Fabric Alchemy

There is so much information on Low water Immersion dyeing, but so much of it is conflicting. I get the feeling that dyeing in this way is a lot like making a curry. Every family has their own recipe and way of doing it, none of them are wrong, and they all come out different with some of them more tasty than others.

The dye books and sites differ so much. Some recommend using urea, some say don't use it. Some use salt, some say never use it. the proportions of dye powder to water differ, the soda ash proportions differ and because you can't really get a true color from a swatch sample on the monitor you can only have a general idea of just what color their recipe produced.

So it's almost like dyeing is some secret formula you have to discover by your own experimentation. Like the alchemy of old you take the notes of others and experiment until you've created something magic.