How to Make Tie-Dye Socks
Although you can find socks in some fun colors and designs, most socks on the market are plain old white. Spruce up your boring white socks with tie dye. Socks are not only fun to tie dye, but they are even easier to tie dye than t-shirts. This is because you don't have to bother rubber banding or twisting the socks to get a tie dyed effect. Start with 100 percent cotton socks and start dyeing.
Things You'll Need
- Mild detergent
- Latex gloves
- Large bucket
- 1 cup soda ash
- 1 tbsp. urea for each color
- Small bowl for each color
- 1 cup water for each color
- 4 tsp. of a fiber reactive dye for each color
- Squirt bottles, one for each different color
Instructions
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1
Wash your socks in the washing machine, as usual, using a mild detergent. Brand new socks that are unwashed before dyeing may not dye properly or completely.
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2
Put on a pair of latex gloves to protect your skin and nails from the chemicals and from staining.
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3
Fill a large bucket with a gallon of water. Add 1 cup of soda ash (sodium carbonate) to the water. Place the socks into the soda ash water and allow them to soak for up to one hour.
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4
Pour 1 tbsp. of urea into a small bowl. Add 1 cup of water to dissolve the urea. You will need 1 tbsp. of urea dissolved into 1 cup of water for each color you'll be using to tie dye. So, if you're using four different colors to tie dye, you'll need four different bowls each with 1 tbsp. of urea and 1 cup of water.
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Add 4 tsp. of a different colored fiber reactive dye -- like Procion MX, Sabracron F or Drimarene K -- to each bowl of dissolved urea.
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Pour each bowl of dissolved urea and dye into separate, plastic squirt bottles.
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Wring out your soda ash soaked socks once the dyes are all ready and lay them on a flat surface. If you're dyeing the socks on a countertop, lay down a plastic garbage bag or tarp to protect the surface from the dyes.
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Squeeze your squirt bottles to apply the fiber reactive dyes to the socks. You can squirt the dyes onto the socks in any pattern that you'd like. Flip the socks over, and squirt the dyes onto the other side of the socks to ensure both sides are completely saturated.
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Allow the socks to soak in the dyes overnight. The warmer the temperature is, the brighter the colors will turn out.
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10
Rinse the excess dye from the socks under warm water. Hand wash the socks using a mild detergent and cool, running water. Dry the socks in the dryer before wearing.
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References
Resources
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