How do I keep the colors going pale on my shirt

[I Pwnt God]

A week or two ago my brother got this lame tie-dye shirt kit from target or wal-mart. Haha, I made one. And it actually ended up looking pretty awesome. But when it got washed the colors ended up looking all pale. I can make more easily but how do I keep the colors from getting much lighter and eventually dissappearing?

[NumberNineDream]

Maybe it was one of those "Takes 24 hours to dry" kits.

[I Pwnt God]

It wasn't. It was a 6 hour dry thing or something.

[psychedelicgirl]

Ddid you rinse out the excess dye before washing it?
What I do, after it's dyed, set, and dry, is let it sit in the sink in cold water. Keep changing the water until it's fairly clear (and no more dye is leaking out of your shirt). Then it's safe to wash.

[hippyhaventiedyes]

you need to soak the shirt you are dyeing in soda ash for atleast 15mins before you dye it. that will help the dye adhere to the fabric. also you need to use quality dyes. and let it sit for 24hrs before you wash it out.
Bear
www.hippyhaventiedyes.com

[wargrave]

yeah or salt would work too

google search for info on tie dye, its really easy to find :D

[hippiestead]

From what I've seen of the newer tie-dye kits at Walmart, they seem to be a cheap variation of Rit dye. Rit will never have the brightness that Procion fiber reactive dyes have (procion is what most professional tie-dyers use & it requires an activator like soda ash to cause the dye to bond to the fabric)

BUT: to get Rit & similar dyes to hold better color, you can boil the piece in a solution of dye & salt, then dunk the piece into icy cold water...a major downfall with this method is that it only works with pieces dyed one color...upside, you get a tie-dye that looks more like the earliest hippie dyes, the designs are made completely by how the piece is tied. I've gotten peace signs & stars to work with Rit dye. When working with multiple colors of rit-type dyes on one piece, instead of boiling, you can set the dye by placing the piece in the oven....but be VERY CAREFUL!!!!

[MikeE]

Heat setting with an iron or even a clothes dryer on high (no washing) is safer than an oven.

[watersofoblivion]

If you're using a rit dye... let what your dying soak in the dye for a very long time (I hand made a costume for someone, we let the dye sit for a couple hours and it cam out fine and washes just fine) make sure you let it sit in the dye for a long time. and then wash it out in cold water. Also, make sure you soak the garment in soda ash or salt first! Happy Tie-dying!

[bob's cat]

Hey Psychedelicgirl, I love that song "Wear your love like heaven" by Donovan. I'm an old hippide now, but when I was 13 I got a letter from Donovan in response to a poem I sent him!!! Still love his music! I'm 53 now and still have the "Fairytale" album I got when I was 12.
Cinnamon, you're work is beautiful and has inspired mw to get back into a bit of the old "Hippycraft". Thank you!!!!

[MattInVegas]

Soak the garment in 2 cups COLD water mixed with 1/4 cup of Vinager. This will 'Set' the color dyes used.

Bob's cat. I have that song as an mp3 on my hard drive's mp3 collection. I have almost anything you want by John Denver.

[hippiestead]

bump