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1. Preparation:
The first step in the tie-dye process is to acquire white, all
cotton t-shirts in various sizes.
Next, it is important to wash the shirts in hot water.
For the best results use Procion® Dyes which make long lasting
colors that remain vibrant for years of normal wash and wear.
These dyes come in powdered form and should be mixed according
to the directions that come with your supply of dyes and other
materials needed for the tie dye process.
Materials for the project include:
- Procion® Dyes in powdered form
- Soda ash - fixer
- Warm water (tepid, but not hot)
- Large strong elastics
- Clean surface
- Rubber gloves
- Quart sized bottles (store dyes)
- Plastic bottles with nozzles
- Plastic bags
- Professional Textile Detergent
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2. Dying the Shirts
The second step includes soaking the shirts in a mixture of water
and soda ash* as a fixer to help the fabric hold the dye. Wring
out excess water before tying.
Next, while the fabric is wet or damp tie the shirt using elastics
to hold the patterns tightly during the process. Working with
the fabric when it is wet or damp helps it hold its shape while
you apply elastics to tie the material.
To make a spiral, pinch the shirt where the center wsill be and
twist as much as you like to make the spiral as big as you want
it to be. If there is shirt left over outside the spiral it can
be folded, 'scrunched', or tied in various ways to form other
patterns. To 'scrunch', just gather shirt in hand and squeeze
it together and tie with elastics.
To make circle, pinch a small area between fingers and pull through
other hand and add elastics as you go till the circle is as big
as you want it to be. You can make the whole shirt into a series
of concentric circles or form other patterns around the circle
area(s), by 'scrunching' or folding, or other means.
Folding is done by making a smaill fold at or near an adge of
the shirt, and repeating the motion till you have gathered as
much area as you wish make in this pattern.
There are also many combinations of patterns you can make such
as spiral folds by folding then twisting the fabric and tying
it tightly.
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3. Setting the Colors
When the dying process is finished each shirt should be placed
in a plastic bag that does not leak. Leave shirt in bag for at
least 4 hours, 24 hours is best for strong color saturation. If
you work outsdide in the summertime it is often beneficial to
place the dyed shirts in black plastic bags and leave them out
in the sun for the day, then store them in a tub for the night
ti complete the 24 hour setting process.
After setting colors wash the shirts in hot water and Professional
Textile Detergent® that can be ordered with your Procion®
Dyes to remove excess dye and fixer. This helps to keep the colors
vibrant for years and prevents colors from bleeding later.
Experiment and have fun!
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