bengala dye

I mentioned I bought some bengala dye ( a soil, mineral dye from iron oxide) in my last post and I experimented with it for a few days. I chose the Kosyoku shade which is in the gray family and I achieved a silver shade of gray using whites. I am very happy with the results. I tried out a few different materials and used only water and the dye in one dye pot. The materials I used: plain ivory tissue tees and one with sequins, a small ball of alpaca and a bright white cashmere sweater that had a small coffee stain on it that I wasn't able to remove. All turned out beautifully and the coffee stain now is not noticeable and the tees look much nicer and will get more use.

Bengala dye color is achieved by kneading it into the fabric for several minutes- I used gloves and once bare hands (there was no staining).After I dyed them I left them out in the sun to dry. That was all.

Here is the Bengala Dye chart from Loop of the Loom. The colors are all beautiful.