Ok I'm new to tie dying but I have the basics down as far as desgins. I'm looking for some more designs. Can someone help me out with locating design patterns? Thanks
Just something different. I've got the spiral, sunburst, pleats, and a V shape down pretty well but I'm just trying to find something different.
tried multi spirals yet? invert the V so its point is at the top, pleat in a bunch of directions. How about scrunch?
I'm not really sure what to do to be honest. I did finish another batch up today and they looked really cool. I finally figured out how to do the X. Or should I say my mother figured it out for me. And I got one that has white boxes all over it, kind of hard to describe but it looks really cool. I've been doing a few of different direction pleats. I haven't done the scrunchy yet either. I was going to do that with the last shirt I had but then we decided to try to do the X instead. How would you do multiple spirals? I'd love to do as many different styles as I can so if you have ideas beyond folding I'd love to hear them.
www.angelfire.com/biz/TieDyePaul for thoughts about going beyond folding. Disclaimer. I built the site. I'm on the site. I'm finishing a book about this style/technique/ philosophy. we have DVD plans, too. Also, some dyers use imitation siniew, which pulls into your hands like piano wire but makes great patterns. The big loopy stars and such from the early 70s. multiple spirals is simply thinking small and on a different axis of the shirt. Using a standard pinch and twist, try starting at a shoulder make a small spiral, secure it, twist a new spot a bit lower, maybe in a diagonal line down, secure that (I've seen directions change, too) and so on to the opposite "hip." Johnathan Wolf, who is a crazy NM cat who began dyeing hot air balloons, does this. www.sky-dyes.com. It looks like he is not the dyer anymore, and the computer design has taken over (when I originally found him, he was still slinging shirt to pay for his hobby) but the new designs still get the "stacked spiral" idea across.
In the past year, I have purchased 'The Art of Tie-Dye' and 'Advanced Tie Dye Techniques - Making Shapes and Mandalas', DVD's that have taken me beyond the book instruction that got me started tie-dying back in '98. I particularly wanted to learn better tying methods, and I was very interested in learning how to do mandala designs. Both DVD's are very helpful, although the artists have very different methods in their application of dyes. Michael Fowler, who created 'The Art of Tie-Dye' is very experienced in large tapestries. Tom and Martine, who created 'Advanced Tie Dye Techniques' have designs that work well on clothing, and also on tapestries. Tom and Martine also have a basic tie-dye video, which is more geared for the beginner. I believe all of the above can be purchased thru amazon.com, and also at fiber-arts.com. Happy dyeing! Judy
I just make up my own patterns! If there's something i think i want to use, i practice drawing it a few times on scrap paper first. The easiest designs are symmetric. Once i have it figured out, i draw the design on the tshirt with a plain old pencil, then using dental floss, i sew through the design i've drawn with ~1/2" stitches. When that's done, i pull the thread to make the shirt bunch up in pleats. It's important to get it taut but not so tight that it restricts the flow of dye into the middle of the pleats. Once the shirt is all bunched up, it hardly resembles the design you made, so it's important to try to remember what is where, (i.e. where the eye is..) so that when you dye it, you know where to put what colors. I use eyedroppers and syringes for precision. Practice makes perfect, and after 100's of shirts i'm still not perfect! But i have a lot of fun, and that's what counts! Don't be afraid to make up your own designs! Here's an example of a new design i made up in last wk's run:
thank god someone else uses syringes. We get weird looks at the vet supply store. Dirty hippies: Hi, we;d like a gross of 1 cc syringges and a half gross of .5 cc syringes without needles, please. Clerk (blank stare) DH: we're artists. Clerk: you shooting drugs? Dh: no, we want them WITHOUT needles (male) you see, I do this intricate form of TieDye... (Female cuts in) we need it for epoxy. Clerk: oh well, why didn't ya say so?
LMAO drumminmama! My entire family is in the medical field, so i've never had a shortage of syringes, but i might try it just for kicks.. sounds like a rite-of-passage i've missed! For the record, many dyers also swear by squeeze bottles, the sort you can find at a beauty supply store, with "yorker" dispensing caps. I've tried them, and they inevitably leak around the threaded area, causing me angst. But some dyers have found them very effective. I have a friend who does mostly larger tapestries who swears by turkey basters (?!). Yes. Turkey basters. Ya never know...
I found a solution for the leak! Try teflon tape, aka Thread Seal Tape, which is stocked in most hardware stores in the plumbing section. I cut off a piece about 3 inches long, and wrap it around the threads on the bottle neck, clockwise. Then screw on the cap. I replace it when it starts to get scruffy. Judy
