Tie-Dye has been a part of cultures everywhere since before history books. It really took off in the 1960’s in America to express individualism. This is because of many reasons, but mainly because it brightened up people’s lives. The process of tie dying is fun, easy and inexpensive.
Tie Dying Supplies
Supplies: There are many supplies that are needed for this process. The items to dye are the most essential item in this process. This could be anything from t-shirts to socks to pants and everything in between. As long as it is white, anything will do. Rubber bands are an essential part of the process. These will help the item you dye stay in the pattern you put it in. It will also make it so there is no, or hardly any, dye there. Another thing needed is the dye. One of the more popular dyes is Rit. This is what we used when performing the process. It costs anywhere from $1.95 to $2.95, depending on if it is dry or wet dye. Another is what is provided in a tie dye kit, but as we didn’t use it in our process, we will not be talking about it as much. Water is needed to dilute the dye. This will help determine, along with if you use soda ash, how deep the color is. As we did not use soda ash, this will be the only supply in the process to tell how deep a color will get. One way to put on the dye is through squirt bottles. These you can get ready-made in the store or you can use water bottles with little holes in the top. Either way, make sure to have a small hole in the top. Another item needed are buckets. They don’t have to be necessarily big buckets, just ones to hold the items being dunked. They can also be to hold the soda ash solution, but we won’t be talking about that. The last item is plastic bags. These will hold the items after they’re dyed. It doesn’t matter how many you have, just as long as you have enough for one per item.
Rit Tie Dye (Yellow, Purple, & Green)
Preparation: There are multiple ways to prepare the RIT tie dye. Instructions inside the box include preparation for dying small and large amounts of fabrics. In this case, add one package of dye to a half gallon of warm water in the buckets. Make sure to stir the powdered dye in the water for about three minutes with any sort of stir stick so none settles to the bottom. Once the dye is completely mixed, slowly pour the colored water into your squirt bottles so that the dye does not spill. To make it easier you can use a funnel also. When complete, you can begin preparing your t-shirt.
Twisted T-Shirt & Rubber Bands
Twisting Process: Depending on the pattern you want, the way you twist your t-shirt is really up to you. One way is to place your fingers in the middle of the shirt and simply turn your hand to twist the entire shirt then place rubber bands around the entire shirt. One of the most effective ways is to grab the shirt by the middle and hold it up and twist the shirt as if wringing out a towel. Tie rubber bands around the twisted shirt about an inch apart. Using thick rubber bands also give the shirt a more visible pattern.
Squirt Bottle Technique
Dying Technique: There are two different ways to put the dye onto the clothing. The first option, which is most commonly used, is squirting. This process requires a squirt bottle; it is easy to use an old water bottle that has a squirt top or use a water bottle with a screw on top and poke a hole on the top of the bottle. These bottles also come in kits if it is chosen to buy a tie dying kit. By using the squirt method it is easier to control where the dye is going and it is easy to get an assortment of different colors. Having multiple bottles with a different color in each bottle is an easy solution if a multi-colored look wants to be achieved. There should already be rubber bands on the article of fabric to guide where the colors should go; squirt one color in each section of rubber bands as desired.The other process for dying is the dunk method. This method gives less options for color and has a different look on the fabric. Dunking can be easier; take the article of fabric and dunk each piece of it in the dye as desired. This process only takes a few steps and gives a blotchy appearance with the coloring.
Let T-Shirts Sit
Leave it Alone: The next step to tie dying a t-shirt is to leave it alone! Leave it the way you dyed it, with it twisted and folded up, keeping the rubber bands on it. All you need to do is it put it in a plastic bag, tie the bag closed and let it sit. You should let the t-shirt sit for 4 to 24 hours! The reason you let it sit is to make sure all the dye sinks into the fabric! You also want to make sure you know how bright you want the colors on the shirt to appear. If you keep the shirt in the bag for 4 hours, the colors will be dull compared to a shirt that has been sitting for 24 hours. It all depends on how vibrant you want your shirt to look. It’s also a lot easier to wash out all loose dye when you let it sit longer.
Rinse: After you let the t-shirt sit in your bag, you need to rinse it out. Before doing this you should put gloves on to avoid staining your skin. Don’t rest the t-shirt on anything such as the floor or counter because it will stain the surface! Leave the t-shirt tied up while putting it under cold water! This will rinse all loose dye out of your shirt, there may be a lot but this is normal! The reason for using cold water is because it rinses the colors out without mixing them together. Rinse as much as you can, the more you rinse the better your t-shirt will turn out.
Wash: The last step in tie dying a t-shirt is washing it out in a machine, the reason for the machine is because you cannot wash out all of your loose dye just by rinsing it. In the washing machine use warm water, add regular detergent, throw your t-shirt into the machine and do a normal wash load! Wash the t-shirt as many times as you need until you’ve washed out all the loose dye! You can tell by looking at the amount of dye in the water! Then dry your shirt with the rest of the laundry and it’s ready for you to wear!
Finished Product
Although tie dying started off many years ago in the 1960’s, it has become a popular trend still seen today. Articles of tie dyed clothing are worn for fashion, sporting events, and even casual wear today. This process has traveled and transpired through the decades, but has always remained a fun process and activity. This activity has been a part of family functions, team bonding, and even a fun past time because of the easy process and the inexpensive costs.
No comments:
Post a Comment