How to Tye-Dye a Tie
In the 1970's, tye-dye fashion was seen everywhere. People were taking all manners of clothing and dipping them into dye to make unique styles and patterns. Tye-dying clothes and materials is an interesting project for both children and adults. The premise of tye-dying is to create a pattern on the clothing using dye and elastic bands, placed either at random or selected places. The material is then dipped in the dye and left until the dye has soaked in sufficiently to change the color of the material in random patterns.
Things You'll Need
- colored fabric dye
- water
- bucket or bowl
- elastic bands
- string
- stirring stick
- rubber gloves
Instructions
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1
Follow the instructions that come with the fabric dye to prepare it for use. Some dyes are in powder form and others might be block form, made to dissolve in the water. Use a bowl or bucket, and make sure that there is enough room to dip the entire tie into the dying liquid.
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2
Select whether you want to use one color or more. If this is your first experience at tye-dying, it is probably best to use just one color and see how the effects work before you try anything more complex. Tye dying, done correctly, can have some stunning results, but done wrong it can look pretty terrible. Try a practice run on an old tie before you try the one you intend to use.
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3
Make sure the tie is thoroughly clean and dry. Refrain from using a fabric softener when you wash the tie before dying it. The fabric softener will reduce the effect of the dye on the tie fabric. Keep in mind, also, that some fabrics are not suitable for dying a different color. Man-made fabrics are less likely to accept a dye and, if they do, they will not hold the level of color the way natural fibers do.
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4
Use hot, but not boiling, water to dissolve the dye. Stir the liquid to make sure the dye has thoroughly dissolved.
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5
Place elastic bands at random places along the tie. There is no set way to do this but you can try putting one at the top and bottom of the tie and somewhere in the middle, or just one in the middle, or any place you like. You can put as many elastic bands on the tie as you want. The dying pattern is your completely choice. Make the elastic bands as tight as possible to prevent the dye from soaking into the areas you want to leave untouched.
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6
Tie some string around one of the elastic bands so that you can dip the garment into the dying liquid without getting dye on your gloves. Remember, if you want a darker shade of dye, leave it in the dye longer. For a lighter, more washed-out look, leave it in for less time. Judging by sight is probably the best way to know whether it looks good to you.
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Remove the garment and immediately place it in warm water and rinse. This will help the dye to set into the garment and fix the color into the material. Once rinsed, set the tie flat out to dry.
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