Elusive red

I am generally happy with the dyes (Procion fibre reactive) and dyeing method I use (from this book), however the one problem I have encountered is that I can't manage to get a 'fire engine' red. I have tried over and over using various 'primary' reds (Red MXB, Magenta MXB, Red MXGB,Red MX5B and Red MX8B) mixed with various proportions of blue and yellow, but end up with pinks or oranges - I have so many pinks now that I don't know if I'll ever use them all.

The other day when I dyed skin tones, I mixed together some of the leftover dyes to produce this colour.The colour may be a bit misleading on the computer screen. It is definitely not fire engine red, but it is probably about the closest I have come. Of course, as Murphy's Law would have it, this was the one time I mixed dyes randomly without recording the exact measurements, so now I still don't know how I got that colour...

So, if anyone has any experience dying cotton with Procion dyes, I would love to know how you go with red!!