Tie and Dye Garments

About

A few tips to keep in mind before you begin: Dedicate some time to folding and bundling the fabric. The ‘folds’ (or bundles) are one of the main components in creating unique tie-dye patterns as it prevents the dye from reaching certain areas – which in return, create resists. Each fold you make will create a line in your pattern. For smaller patterns, keep the folds narrow – for larger patterns, made the folds wider. Creasing and folding the fabric creates geometric-type patterns and stripes. Crumbling, scrunching, or twisting the fabric creates more organic-like patterns and spirals. When securing the fabric, make sure the rubber bands are really tight. This will not only will hold the fabric together but will help prevent the die from seeping through the folds, creating crisp resists. The other main component of creating unique tie-dye designs is choosing the right colors. Different color dyes applied close to each other will seep together and create a ‘new’ color. When combining colors, stick with the primary basics. Avoid combining secondary colors – like orange and green, green and purple, & purple and orange – which will result in muddy brown hues. Crumple Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Begin scrunching the fabric together with your fingers. Continue scrunching the fabric until you have everything in a crumpled mound. Secure tightly with rubber bands. Apply the dye to the fabric. Flip the fabric over and repeat on the backside. Shibori Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Roll the fabric around a tube – we used a paper towel roll. Tightly scrunch both ends of the fabric toward the center. Secure with rubber bands. Apply the dye to the fabric. Rotate the tube and continue applying the dye until the fabric is completely saturated. Sunburst Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Fold the fabric in half. Fold the fabric in half, again, lengthwise. To create the sunbursts pinch the fabric and pull upward, 1 to 2 inches. Secure the fabric with a rubber band and repeat for the desired number of sunbursts. Apply the dye to the outer edges of the fabric, the fabric between each sunburst and the center of each sunburst. Stripes Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Accordion fold the fabric from the bottom up. Secure with rubber bands. Apply the dye to the fabric. Flip the fabric over and repeat on the backside. *For this particular design only two colors of dye were used. Black dye was applied to the ends, completely saturating the fabric up to the rubber bands. Then green dye was applied to the center section – completely saturating the fabric, up to the rubber bands. The fabric was then flipped over and the dye was repeated on the backside. As the dye processes, it will seep through the fabric and create the ombre effect, as shown above. Spiral Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Pinch the fabric in the center. Begin twisting the fabric in a circular motion and continue until all of the fabric is in a spiral shape. Secure the spiral with three rubber bands, creating a wedge effect, as shown above. Apply the dye to the fabric. Flip the fabric over and repeat on the backside. * For this particular design, three different colors of dye were used. Yellow dye was applied to three consecutive wedges. Then, overlapping one of the yellow wedges, the magenta dye was applied to three consecutive wedges. Lastly, overlapping two of the magenta wedges, the green dye was applied to three consecutive wedges, with a heavy concentration on the center wedge. Bullseye Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Pinch the fabric in the center. Pull the fabric upward into a cone shape. Secure with rubber bands. Apply the dye in sections. Flip the fabric over and repeat on the backside. * For this particular design one color of dye was used. Dye was applied to each section, leaving the fabric near each of the rubber bands untouched. The fabric was then flipped over and the dye was repeated on the backside. As the dye processes, it will seep through the fabric and create the ombre effect, Folded Tie Dye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Fold the fabric in half. Fold the fabric in half again, then fold in half once more. At this point, you will have a rectangle shape. Fold the fabric in thirds. Apply one color dye to the outer folded edges – then using a second color, apply dye to the four corners and the center. Flip the fabric over and repeat on the backside. Diamond Pattern Folded Tie Tye Technique Lay the fabric flat. Accordion fold the fabric from the bottom up. At this point, you will have a long strip of folded fabric. Turn the strip in a vertical position and fold the bottom corner of the fabric at a 90-degree angle, creating a triangle shape. Using that triangle shape as a guide, repeat an accordion fold until you are left with a single ‘triangle’ of fabric – as shown above. Tightly secure the triangle with rubber bands. Apply the dye to the fabric. Flip the fabric over and repeat on the backside. * For this particular design one color of dye was used. Lime green dye was applied to the outer edges of the triangle, leaving the center untouched. The fabric was then flipped over and the dye was repeated on the backside. As the dye processes, it will seep through the fabric and create the ombre. Rinsing out the processed tie-dyed projects is a simple task. Remove the fabric from the bag and run under cold water in a sink. With the water running, gently squeeze the fabric to release as much of the dye as possible. Flip the fabric over and continue rinsing, until the water just about runs clear. Lay the fabric on a protective surface and remove the rubber bands. A pair of scissors comes in handy to cut any bands that are tightly secured. Place the fabric back under the running cold water and continue to rinse – unfolding the fabric as you go. The fabric should be rinsed thoroughly until the water runs clear of any dye. From the sink, we hung our wet fabric outside to dry prior to washing. This helps with tracking any drips throughout the house as you make your way to the washing machine. Since these were tea towels, they were run through the wash several times prior to use in the kitchen. We did this outside in a white utility sink and no trace of dye was left in the sink when we were finished.