Tie-dye talk

[hippiestead]

Making your own tie-dye? Here's a place to ask questions & leave hints.

[WoodstockChild]

I love to tie-dye! I have serious plans to make and sell tie-dye on street-corners in San Francisco. Sounds fun huh?

[yarrow_sun]

Just tie-dyed with procion this past weekend. Someone had told me to only use distilled water, but I used our well water anyway and there were no problems. Does that mean we dont have to worry about "hard" water? What sort of problems could one have using well water?

[drumminmama]

what you are avoiding with "dead water" is mostly chlorine. even if you had city water, leaving it in an open container for a day or two would fix that. (Chlorine if course is bleach)
how'd you like the MX colors?

[Bumble]

I'm about to make a lot of tie-dyed clothes some time this week. I was wondering how I would make a shroom shape in the center of the shirt? Would I tie rubber bands on the shirt in a shroom type of shape?

[hippiestead]

what you are avoiding with "dead water" is mostly chlorine. even if you had city water, leaving it in an open container for a day or two would fix that. (Chlorine if course is bleach)
how'd you like the MX colors?
chlorine is one problem, our neighborhood well has a chlorinator, so we use a little water softener. Another problem with well water can be high mineral content, but if your dyes turned out fine, yarrow_son, then you don't have to worry about that.

[hippiestead]

I'm about to make a lot of tie-dyed clothes some time this week. I was wondering how I would make a shroom shape in the center of the shirt? Would I tie rubber bands on the shirt in a shroom type of shape?
Fancy designs done with rubber bands tend to lose parts. one way to get a shroom is to loosely sew the design in with waxed dental floss, then pull the floss tight & wrap the exess floss around the design lines. The other way is to gather in the design & tie it with waxed string.

[citrus_seas]

how would i get a peace sign on mine? The same way you'd put a shroom design on it? Or are there other ways of doing it?

[hippiestead]

Different people do peace signs different ways; we have a fold we do. it's hard to explain the fold; sewing probaly won't work. try drawing a peace sign on a piece of paper & folding it to make the middle lines meet at the fold. the outer circle is just an even gather from the crosspoint of the lines once the shirt is folded.

[yarrow_sun]

what you are avoiding with "dead water" is mostly chlorine. even if you had city water, leaving it in an open container for a day or two would fix that. (Chlorine if course is bleach)
how'd you like the MX colors?
The colors turned out great! Now we just need to order some more.

[drumminmama]

I have experience with multiple suppliers. look in the FC tie dye thread

[mosaicthreads]

i have always used natural dyes, but find they do fade a lot. any suggestions?

[A-Shwa-Child]

Dont use natural dyes :P

[skyjewelz]

I've tie dyed a little before with boxed store bought dye. I'm planning on tie dying some more to sell with my hemp necklaces. Once I buy the clothing i'd like to purchase the dye at wholesale, but there is so many different kinds. I'll probably be working with cotton mostly. What would be the best kind to use?

[hippiestead]

The boxed sets usually use Procion MX dyes & that's what most tie-dyers use. It'll dye cotton, hemp and any other natural fiber. (if you decide to dye your hemp, we found it easier to dye finished pieces, just put them in a mesh bag or pillow case when washing out the excess dye)

Drummin' Mama has some dye company info in the Fiber arts forum (plus there's a pic of a really awesome dye that she (& her hubby?) made.

[drumminmama]

It's Paul's art.
yes, I have a list of companies with pros/cons

[skyjewelz]

Thanks, I checked out drumminmama's info for suppliers. I've already been looking through dharma trading co. catalogue, it's good to know that i'm on the right track. Is there any supplier's for plain hemp clothing to be tie dyed? I've been looking with no luck.

[hippiestead]

Checked the net & there's a cool place that had links to all kinds of hemp clothing http://www.happyhippie.com

[Brkonthru2daothersid]

I think that you can use some sort of salt, they sell it now at our local Walfarts that you just put on the fabric and then dye it like normal. I guess when you go and tye dye it wherever that salt is put on stays white. Might be a cool way to do ur shroom you are talking bout. Hope that helps ya:) Peace

[drumminmama]

Where did you get that info? wrong wrong wrong.
salt is a setting agent for acid dyes. the only way to keep white white is to prevent dye from touching. that is done by a paste or wax resist (batik uses this) simply not applying (some dyers do rainbows on white, for example) or pressure (the tie of tie dye).

[hippiestead]

salt also brings out the blues & blacks in Procion MX dyes

[AmyC.]

Where would I learn how to do tie die? It sounds like sooo much fun!

[drumminmama]

look in Fashoin & Crafts and start with the tie dYe threads.... lots of info and references.

[AmyC.]

Thank you!

[mr.morrison]

i wanna make a few, but i dont know how so i think im ognna buy a kit too learn

[emsterino]

is rit dye ok for the enviornment? i used some the other day, and when i wasnt looking my stupid dad dumped the dyebath in the creek in our backyard.

[hemp726]

ive heard to preserve dye colors to add a little salt(which was mentioned) and to add some laundry detergent into the die bath befor eu die the stuff ive never tried it tho cause i always forget to ad the extrea stuff i was wondering hwo do u tie dye the like "V" kinda design on shirts?

[skyjewelz]

i was wondering hwo do u tie dye the like "V" kinda design on shirts?
First fold the shirt in half vertically, then pick a place on the fold of the shirt and fold it like an accordion downwards, then tie off about 1 or 2 inches apart. Probably best to use squirt bottle to dye sections.

[skyjewelz]

Where would I learn how to do tie die? It sounds like sooo much fun!
There's a vw show in a couple of weeks near the toronto area, I hear they're having a tie dye seminar, to teach people how.

[Kaleidescope_eyes]

ive tie dyed a few things purple on a white base but has anyone got any tips on multic colours

[skyjewelz]

Get some plastic squirt bottles to put your dye in, then use to squirt different colours in different spots easily.

[hippiestead]

It also helps to think 'color wheel' when applying multi colors of dye; like you really don't want to put purple right next to orange, yellow or green unless you wanted to get brown where the colors meet

[Brkonthru2daothersid]

I been tye dyin for a few weeks now tryin out different things and I found these cool websites........
http://www.itiedye.com/forum/
http://www.prochemical.com/directions/Folding.htm
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/example22.shtml
http://www.ritdye.com/virtual_spiral.asp
http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/lesson29.html

Those are just a few that I have found. I also been workin with sponge brushes to apply the dye instead of just dippin' and/or the squirt bottle method previously talked about. Hope that helps ya. If I find any more sites I will let ya know. Peace

www.dawnson64.piczo.com (http://www.dawnson64.piczo.com)

[hemp726]

thanks a ton

[nooget]

gonna have to try that- i like tie dye everything

[Kaiser 4 Sunflowers]

I was flipping through the channels one day, and I came across the E! channel. It was a show about what not to wear in hollywood, and #27 was never wear tie dye; so as my little passive/aggressive bite me hollywood, I made a tie dye shirt.:rainbow:

[drumminmama]

It also helps to think 'color wheel' when applying multi colors of dye; like you really don't want to put purple right next to orange, yellow or green unless you wanted to get brown where the colors meet
with the exception of once you get color control and can keep the colors from bleeding in. Golds, browns, oranges allow a purple to really punch out.

[hippiestead]

color control can be a very tricky thing...fabric weights and weaves can change a lot of the control factor. A 300-400 thread count sheet isn't going to bleed as much as a tee-shirt material (and I found this out recently when doing a sheet for wandering turn-up & Dragonfly....it was tee-shirt material...the blue in the purple bled into the area that was supposed to be white...the cool part? it still looks nice!)

[dylanzeppelin]

aww this reminds me that i have that how to kit in my closet. must tie-dye soon, beats paying like 20 bucks for a shirt with ugly colors!

[mitchshrader]

USE GOOD SENSE. Plastic or enamel containers, no unsupervised kids or pets, don't hurt yourself or others. Please. You CAN create a real problem without meaning to. PLAN FOR DRIPS!

ultra brilliant colors can be achieved with a pre-soaked (still damp) shirt, soaked in fixative (soda ash or lye water) ..

then applying 'hot' (fixative added, must be used instantly) dyes,
at about triple strength. the dampness in the shirt allows dyes to bleed in, instead of rolling off, and the fixative in the shirt ensures maximum reaction to each fiber that touches any dye at all.

after applying dyes, (quickly & liberally) immediately cover with plastic to keep from drying, and raise the temp as much as convenient.

a good way is cover with plastic in the sun for half a day or more, depending on how sunny & hot. they 'steam set' if it's hot enough and come out incredibly brilliant with very little backwash into the whites. minimal washout, and minimal bleeding later.

they can be put in racks on trays, after dripping a bit first, and then heated with a small electric heater and a plastic 'hood' over the racks. old bread racks work..

it's labor intensive, but not so much as batik, and it scales up well for large batches (for festivals!).. once you know the right ingredients, it's Fast and Reliable. Like making cookies, you have to adjust your recipe to your own tastes. many dozens in a weekend is possible, and they're gorgeous bright colors.

Sodium Hydroxide (lye) is very concentrated and shouldn't be used carelessly, it can be very dangerous if you're not cautious. Even soda ash can cause skin burns if you are uncaring. Thank you for considering safety ENOUGH.

[Angel86]

I'v been meaning to tye dye my sheets...maybe I'll start with a shirt or something first.

[chelsalee]

oh
I was tie dying the other day.
I love to tie dye, and make hemp necklaces (I make my own clay beads!)
^^; I'm hoping one day to sell all of my works in California.. <33

[Mrs.Krinkle]

Ive been tie dying with jaquard dye, and the shirts look ok, but theres a lot of white in them most of the time and the colors arent as vibrant as they should be. how can i help this?

[hippiestead]

What are the shirts made of? Jacquard is usually used for dying silk.

[Mrs.Krinkle]

oh... mann!! I bought so much of that dye! Theyre made of cotton.

[hippiestead]

yikes...well dharmatrading.com has silk clothes & silk cloth or you could see if there is a silk dyer somewhere who wants to buy the jacquard from you

[x wtff xx]

i love to tie dye and i agree i love hemp necklaces im really want to make my own are they east to make?

[SlydeHippie]

I'm going to be tie-dying hopefully this weekend. I've read alot of your guys's advice and seen online tutorials.

Does anyone know where I can be able to get Soda Ash in a convenient, common store?

[hippiestead]

just about any place that has pool chemicals should have soda ash...not sure what brand names but if you read the ingredients of the pool chems you should see soda ash listed

[SlydeHippie]

Hate to sound like your local idiot, but what exactly do you mean by pool chemicals?

Are you saying it's sufficient to dip my shirt in the pool for 15 minutes to keep my colors in?

[SlydeHippie]

DOUBLE POST WARNING

Hey, how about using Arm & Hammer's Super Washing Soda?

It seems more common around here in my area, and easier to get.
Good? Bad?

I just want to use something that will jeep my colors in permanently and groovy.

Peace and Love, John.
Keepin' it Groovy since the dawn of my days.

[hippiestead]

I have heard that the washing soda works but have never tried it. maybe try one piece to see if it works. I think the ratio for the soak solution is the same as reg soda ash, 1c soda to 1 gallon water

and no I wouldn't try to just dip the shirt in the swimming pool, the soda ash to water ratio is higher in a soak solution than for a pool, but it's still the same stuff. I don't have a pool, so I don't know it it's a regular chemical or if its the once in a while 'shock' chemical I just know that soda ash is used to keep pools clear.

[SlydeHippie]

Alright bro, thanks alot for the help.

I really appreciate it.

Peace and Love, John.

[Freekowtski]

ok... here is my question...

how could i tie-dye jeans and pullovers?

[hippiestead]

what do you mean by 'pull-overs? if it's made of cotton, hemp or rayon, it will dye with Procion.

jeans can be tie-dyed a couple of ways; buying white jeans is the easiest way, just soak, tie &dye like a shirt or whatever. With blue jeans, you can either use dark colors to dye or you can bleach the blue (before or after tieing, for different effects) but if you bleach the fabric, you'll want to use a product like 'Stop-Bleach' to deactivate the bleach (just washing does not do it)

[Freekowtski]

thanks for your help :)

[def0m0co]

Hi im looking to tie-dye this bag i have..its white and made of canvas, but the inside's plastic..im wondering if the dyes will affect the plastic?

[hippiestead]

depends on the dye & the type of plastic....chances are that the plastic will not dye, but the dye shouldn't affect the plastic

[psyadelichippie]

is the bag at least like 80 % cotton ?? cuz the dye needs it to stick to n the dye wont even stick that well to the plastic

[shongeska]

Different people do peace signs different ways; we have a fold we do. it's hard to explain the fold; sewing probaly won't work. try drawing a peace sign on a piece of paper & folding it to make the middle lines meet at the fold. the outer circle is just an even gather from the crosspoint of the lines once the shirt is folded.



hippiestead is there any possible way you could show me a video of this in action or give me more precise instructions? cuz i've been trying to find out how to do a peace sign tiedye for a very long time.

[hippiestead]

Sorry, we don't have a video cam. There might be a website out there that shows how. I'm pretty sure that Dharma Trading sells an instructional video.

Have you learned how to do a simple burst yet, or any complicated designs, like stars or hearts?

[shongeska]

i know bursts and spirals and a couple more that i'm not sure what the name is. but i don't know shapes or anything which is what i'm trying to get into.

[hippiestead]

on a burst, you just grab a middle point & bunch it before tying right? Try folding instead of bunching. make notes on your folds, ties & the results. With a peace sign, it's also about where you place the dye...something you have to use squirt bottles of dye to achieve. Experimenting will allow you do develop your own style & you will figure out how to do a lot of different designs. Every tie dyer I know does the star in a different way & each persons star looks completely different

[hippiestead]

bump