About Bread Bag Dyeing:

The easy way to dye cotton and rayon garments. The mess is contained in a plastic bag, and you can recycle the bag when you're done! This method gives a marbled, non-uniform effect. You can dye white garments, or over-dye any color to rejuvenate it.

Step 1: Let's Get Started!

Shopping list:

Fiber Reactive Dye, 1 tsp each color - we used Raspberry, Ecru, Safari Grey and Maroon Brown

Soda Ash Fixer, 1 TBS for each bag

Urea, 1 TBS for each bag

Professional Textile Detergent (PTD) or Synthrapol

Bread bag(s), the kind an 18 oz. loaf of sliced bread comes in

Rubber gloves

Dishpan or bucket

Item to dye - we used 3 Light Jersey Circle Scarves

Step 2: Grab a Bag and a Scarf!

Step 1: Check bag for leaks! Put some water in the bag to see if it leaks. If it does, try a different bag.

Step 2: Wash your garment with hot water and PTD, leave it wet.

Step 3: Scrunch up the garment and put it in the bag.

Step 3: Mix the Dyes and Add to the Bag.

Step 4: Mix your dye, soda ash and urea in a cup then sprinkle over garment in bag. Fill bag about 1/3 full with lukewarm water. Push the air out of the bag and tie it with a rubber band.

Step 5: Squish the bag gently to mix the dye* and cover the garment with the dye. The more you squish, the more even the color gets, so don't squish too much if you want interesting results.

*Note: Some colors are harder to dissolve than others. To minimize spots of undissolved dye, pre-dissolve your dye by pasting it up with a cup of warm water in which the Urea is already dissolved, and then pour that solution through a coffee filter into the bread bag, then add some more warm water with the dissolved Soda Ash. If you like speckles (and we think that can be very cool in this technique) then just add it all dry to the bag.

Step 4: Leave It, Rinse It, Wash It.

Step 6: Let the magic happen! Put the bag into a bucket and leave it for 2 hours, or overnight. If it leaks during this time, it's okay.

Step 7: Rinse and wash. Put on your gloves and cut open the bag; rinse shirt in cool water (the shower works great for this). Then wash in hot water and PTD; rinse, and dry.