problem with fading tiedye

[shongeska]

first i'll tell you how i tiedye:

i boil water, put the dye(RIT dye) in and stir it up then put the shirt in for five minutes, wash the excess dye off then hang dry. then run through the wash and dry.

but all my shirts turn out mega faded from the start and i know people with vibrant tiedyes and i want that.

so. any tips?

[hippiestead]

Rit will not make the vibrant tie-dyes you see everywhere but you can get a little extra color by boiling the shirts in the dye for 10 minutes, then dipping them into icy cold water (have cubes floating in the water), soak in the cold for 5-10 minutes, then wash.

[shongeska]

thanks i'll have to try that method next time.
any dyes you recommend for the brighter colors?

[hippiestead]

we use Procion...it's a fiber reactive dye. there's more prep required, the shirts have to be soaked in a soda ash mixture, then wrung out, tied, then dyes. we also rinse with a hose before doing the first of several washings to get the extra dye out. It's a very messy process that is best done somewhere where the washing machine is outside or in a garage, just so you know what you're getting into...