Auxiliaries are here to help!
As creatives, we often get excited about colours, patterns, and techniques, but there’s another key ingredient to achieving vibrant, long-lasting results: auxiliaries. These unsung heroes of the dyeing process can make all the difference.
This month, we’re diving into auxiliaries—what they are, why they matter, and how they can help you take your dyeing to the next level. Don’t worry, we’ll keep the science talk to a minimum!
WHAT ARE DYEING AUXILIARIES & WHY USE THEM?
Dyeing auxiliaries are chemical substances that help improve the quality, consistency, and final results of your dyeing process. If you're a beginner, you might already be familiar with some common auxiliaries like soda ash, salt, and acids. In commercial textile production, a wide range of auxiliaries are used to enhance dyeing efficiency and fabric performance.
Some auxiliaries are essential to the dyeing process, while others enhance the final result. For example, when using Procion dyes, soda ash is a must as a fixative—it activates cellulose fibres (like cotton) so the dye can form a strong, permanent bond. Without it, the dye won’t adhere properly and will wash out. On the other hand, Glauber salt isn’t essential, but it helps fix more dyes in the fibre and improves dye bath exhaustion, leading to a higher level of dyeing and better colour uptake.
Auxiliaries can be used to:
- Bond dye to fibre – Some auxiliaries, like acids or alkalis, adjust the dye bath’s ph to ensure proper dye fixation.
- Improve colour evenness – Helps prevent patchy or uneven dye absorption.
- Enhance vibrancy and colour fastness – Ensures colours stay bright and resist fading over time.
- Control dye spread – E.g., Mezatol, which prevents dyes from bleeding into unwanted areas.
- Release excess dye efficiently – E.g., Dynazol, which speeds up rinsing and reduces water usage.
- Create special effects – E.g., thickeners, thinners, and drying retardants for specific application techniques.
If you dye fabric regularly, using the right auxiliaries can enhance your results, improve efficiency, and reduce water consumption, saving you time, money, and effort.
We have two full pages of 'Chemicals & Auxiliaries' on our website, which is a bit daunting, but here are a few key products that can help take your dyeing to the next level…
We hope this short dose of auxiliary talk helps you take your projects to the next level for maximum colour yield, evenness and longevity. Happy dyeing, Krafters!
As always, if you have any questions or need help choosing the right auxiliaries for your next project, we're just a call or email away. We love hearing about what you're creating!
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