1) I have white t-shirts that got a little moldy from being wet too long (don't ask). But if I was them and dry them are they safe to dye? 2) Is it necessary to fix fabrics in soda ash before you dye them? What happens if you don't? Thanks guys!
Assuming the T-shirts are cotton, yes, but take the mildew stains into account in the pattern. LIGHT bleach, neutralized with vinegar in the rinse will help considerably. you need soda ash. it can be on the fabric by soaking (best if you will be dyeing over a couple days) or in the dyes. the soda allows better penetration and fixing of dye. Don't forget cure time! and have fun.
I hope you dont mind I am not trying to take over your thread or anything but I have a question that I would also like to ask about tie dyeing I just recently bought this really big beautiful baja. Its white and I really want to tiedye it ... its really thick and I am a bit nervious because I never tie dyed somthing soo thick b4 ... does anyone have any suggestions ?
tIe dYe, please, spell it right. Ok, the baja is probably cotton and about...twice as thick as denim, yeah? on fabric that thick, your binding and other resists can sort of fail, meaning it can be difficult to control where the dye goes, leading to a very solid but indistinct dye. What do you WANT it to look like? Have you thought about paste resist (poor person's batik)? either way, that garment is going to drink up a LOT of dye.
Sprry I corrected myself ... I was kinda rushing when I posted that LOL ... UMM anyways Yes its very thick.... thicker then denim I was thinking about using a few diffrent colors and or the sleves tie about 3 diffrent rubberbands and using 3 diffrent colors ... then for the inside I am not sure how to discribe but I wanted to use the same colors and maybe another color or so ... I want the tiedye to start with a color in the middle then diffrent colors as it moves out ... I hope thats discriptive for you umm I heard of batik but I never used it ... what is it? were do it get it ? Yea I figured it would drink up alot of dye ... I got some diffrent dyes from my friend for x-mas so I was gonna use that and buy some more Thank you very much for your advice
rubber bands might not allow distinct patterns since the fabric is SO thick. paste resist would work far better, and you can sort of combine the two: paint on thick paste http://www.ehow.com/how_7940_make-paste-resist.html in the pattern you want to keep the original color (white/cream). You will have to use direct application here and on the bound areas. I suggest using the two techniques in different areas of the garment: such as sleeves separate from the body.
