Ask LaBricoleuse: Learning to Dye

This post started as a response to a comment made by sageincave, who asked:

Hi! I am an amateur costumer, and I was wondering how you learned to custom-dye. I found you via a (not very helpful) google search.

Dyeing is such a huge, complex topic--it's part artistry, part chemistry, part color theory, and if you ask me, part luck! My comment got so long that i figured i'd make it into a post instead.

I got my start in college, where i took courses in dyeing and other fabric surface design. You might try contacting local universities and adult education centers and see if any of them offer any dyeing courses or, if you are in school, see if you could do one as an elective or similar. The courses i took were split between the costume classes offered by the theatre department and fiber arts classes through the art department; if you have a local college with a textiles department, they will probably have them as well. Some of the courses i took were graduate-level courses, and the one i teach presently is as well, so don't look only at undergraduate offerings; i know we'll sometimes allow undergraduates or community professionals to audit our grad courses, so you may be able to arrange something without, you know, actually going to grad school. (Unless you want to, in which case, that's a-whole-nother post!) :) You could also keep an eye out for traveling dye professionals who conduct workshops around the country (such as Carol Soderlund) and plan a trip around taking a workshop.

Or, if you are wanting to go the route of trial and error, exploration and self-teaching, i can recommend a couple books to start with.

The textbook i use in my class is Fabric Painting and Dyeing for the Theatre by Deborah M. Dryden. Its most recent edition is from 1993, so some of the specific brand names of dyes and fabric paints mentioned aren't up-to-date (for example, Deka has gone out of business so you can't get their products anymore), but it's a handy basic text that approaches dyeing and other fabric treatments from a costumer's perspective. There are a lot of other specific books out there that go into detail about various dyeing techniques (like silk painting, or batik, or shibori) but Dryden's is a good overview that covers everything from what equipment you need to what types of dyes to use to how you can use dyes to get different visual effects.

I also recommend getting a basic color theory textbook as well--for most people color-blending theory is not intuitive, and a good reference on the subject is particularly helpful in troubleshooting color-match dyeing jobs. The first time i taught my course, i used Betty Edwards' Color: A Course in Mastering the Art of Mixing Colors, which i will probably use again. I've been considering Feisner's Color Studies, but it's too in-depth for my needs as a class text--it's a great reference though. There's a TON of good color theory books out there--i'd just swing by the library and wander the stacks in the color theory section til you find one that appeals to you.

And, the other text i require my students to buy (which i highly recommend for anyone getting into costuming on any level) is Costumes and Chemistry by Sylvia Moss. I make my dyeing students buy it for the first section of the book, in which Moss surveys hundreds of brands and types of chemical products costumers use--not just dyes, but also adhesives, paints, solvents, etc.--and provides analyses of their effectiveness in various applications and what safety precautions to take when working with them. Her book allows you to look up easily whether, say, you need a dust mask or a respirator, latex or butyl gloves, what special materials to use to clean up a spilled product, etc.

I don't know if you are approaching costuming from a design perspective as well, but just in case you are, i'll mention a couple of other books i have and love (not so much related to dyeing, but color from a historical and design-related perspective. Victoria Finlay's Color: A Natural History of the Palette is a fascinating study of the origins of different pigments, trends in color in various historical societies, and the cultural significance of the range of the spectrum.

Another cool book, less academic and more of a reference volume, is Living Colors: The Definitive Guide to Color Palettes Through the Ages, by Margaret Walch and Augustine Hope, which covers historical color palettes--what colors were fashionable or significant to various cultures throughout history. It's a weirdly constructed book (a double spiral binding in a hardcover box-like exterior), so you fold some of the leaves out to the left and some out to the right, making it hard to read if you are laying on a divan or something--you have to really flip through it flat on a table or desk.

I hope this gives you some leads on where to start with learning about dyeing. Have fun and be safe!