Silk Ribbon Dying

I haven't died silk ribbon or floss but I DID take Catherine Jordan's class on dying cotton floss and fabric. I was totally bummed because she *used* to teach a class on dying silk ribbon but when I finally had the time to take the class, she no longer offered it :-(. Anyway, when dying regular stuff, I have mixed the primary colors to achieve a different color. In class, we basically over dyed the floss to get a different color because Catherine had all of the dyes mixed and ready for us to use. I haven't done all that much dying outside of the classes -- just a few things over the years. But even with good old fashioned Rit Dye, I used to mix different colored powders to get the color I wanted. I certainly don't see why you couldn't still do that. I know we have several members who do dye their own fibers and fabrics so I'm hoping they will respond. I want to see what the experts have to say -- along with you, I'm looking forward to learning a bit more! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Yes, you can mix dyes to create different colors, but dyes work differently from pigments (being a subtractive rather than additive process). The primary dye colors are yellow, cyan and magenta. Mixing proceeds pretty much as you might imagine, with occasional surprising results. If you can play, it's fun. If you're trying to match a particular color, it can be frustrating. I usually order from dharmatrading.com. Be clear on whether you're getting cut or woven ribbon.

Best wishes, Ericka

I'm not really concerned about creating a specific color; I gave up trying to recreate nature in my stitching As long as the motif is pretty and not too grossly deformed, I'm happy.

From RibbonSmyth, I ordered a dye kit and some of her gorgeous hand dyed ribbons. I also ordered dirt cheap 2mm ribbons from threadart. It'll be interesting to see if there's a difference in the quality and how easy (or difficult) it will be to create shades of the same color.

As long as you're not trying to match colors, dyeing is great fun.

The tricky bit with the ribbons is whether they're cut or woven. The cut ribbon is good for knitting/crocheting/etc., but not particularly good for ribbon embroidery. The cut edges fray rapidly and don't give a nice appearance. Creating shades of the same color is usually easily done by varying the amount of time the fabric is exposed to the dye. You can also really dilute the dye to get a more pastel shade, but note that it doesn't take a lot of dye (particularly with good dyes), so it takes a pretty big difference in dilution to get much of a difference in color. I usually find it easier to control time than dilution.

Best wishes, Ericka

Talk about GREAT customer service -- the dye kit arrived today. I'll do some experimenting soon. The remainder of this week is devoted to Brazilian embroidery doodling ;-)

I don't have any idea what type of ribbon I've got -- just that it's what's used for embroidery, not knitting etc.

How beautiful this is. I'm catching up on past messages Anne, and like you, have no idea how to do something like this. But please let us know how it turns out when you do have it finished. I'm sorely tempted to add it to my 'to do' list.

Maureen-- Maureen Miller snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com