How to Tye Dye Stuff
Tie dyeing is a fun craft to add interest to your plain white t-shirts. Let kids pick out dye colors and help with the process; they won't believe that adding some dye and rubber bands to a t-shirt can make such cool designs. Use old t-shirts you don't want to wear anymore or tie dye sheets, blankets or even socks. Tie dye items make great gifts or fun projects for kids to do on a boring day.
Things You'll Need
- White t-shirts or other items to be dyed
- Fabric dye
- Gloves
- Squeeze bottles
- Plastic buckets
- Rubber bands
- Plastic bag
- Washer/dryer
Instructions
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1
Wet your shirts or items to be dyed and wring them out. The colors will "set" better if the items are wet.
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Mix your dye according to the directions. Wear gloves because the dye can stain easily. You can use buckets or put dye into plastic squeeze bottles for application. To do many colors, you may want to use shallow plastic bins, one with each color in it.
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3
Create designs by placing rubber bands on your item. Squeeze a bit of fabric and twist it to create circle designs. Anywhere a rubber band is, a white space will be. Get creative and twist the entire shirt, placing rubber bands every inch or so for lots of tie dye designs. Dunk you item in a single dye color then squeeze different colors around the item with a squeeze bottle to mix colors and add interest.
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4
Place items in a plastic trash or grocery bag and let the items process. You can check them in a few hours, but for maximum effect leave them overnight.
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Remove the rubber bands and rinse the items throughly until the water runs clear. Now you can throw them in the washing machine in medium water with a mild soap. You may want to wash all tie dyed items separately from others for the first wash to make sure all the excess dye has been removed and won't stain other items.
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Dry the items on medium heat or hang dry to preserve color longer.
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References
- Photo Credit tie-dyed shirts image by Jim Parkin from Fotolia.com
