Quick Tie Dying Tips

Here is a Run Down of some useful tips for creating and keeping tie dye projects:

1.  Use a dye fixative.  I recommend soda ash.  This is the first and most important step to tie dying in my opinion.  It needs to happen before you use any dye.

2.  Use a high grade fabric dye.  For our project I bought the dye and the soda ash from Dharma    trading company.

3.  Use only the colors you wouldn't mind seeing blended together.  I.E.  Red and Yellow make Orange but Red and Green make a muddy brown. 

4.  Let loose with your patterns.  Rubber bands make neat circle shapes.  Wherever they are tightly wound together is where the dye won't get to and the shirt will remain its original color.  You can always incorporate more or different objects such as a stick or a block that will make a different shape.  You can't make a bad pattern with tie dye!  If you're still worried about this piece look up dying patterns on the internet and get some inspiration.

5.  Mix your dye into five gallon buckets one color per bucket.  I've found this method to be far less messy than squirting the dye on with bottles or spraying it on.  Dip one color at a time and wring it out again before moving onto the next color.

6.  Throw your project into a plastic bag by itself and let it hang out for a few hours before you think about it again.

7.  Take out your pattern makers, i.e. rubber bands and throw the project into a cold water cycle in the washing machine.

8.  Dry your tie dye and TA-DA! 


Oh yes, for the faint of heart, USE GLOVES!