Sucessfully dyed ribbon colors?
 

If you have sucessfully dyed white grograin ribbon, with the SU reinkers and gotten a ribbon that is acceptable, will you please post here what colors you used?

I tried cranberry crisp, and it does not dye near to what the color is. It is either very light, or a very dark purple/red. I tried dying one 2 yard piece of white 3 times, and was not happy any of the times. I read on here that the burgundy ribbon SU sells is a close match, so will be getting that one to use with my cranberry crisp, along with the new ribbon with the white dashes in it. Thanks for the help! I love the idea of dying ribbon but don't want to waste my time if I can not get a good dye. For what it is worth, we also tried handsome hunter, and it does not dye a nice color either.

I have not tried those colors. But I have died ribbon with So Saffron and Sahara Sand and I got great results. How much water and drops of ink are you mixing together?

I had good results with bordering blue, that is about all I have tried. I am happy settling for a color that coordinates, it doesn't have to match perfectly, so I just ordered a bunch of white grosgrain to start dyeing away.

Ugh....I should try this. Fine...you talked me into it....my first ribbon order and re-inker order. ;)

I tried Vintage Violet yesterday and didn't get good results. (Although the white primas I threw in turned out great!)

I'm guessing that lighter colors probably work best. So if someone figures out how to do the dark colors let us know! :)

FWIW, my sister will ink up a sponge and rub it on the ribbon to "dye" it that way. Seems to work just fine, and you're able to color a section of ribbon as you need it.

Now that I am thinking about it....and this might not be helpful because I do not remember the name of the stuff....

My friend tie dyes t-shirts and she uses a tiny pinch of a powdery substance that she says helps the dye stick to the fabric better....

Any idea?

I don't know about a powder, but I have heard that adding a bit of vinegar is supposed to help the color "take" better.

I posted earlier, but I just got my in color order a couple hours ago and I did try the cranberry, you're right it looks more "rosey" to me. I did the blue, and it was a nice shade, but not really great. The next one I did was mix the cranberry and the blue, just for fun. It turned a fun color. I guess I'll just make pretty colored ribbon all night.

The powdery stuff is "something ash" I think or "ash something"....I remember that from tie-dyeing too. White ash? must google now.

Soda Ash according to About.com. I tried my Rose Romance and thought it didn't work so great because my ribbon wasn't SU (sorry) and that maybe it had poly-cotton problems...now I will try the soda ash (i do still have some---hope it doesn't "get old"!)

Does she find that the color holds up well over time? As the ink soaks farther into the ribbon it can leave the outside surface looking faded -- sometimes after only a few days or weeks.

When I did the cranberry I did varying amounts of water and ink, the last batch was almost full strength dye, with one squirt of water. It turned a pretty color, just not the one I was looking for. I am thinking light colors work better for this. Have to try it on some lighter ribbon.

Call me crazy but I tried all of the colors.

Yes, I'm crazy.

So here is what I found:

Use Rubbing Alcohol NOT water!

#1 Rubbing Alcohol helps the ribbon dye more permanently. I used water for my first round of dyeing and accidentally sprayed water on a dyed piece of ribbon and all of the color went away! I dyed with Rubbing Alcohol and then sprayed water on it. The color faded slightly but the ribbon held the ink.

#2 A few of the reinkers (lovely lilac was the worst) did this wierd separation of the dye when I added water. There were floaties of color and the ribbon was blotchy. This did not happen with Rubbing Alcohol.

#3 The dark colors (bravo burgundy, night of navy, forest foliage, cranberry crisp, etc.) dyed really blotchy when I used water but with Rubbing Alcohol they dyed much more evenly. Keep in mind the ribbon may not take the color "perfectly" but I got a VERY good result with the Rubbing Alcohol.

I used 1/4 teaspoon Rubbing Alcohol with 8 drops of reinker mixed in a ziploc baggie. When you pull the ribbon out put it on a napkin or paper towel and run the ribbon through the napkin between your fingers to remove excess dye. This will also make sure your dye is more even on the ribbon. I found if i just let the ribbon sit or even blot it that I got a blotchy dye job. I then blow dry my ribbon so that the ink is dry.

Another tip, always artichoke and true thyme come out brown unless you add 1 drop of green galore to the mix! Then they come out the right color.

Remember that the dyed ribbon may not match your paper "perfectly" but will be like the marker/ink pad/eyelet/paper match. They are not exact but coordinate beautifully!

HTH
-Alta :-)

WOW, Alta! You rock!

I have dyed all the new in colors, pink passion, so saffron, creamy caramel.

And a few others I can't think of.

How awesome are you, thanks bunches!

Thanks for sharing, Alta - I'm going to give your advice a try!!!

Alta--Thank you!! I just tried it with Cool Caribbean and it looks great!!
Sherrie

I did it thanks to AmyR and her awesome toot. I would have not tried it had she not done that fabulous tutorial.

I have done
1. bliss blue (10 drops reinker & 15 sprays water)
2. old olive (10 drops reinker and 10 sprays water)

Fabulous success with each and I immediately used the ribbon (after hanging and allowing to dry - yes I have a makeshift clothesline in my studio...right in front of the window...neighbors think I'm nuts but what else is new...:)

Love this technique - thank you Amy Rysavy!!

I've recently dyed some primas with pixie pink and lavendar lace and they came out great (used water with the reinkers, not alcohol).

My 2 cents
 

I don't know if this will help. But I took a small course, so to speak, in tye-dyeing. I learned that when you dye something you have to pay attention to the products your using. If you have 100% cotton ribbon, this qualifies as a natural material and requires a natural dye. For synthetic materials they have synthetic dyes you should use.
I am not sure that SU ink is all natural or that the ribbon is either. The ink probably isn't. This may be part of the problem. Adding different kinds of solutions (Vinegar, Soda Ash, ect.) may be helpful.
When dyeing anything... I would use hot-simmering water and after dyeing you run it thru the cold sink water. This sets the dye. But that is mostly for dying large pieces of fabric, there is no telling... maybe this will help, maybe not.
S

Great idea with the white primas!

I tried dyeing Pink Passion last night and at first thought it was great. As it dried it got blotchy - to the point of some areas losing most of the color and reverting to white. I wasn't at all happy with it. I had done barely banana and found it fine though. I'm anxious to try the rubbing alcohol! THANKS!

I have dyed lots of different colors using the SU! white grosgrain. My experience is that the lighter colors take well and stay true. Ie: Marigold, caribbean, celery, any lighter colors. I have had problems with close to cocoa, burgandy's and any darker colors. They fade out as they dry and are just not ture colors. I will continue to purchase and dye lighter colors to match, but will purchase coordinating or true color ribbon matches for darker colors. Just my humble opinion on the subject.....

Aww thanx Cindy!!
http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/budhug.gif

I've done quite a few colors (Cool Caribbean, Marigold Morning, Bashful Blue, Pink Passion, Old Olive, to name a few) and all of them turned out great. I've never tried doing it w/ rubbing alcohol but I've added that to my list of things I need to try!! :D

I've done Cool Caribbean which came out absolutely gorgeous and I did Always Artichoke which was less than gorgeous at first, but was decent after doing it twice using Amy's method.