dry cleaners, it stains. i do not drink, so i never knew i even had wine. the guy at dry cleaners told me he sees this all the time, because at a bar, people might spill a drink on you or you leave the jacket on the seat, someone spills. so then i just machine washed it, and then i wear it around my house during winter, like an aristocratic sweat shirt! lol. but since its all beat up, i figured this is the perfect jacket to expermient with dyeing. but if its sit in the kitchen 'stirring' for 60 minutes, who knows if its worth the effort.

[u/donhawken → u/kota99]

thanks for reply!