Commercial Dharma Dyes

The below method for using Retayne, worked good, but there was still some bleeding. So if you use it you might want to try adding more than 1 tablespoon per gal of water used. It worked much better than using nothing. I am going to try the Dharma Fixative next to see if I get better results http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1569-AA.shtml?lnav=chemicals.html I must say I was very pleased with the Dharma Dyes - when wet the cane almost has a pearlized look to it and when dry it has a better *sheen* quality to it. http://www.dharmatrading.com/procion.html Very important when using these dyes you need the Soda Ash to mix with it. http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1683-AA.shtml?lnav=chemicals.html This *fixer* bonds the dye to the natural fiber. These dyes will work with any natural fiber, see their website for lots of info on using them.

After letting the cane dry overnight I used Retayne, since I had this on hand, as a fixative to reduce the amount of bleeding when weaving. Instructions for Retayne: 1. Again use your kettle that will hold at least 1 gal of water so you can submerge your cane in it. 2. Dissolve the Retayne in a bowl of 140 degree water, I used very hot tap water, which worked. If the Retayne clumps your water isn't hot enough and requires heating it until the Retayne dissolves. 3. I used 1 tablespoon of Retayne for 1 gal of water. 4. After adding the Retayne to the water, add the cane. Leave the cane in the mixture for 20 minutes. Again I turned the cane after 10 minutes and agitated the cane up and down to make sure all surface areas were covered by the solution. 5. After 20 minutes remove the cane and again rinse in cool water. I have found using the water hose outside for rinsing is very effective in removing excess dye and Retayne. 6. Let the cane dry over night again before weaving. When I dye...

Using 2.75mm coil of Hamburg cane in the photo below. (these instructions are for an entire coil of the Hamburg cane.) Take a kettle that will hold 1 gal. of warm water. If you use a deep, narrow kettle, a little larger than the uncoiled cane, 1 gal, of warm water will cover the entire coil. There can't be any finish on the material to prevent the dye from seeping in. Natural commercial cane will not dye, so it is necessary to use the Hamburg or Bleached Cane for dying. 1. Determine the amount of lukewarm water needed to completely cover the material and for the material to move around freely. Then for each gallon add one tablespoon of dye (pre-dissolved) and 1/2 cup plain salt. Stir to mix thoroughly. 1 gal. of water in a container that will hold the uncoiled cane, will be enough to submerge the cane for any desired time. In some cases you'll need to add 2 tablespoons of the dye i.e. Chocolate Brown but if your container requires more than one gallon of water to submerge the c...

All you need for dying cane is found here. Dharma Trading Co. has a web site at: Dharma Trading Co. Their instructions for Wood and Cane: Instructions Another required ingredient with these dyes: Soda Ash Fixer To help with color bleeding, used after dying the cane: Dharma Dye Fixative

This is the results from the Dharma Dyes. I have use: 1. Rust Orange - which gives me the red/orange in the center; 2. Chocolate Brown - which gives me the rich dark brown, which looks almost black in the photo; and 3. Ecru - which gives me the look of a natural cane on bleached Hamburg cane.

Welcome to the Dye pages for Cherokee Basketweaving. Some instructions on using the Dharma Dyes might be of help. So this is how I've used the dyes.