Foreword	6
Preface	7
Introduction	8
Part I: Basics	15
Using this Book	15
Understanding Dyes and Paints	15
Protecting Yourself and Your Environment	16
Setting Up Your Work Space	17
Cleaning Your Work Space	18
Understanding Color	19
Choosing Fabric	20
Preparing Fabric	22
Part II: Dyes	33
Working with Fiber-Reactive Dyes	33
Equipment	34
Supplies	36
Calculating Measurements for an Immersion Dye Bath	40
Using Direct-Application Techniques	41
Color Mixing	41
Mixing Basics	46
Dye Concentrate	48
Dye-Stock Solution	50
Urea Water	52
Print and Dye Pastes	54
Activator Soak and Mixed Alkali	60
Immersion Dye Techniques	70
Direct-Application Dye Techniques	96
Using Liquid Resists	119
Part III: Paints	132
Equipment	133
Supplies	134
Assembling a Palette	136
Textile Paint Techniques	137
Appendixes	151
A. Helpful Terms	151
B. Helpful Products and Recipes	154
C. Weights of Auxiliary Products	155
D. English and Metric Abbreviations, Measurements and Conversion Charts	156
Resources	158
Bibliography	159
Further Reading	159
Index	160
Bibliography	162

Excerpt:

Using This Book

This book is organized into three parts: learning about dyes and paints (Part I), using fiber-reactive dyes (Part II), and using textile paints (Part III).
There are two basic methods of applying dyes to fabrics: immersion dye bath (also known as vat or exhaust dyeing) and direct application (by hand). This book covers many techniques for and variations of both application methods, in addition to the standard dye bath: value gradation, hue gradation, immersion dyeing with a resist, tie dyeing, fold-and-dip dyeing, hand painting a design, color wash, monoprinting, stenciling, stamping, hand painting with a resist, and stamping with a resist.

Textile paints are usually applied by hand. As with dyes, this book covers many different techniques and variations, including stamping with leaves and shells, stenciling, sun printing, and marbling.

If you are new to coloring fabrics, I urge you to read through the book rather than skipping directly to a specific application procedure, which I call "recipes." I know it's tempting to jump ahead, but there is helpful information on every page! Be sure to read "Protecting Yourself and Your Environment" on pages 16-17.

Understanding Dyes and Paints

Fiber reactive dyes and textile paints color fabrics in different ways. This does not mean that one id better than the other - each has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the desired result.

When you apply fiber-reactive dyes to fabric, a chemical reaction occurs and the dye molecules bond with the fabric molecules. The chemical bond cannot be broken or reversed, so the fabric is washfast. TO remove color, as in a discharge process, you must destroy the color part of the dye molecule.

This type of chemical reaction does not occur with textile paints. Instead, textile paints contain a "binder" or adhesive that attaches insoluble particles of color to the fabric surface. This is an important difference. Textile paints leave an adhesive residue that may make fabric feel slightly to significantly stiffer; this is referred to as changing the hand of the fabric. Dyes do not change the hand of the fabric.

Dye molecules are soluble in water (hydrophilic) and form transparent solutions. Textile paints are made of insoluble particles (hydrophobic) and are dispersed in water. While textile paints do not penetrate the fiber, they are available in intense colors - transparent and opaque - and are very easy to apply. The durability of the paint depends on the binder. As a rule, textile paints are more lightfast than dyes, but they have a tendency to "crock" or rub off in the wash.

To help you visualize the difference between dyed and painted fabric, I suggest thinking of the difference between a beet and a radish. Fiber-reactive dyes color fabric all the way through, like a beet. Slice a beet in half and it is the same color throughout. Textile paints color fabric like a radish - color on the outside fiber, and white, or undyed, fiber on the inside.