Beginning Dyer's Starter Kit

[Golden Tuna]

Hey guys,
I've been lurking around the Disc Dying section for a while. Now that winter is upon us & I've been sidelined with an injury, I'm ready to start dying up a storm. I've read a lot of the info on technique that others have been kind enough to share but have questions about material more than anything.
Right now, I'm more interested in stencil & shape dyes than marbling, shaving cream & brainwave dyes.

Dyes: What's the best type & place to get them?
I've read that RiT has mostly gone the way of the DoDo bird. Is IDye Poly the next best thing? Or have most people switched to the worm dyes? Where do you buy them, online?

Masking: I've read of people using electrical tape, painters tape, contact paper & high grade vinyl. I assume the vinyl is best, can anyone tell me what grade to look for & the best place to get it?

Cutting: I would love to get a plotter & light box. But to start, I'll probably just learn by hand cutting. Do you guys use traditional craft supplies, like exacto knives, pickets, compass, etc? Is there a good source for an all-in-one kit, or do you pick that stuff up individually at Target or Hobby Lobby? What are the "must have" tools of the trade?

I'm the kind of person that would rather do it "right" the first time instead of wasting a bunch of money finding out what doesn't work. I also appreciate the value of saving from buying volume so any help/direction is appreciated, as well as any other advice.

Thanks

 

[Odyssey113]

Dyes: What's the best type & place to get them?
I've read that RiT has mostly gone the way of the DoDo bird. Is IDye Poly the next best thing? Or have most people switched to the worm dyes? Where do you buy them, online?

I kind of perpetuated this whole worm dye thing based on a suggestion in a thread. It works great for bright colors so far. It seems that Quick coat dye is the one that works best. Someone stated that the "spike it" brand had not held color well for them. These dyes so far I find work best on spin dyes. If you are just going to start off with stencil dyes, then go for Idye poly. I am in the process of testing out a few other disperse dyes similar to idye poly but have only begun the testing process so I cant really give you definitive results on those as of yet. I would suggest buying them online at Dharma trading site or call your local jo ann fabrics and see if they carry it. Some do, some dont. Michaels doesnt seem to carry Idye, I find.

Masking: I've read of people using electrical tape, painters tape, contact paper & high grade vinyl. I assume the vinyl is best, can anyone tell me what grade to look for & the best place to get it?

If you wanna do it right the first time, get oracal 651. You can get a grip of it here. I just bought one of these rolls. Will dye about 60 discs or more depending on how large you cut your dye sheets. Contact paper will work but is more prone to bleed. White is usually the preferred color, at least for me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oracal-651-24-x-10yd-Roll-1-Sign-Vinyl-Crafts-Decals-Labels-Cutter-/181004462330

Cutting: I would love to get a plotter & light box. But to start, I'll probably just learn by hand cutting. Do you guys use traditional craft supplies, like exacto knives, pickets, compass, etc? Is there a good source for an all-in-one kit, or do you pick that stuff up individually at Target or Hobby Lobby? What are the "must have" tools of the trade?

A nice exacto knife is a must have, acetone to wipe stamps, a dye pot, a funnel, and mason jars are all a good start. Once you get more into it you may end up adding to that list cotton balls, q tips, paint brushes, shot glasses for mixing, plates for shaving cream marbling dyes. Just depends on the dyer I suppose. Also one packet of Idye will make a strong batch of about 2 pints worth of liquid dye. If you want to only make a one pint jar mix about 3 teaspoons of idye with one pint (1 pint mason jar) of water. Oh yea, dont use the color intensifier in the idye package. I hear it will make a mess.

I havent dropped the money on a plotter yet, but I hear most people go through UScutter. I will down the line once I get my hands on more scrilla.

Hope this helps. Have fun

 

[Eky8]

Dyes: Go with idye poly. Depending on where you live you might find it in the craft stores or you may have to buy it online. Other things work. But idye is probably the easiest way to start.

Masking: You will enjoy vinyl more than any of the others. Buy oracal 651 or equivalent. I personally use a sign supply store close to my house to buy mine. But many people order online from somewhere like uscutters.com

Cutting: Just use a size 11 (I think) exacto. Some people like to use the swivel blades. I personally could never get use to them. One of the biggest secrets to cutting is to move the vinyl not the blade. Especially with circles. I just bought my blade from walmart. I just put a lamp of some type under glass of some type. Tape my image to the back of the vinyl and cut. You will want some transfer tape of some type. I buy that from the same sign supply shop. But it is pricey so I've seen several other methods such as low tack painters tape. Whatever you do patience and practice are your best friend.

 

[Eky8]

Also odyssey gave you a good list of the other supplies that I missed.

 

[BennettUA]

You can get nearly everything you need with a trip to an arts & crafts store like Michaels/Hobby Lobby/etc for an exacto knife(and extra blades --- ALWAYS easier to cut with a sharp blade), a Dollar Store-type place for cotton pads, q-tips, paint brushes, rulers, compass, small bowls for mixing, plates for shaving cream treatments, shaving cream itself, and a trip to WalMart or HomeDepot/Lowes for the acetone.

You'll also need something to remove the adhesive residue once you're done; I prefer Goo Gone. It's cheap and easy to find, and a small bottle will last years.

I always recommend good vinyl over contact paper/electrical tape/etc. It's the best to work with for cutting, transfering, and limiting bleeds. Find a local sign shop, and ask if they have any vinyl they can spare. Most of them usually do. That's how I got started.

 

[Eky8]

Also go to a thrift shop and find a pan. Try not to get one with a non stick coating. That's the cheapest way to get a pan for doing dip dyes.

 

[Golden Tuna]

Thanks guys for all the tips & advice.
Looks like I have a great list to start with. I need to get a my supplies together & set up to use over the next few months while my arm is in a sling.

I'm sure I'll have various other questions throughout the process. So, thanks again in advance.

 

[TalkingSasquach]

If you want an epic light box, find an old overhead projector like the ones they used to use in grade school. They're cheap and you can pull the mirror off for a perfect light box.

 

[Belyeu53]

i used a glass top patio table with a lamp below it for a light box. worked great and i had all of the parts already.

 

[bmxpunk01]

My original lightbox was a clear plastic bin, with a plug-in "under cabinet" flourescent light. Worked great, and when I was done, it stored all my supplies! I think I spent $12 bucks at Kmart for both items...

 

[youdidwell]

I just did my first two dyes within the last few weeks and pretty much everyone covered it. Look if there's a Blick Art Materials store by you, they carry iDye Poly.

My tip from my last stencil is to pay extra attention to places it goes over the original stamp, it caused a bleed. But I am using contact paper, so maybe vinyl isn't has sensitive.

 

[Odyssey113]

I just did my first two dyes within the last few weeks and pretty much everyone covered it. Look if there's a Blick Art Materials store by you, they carry iDye Poly.

My tip from my last stencil is to pay extra attention to places it goes over the original stamp, it caused a bleed. But I am using contact paper, so maybe vinyl isn't has sensitive.

Ehhh...not As sensitive but still watch out for the stamp imprint with whatever your using. Use a credit card or something similar to make sure you preserve those sections that are exposed to the stamp. I spend almost as much time going over it with a CC as I do cutting the stencil sometimes. Especially on discraft discs as they have abnormally deep stamps. I have seen it on innova too though. Cant hurt to try to align your stencil where the stamp is not located if at all possible.

But yes switch to vinyl as soon as possible. You will not regret it.