Tie Dye Shirt Techniques
Tie dye shirts are easy for people of any age to make at home. With a few basic supplies and a little preparation, you can create many different designs and dye effects in one or many colors. Whether you want to make a classic colorful hippie-style shirt or something more modern, once you understand the basic techniques involved you can make tie dye shirts to match your tastes.
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Supplies & Preparation
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Cold and hot water dyes are available as powders or liquids designed for home use. Pay attention to the manufacturer's directions and make sure your shirt is made of a suitable material for your particular dyes. 100% cotton shirts are the most fail-safe option, and also remember to take the shirt's original color into account. White and pale shirts will give the most vibrant results when dyed. You will need one or more dye bath---plastic tubs and bowls are a good choice---and they must be large enough to contain the shirt. For hot water dye you will need an old saucepan. For the tying part of tie dye you can use rubber bands, cord or string and some methods also involve buttons and beads. You will need to protect your clothing and work surfaces from the dye and should wear rubber gloves. Mix the dye solution according to the manufacturer's directions. Usually you will dissolve a measured amount of dye in water in a dye bath. For some dyes you may need to add salt or other chemical solutions.
Striped Designs
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To create tie dyed stripes fold the shirt into pleats and bind it at regular intervals. You can fold it into regular pleats or uneven ones depending on the spacing and size of the stripes you want. You can press the pleats in the shirt with an iron before tying the bundle for neater stripes, or finger press and fold it for a more free-style design.
Circular Designs
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To create circular tie dye designs for a shirt you will need some circular objects such as buttons, beads, marbles or coins as well as rubber bands or string. If you use identical circular objects the circle patterns in the design will be of a similar size; for various-sized circles use different objects. To prepare the shirt, place a circular object on the surface of the fabric and gather the surrounding fabric around it. Tie the object into a little parcel in the fabric, and repeat this all over the shirt. Dye the shirt following the manufacturer's instructions, then rinse the dye with the strings still in place. After rinsing, remove the string and circular objects and the shirt will be left with circles that retained the original shirt color all over it. A circular spider's web effect can be created in a similar manner: tie a circular object in the shirt's fabric and continue to tie the fabric to form a "stem" shape of gathered and tied fabric.
Speckled Designs
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An all-over speckled effect can be created on a shirt using string. Roll the shirt around a length of string or cord then tie the string into a loop. Push the fabric down and away from the knot to create a gathered loop of fabric. You can make individual loops for the front, back and sleeves of the shirt or one big loop from the whole shirt. Another method is to simply gather up, fold or twist small sections of fabric and tie them randomly all over the shirt before dying.
Multi-Colored Designs
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There are several ways to use more than one color for your tie dye shirt. One is to dip-dye the tied bundle into different dye baths by holding the bundle of fabric in the dye so that it penetrates the fabric up to the level of the dye. Repeat this dipping process with other dye baths to dye sections of the bundle different colors. You can alternatively put different dye solutions into squeeze bottles and apply the dye directly to the bundled and tied shirt. Paintbrushes can be used in a similar manner to apply dye solutions to the shirt. Another alternative is to tie dye the shirt with a darker color, then after removing the strings or rubber bands, dye the whole shirt in a lighter color. The second color will only show up on the shapes created by the tie dying method.
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