Beginners Guide to Tye Dyeing

Intro: Beginners Guide to Tye Dyeing

Are you looking for a fun activity to do with your family or friends? Give this a try!

STEP 1: Required Equipment & Make a Game Plan!

1. Purchase a Tye Dye Kit From Your Local Supermarket or Craft Store!

2. Find some White 100% Cotton T-Shirts, Socks, Sweater, Pants, etc. that you want to tye dye.

3. You also need Rubber Bands and Rubber Gloves (Some kits come with these!)

4. You will also need Gallon Zip Lock Bags to store the tye dye projects in while the dye soaks in.

5. Plan ahead and have a designated area to tye dye with access to water and easy clean up. We dyed our clothes in a bathroom with trash bags on the floor, so plan ahead before you start dyeing your clothes!

STEP 2: Water and Rubber Bands!

First, dampen the shirts with water. Ring out any excess water. Then roll or wad up the dampened shirt using rubber bands. This will determine the pattern and unique design of your project!

STEP 3: Shake Shake Shake

Follow the directions on the Tye Dye kit and mix your bottles of dye with water. Shake them up and using the dye bottles, squirt the desired colors onto your shirts.

STEP 4: Zip Them Up

Once you finish adding the desired amount of color to your clothing, place them into separate zip lock bags and I recommend leaving them there for at least 48 hours to let the dye soak in really well before washing them!

STEP 5: Rinse, Wash, and Dry!

After the 48 hours is up, rinse the shirts in the sink or bath tub until the water runs clear. This can take several minutes to rinse one shirt. Then wash them with a very small amount of laundry soap. Don't mix these with your other laundry because they still have some dye that needs to wash out. I washed all of my tye dye project in the same load with no problem! Toss them in the dryer and await your beautiful masterpieces!

STEP 6: Admire Your Work!

I hope this inspires you to go have fun with your family or friends! Hands on projects are always exciting! Thank you for stopping by!

Comments

[EricG1]

Just a suggestion from a former commercial tye-dyer, when prepping the dye, use a salt water solution, this softens the cotton fibers and makes it more accepting of coloring, 1 cup of salt to 5gallons water. When the dye process is finished, add a bucket of baking soda solution, again 1 cup baking soda to 5 gallons of water (you can just add the baking soda to the actual dye solution as well), agitate for a few minutes to get the baking soda to mix well and cover the dyed material. The baking soda sets the dye in the material. Then wring out the apparel, do not rinse out, else you are washing out the color. Then wash with gentle detergent and dry as normal. You will find your colors after a second washing will not bleed on to other materials.

Also, if you put a cup of baking soda in your rinse cycle for brand new jeans, they too will never fade.

[DIY Hacks and How Tos]

These are the kinds of projects that I really like to do with my kids. It lets them make something creative and it lets them personalize their stuff in a way that no one else has.