Dye Depth of Shade Calculator
Dye powder for a depth of shade, the stock solution to measure and the dye bath water.
Result
Dye powder: 4.54 g
Weighed dry, or measured as stock belowExact arithmetic on your figures; how dark the result looks depends on the dye, the fibre and the process.
- Stock solution to measure
- 3.1 fl oz (18.4 tsp, 90.7 mL)
- Dye bath
- 1.2 gal (4.79 qt, 4.54 L)
- Water to add besides the stock
- 1.17 gal (4.7 qt, 4.45 L)
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Results are arithmetic on the figures you enter and are estimates. Products, materials and animals vary, so follow the maker's instructions and label, make a test piece where it matters, and ask a vet about feeding. Nothing here is safety or veterinary advice. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Dye Depth of Shade Calculator
- Weigh the fibre, yarn or fabric dry and enter its weight.
- Choose a depth of shade, the dye as a share of that weight.
- Enter the strength of your stock solution, if you dissolve the dye first, and the liquor ratio from your dye's instructions.
- Read the dye powder, the stock solution to measure and the water for the dye bath.
How it is calculated
dye powder = dry fibre weight × depth of shadestock = dye powder ÷ stock strength (5% = 5 g in 100 mL)dye bath = dry fibre weight × liquor ratio (1 g of water = 1 mL)water = dye bath − stockThese are the percentage dyeing formulas in Eichler-Messmer’s handout on depth of shade dyeing with Procion MX and acid dyes. The stock solution counts towards the bath, so the water to add is the bath less the stock.
Stock solutions
A stock solution is dye dissolved in water at a known strength, which makes small amounts easy to measure by volume and keeps dry powder out of the air. The handout suggests 5% as a workable strength and a weaker 1% or 2% for very pale shades, and says most dye powders will not dissolve beyond about 10%, which is the most this page accepts. Label the jar with the dye, the strength and the date.
Typical steps, not recommendations
The 1%, 2% and 4% offered under depth of shade are common steps on a dyer’s sample card, not what any colour needs. How dark a depth looks depends on the dye, the fibre and how completely the dye exhausts. Dyeing a small sample at two or three depths is the reliable way to hit a colour. Mixing colours is a matter of splitting the stock between them in the proportions you choose.
With your numbers
- Stock = 2.27 g ÷ 5% = 45.4 mL
- Dye bath = 8 oz × 20 = 1.2 gal
- Dye powder = 8 oz × 1% = 2.27 g
Quick reference
Exact arithmetic on your figures; how dark the result looks depends on the dye, the fibre and the process.
| Example | Dye powder |
|---|---|
| 8 oz at 1%, 5% stock | 2.27 g |
| 8 oz at 4%, 5% stock | 9.07 g |
| 1 lb at 4%, 2% stock | 18.14 g |
| 4 oz at 0.5%, 1% stock, 40:1 | 0.57 g |
| 250 g at 2%, 5% stock | 5 g |
| 1 kg at 4%, 10% stock, 30:1 | 40 g |
| 100 g at 0.5%, 1% stock, 40:1 | 0.5 g |
Where the numbers come from
The fixed figures this calculator relies on, and the published source each one was checked against. How the calculators are built and checked
1 source
NIST Chemistry WebBook, water at 4 °C and 0.101325 MPa: 999.9749 kg/m³ (IAPWS-95), https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/fluid.cgi?ID=C7732185, rounded to the conventional 1000 kg/m³ of NIST SP 811 (2008) Appendix B, centimeter of water, conventional = 98.0665 Pa.
Used for
- The conventional density of water, 1000 kg/m³. Pure water at 4 °C, its densest, is 999.97 kg/m³.
Common questions about the Dye Depth of Shade Calculator
- What is depth of shade?
- The weight of dye as a percentage of the weight of the dry fibre. A 2% depth of shade on 250 grams of yarn is 5 grams of dye. Higher percentages give deeper colour, and a sample card often doubles each step: 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%.
- How much stock solution do I use?
- Divide the dye weight by the strength of the stock. A 5% stock holds 5 grams of dye in every 100 millilitres, so 5 grams of dye is 100 millilitres of it. The handout example is 1% on 5 grams of fibre from a 5% stock: 1 millilitre.
- What is a liquor ratio?
- The weight of water in the dye bath against the weight of dry fibre. At 20 to 1, 250 grams of yarn goes into 5 litres of water. Instructions differ by dye and fibre, so use the one your dye maker gives.
- Does the page include salt, soda ash or acid?
- No. Those amounts depend on the dye system and the maker, and Jacquard and Dharma each publish their own. Take them from your dye's instructions.
- Why weigh rather than use spoons?
- A spoonful of powder is only a rough measure; the handout puts a teaspoon of Procion dye at about 3 grams as an approximation. Weighing the dye, or measuring a stock solution made by weight, is what makes a colour repeatable from one batch to the next.