A treatise on hot pink.
Hot pink. One of my most favorite colors, next to turquoise, purple...red, and the rest of the rainbow! Here I am delving into a color exploration of 4 different dyes. I used the same quantity of dye, same amount of water, fiber, temperature of water. Here's the run down on what I used. What happened was interesting! Here are my thoughts on the hot pink dyes.
Here's what I used for each dye bath:
4 quarts water, heated to 185*
1 1/2 tsp dye powder
2 tablespoons citric acid
2+ oz of each fiber
Dyes:
Jacquard Acid Dye #620
Dharma Acid Dye #406
Country Classics #COC31F
Gaywool Acid Dye in
Fibers:
blending nylon
superwash targhee
washed merino locks
Jacquard Acid Dye:
Jacquard's Hot Fuchsia, has been a staple in my dye set for years. It produces a clear, very saturated depths of shade with very little dye. It's very easy to use, and exhausts very fast. It washes pretty well, and wears well. Fading some over several washes, but retains it's vibrant color. It's a nice clear hot pink on natural fibers. It goes ballistic when introduced to anything nylon. We're talking
black light neon
, in the best possible way. Some may find this disconcerting, I personally adore it. The dye isn't fugitive, once it's set it stays. I rinsed all fibers in a 140* water bath. Overall, Jacquard is a winner. Great dye economy, a pinch will produce vibrant shades. Try it on nylon or milk fiber for wow factor!
See Dharma's info page for further info
on solubility, light fast, etc.
Dharma Acid Dye:
Dharma's acid dye range is relatively new. Don't let that throw you, it's a great dye range. Their Florescent Fuchsia is bright. It dyes well, and is fairly concentrated. It's a little cakey, and needs a bit of stirring to dissolve in the dye water. It dyes well, clearly and provides a vibrant shade. It bleeds a little with the rinsing, maybe the only downside. The color is similar to Jacquard, maybe a little darker. It dyes the nylon neon as well, but not as neon on the protein fibers.
See Dharma's page for more info
on washfast, light fast, solubility etc.
Country Classics:
The Very Hot Pink is the only dye that isn't concentrated. This is because the fixer is included with the dye. The One Shot is simple to use, unlike the other dyes; no citric acid is needed. The color is light on protein fibers, and neon on nylon. It striked faster than the other dyes, which is great if you're in a time crunch. It's important to wet the fibers you're dyeing well, with this dye. Otherwise you'll get mottled coloring. I like this dye, but prefer their Washfast range, since it is more concentrated. *note: Prochemical sells the same shade as "Washfast" that is concentrated-with no fixer added. (I didn't sample Washfast, but have used it in the past)
Gaywool:
This brand of dye is new to me. It is an
company, I love everything from Australia and hope to visit some day (Hello.
from the 100...but I digress). Thanks to
for sending me a sampler pack to play with! The written instructions could be a bit simpler. I suddenly realized, it's used the same as the other acid dyes. I'm not the best when it comes to instructions, they're more like
suggestions.
I didn't use the Glauber's salt, and Lyogen H assists, on purpose as an experiment. I assume, they are recommended so the dye penetrates better and is more even. The results were really good, even without the assists. Which is great, since I love to keep it simple. The dye is very concentrated! It was the most concentrated of all the dyes. I would categorize it as
crazy concentrated.
You could easily use 1/2 a teaspoon in 4 quarts of water, to achieve very dramatic results. It has a heavier smell than the rest of the dyes, even with a mask it was noticeable. The superwash targhee dyed more of a deep rosy magenta, which is gorgeous. The nylon went insanely deep neon pink. The Rhodamine dyes great, and exhausted well; leaving slightly pinky water. Possibly if I used the assists, it would have been different. I need to explore that further!
From left to right, Country Classics, Jacquard Acid Dye, Dharma Acid Dye, Gaywool Acid Dye
Overall, each dye is awesome. It comes down to brand loyalty, and budget. Gaywool does run higher in cost, but it's exceptional saturation of color makes it worthwhile. The cheapest dye is the Country Classic, it's okay but not a favorite. My favorite for dyeing wool, etc is Jacquard (surprise!). My favorite for dyeing neon hot pink turned out is Dharma's Acid Dye. Jacquard exhausts the best, which is very desirable. I have a septic tank, and am always aware of the dyes effect on the system. There's subtle differences with each color. More depth of shade, vs color. Gaywool's Rhodamine is very concentrated, and the winner if you want a very dark hot pink. I hope you try all the dyes, and explore them for yourself. Hot pink is a fantastic color, and truly is a favorite!
