How to Tie Dye Concentric Circles
The bright colors of tie dye, reminiscent of the Hippie era can be recreated at home. When you tie dye you can use several techniques when creating your own garment, including using marbles, creating sunbursts and even mapping out a series of circles. When tie dyeing concentric circles, you can decide where you want the circles to start and what colors you want to use. Experiment with different colors and techniques to get the exact look you want.
Things You'll Need
- Drop cloth
- Newspapers
- Fabric
- Rubber bands
- 1 cup soda ash
- 5-gallon bucket
- Rubber gloves
- Squirt bottles
- Plastic bag
- Washing machine
- Laundry detergent
Instructions
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1
Pinch the part of the fabric where you want the concentric circles to begin. Tie this part off with a rubber band, about 1 inch from the end. Any part of the shirt that is tied off with a rubber band will remain the color of the shirt and not be dyed.
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2
Gather the rest of the shirt into a cigar shape away from the part you pinched. Continue wrapping rubber bands around the shirt, parallel to the first rubber band. You will end up with a long piece of fabric with rubber bands paralleling each other.
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3
Make a soda ash solution if you are using a washfast dye. If you are using an all-purpose dye, skip to Step 6.
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4
Mix 1 gallon of warm water with 1 cup soda ash fixer. Place these ingredients into a 5-gallon bucket.
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5
Place your tied-off fabric into the soda ash mixture for about five to 15 minutes. Remove it and squeeze out excess water.
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6
Put on your rubber gloves and mix each dye according to package directions. Put each colored dye into its own separate squirt bottle.
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7
Squirt the colors of the dye onto your shirt in the pattern that you would like. Immerse the shirt with the dyes to ensure they get into the fabric. If you only want to dye the shirt one color, put the dye into a large bowl or small bucket and submerge the shirt into the dye for about one minute.
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8
Put your finished product into a plastic bag and seal. Let it sit overnight. The longer you let it sit (no more than 24 hours), the more vibrant the colors will be on your finished product.
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9
Rinse your garment in cold water and wait for the water to run clear.
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10
Take off the rubber bands and wash in a machine washer with hot water and regular detergent. If no machine washer is available, hand launder by adding hot water to your sink or bathtub and adding about one-tenth of the amount of laundry detergent you would use for a normal load of laundry. Move your garment around with your hands in the water to agitate the shirt with the soap. Drain out the water and repeat the washing motion once or twice more until the soap has been removed from the garment. You will be able to tell that the soap has been removed if there aren't any soap bubbles left in the water and if the water is clear.
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11
Hang the garment away from sunlight or direct heat to dry or use a tumble dryer.
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Tips & Warnings
Cover an area with a drop cloth or newspapers before you begin. Or place a drop cloth outside and dye outside. The dye will usually stain anything it touches.
Use a fabric that's 100 percent natural, like cotton or linen. The dyes will adhere to the fabric more than non-natural fabric.
The dye will stain so be careful where you do this project.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
