Tie Dye

Ladyshopper

Hello. I would like to tie dye some t-shirts and pillowcases, and wondered if anyone else on here is into tie dye?

Just wondering where cheapest/best place is to get the die etc?

Many thanks

midnightraven3

its like everything else
it can be as easy & cheap as you want it to be
or complicated and expensive

i wanted, easy to achieve, cheap, but lasted as long as possible

here was my first sttempt





these cost about £3.50 each to produce including the t shirt
and 12 months on they look exactly the same

you can dye using LOADS of things from cheap & cheerful to ethically sourced

i used the dylon cold water dye
that for me was the cheapest option

Ladyshopper

Thanks. They look fab, and exactly what I want! I was inspired by a thread I read on a disney forum yesterday, where basically do do a mickey head in a solid colour and block it off from the rest, then use whatever colours for the rest of the dye. Some of the results were amazing.

Did you have to pre-soak your t-shirts in anything first? On the disney forum (which is american) they talked about soaking in soda ash, as it helps to set the colours and keep them more vivid. Or did you just use the dylon salt with the dye and use as per the instructions?

Sorry for all the questions!

midnightraven3

should have said

you remember those wee round packets of powder you could get everywhere? you can no longer buy them as dylon have made them in snazzy packets
i got lots of the wee round ones from ebay
i also used the packets, which worked out at around £1.50 each

i got old shampoo bottles
washed them out
tipped a little of the powder in, cold water, and shake

i put the t shirts on a rinse programme
and i was good to go (wet t shirts)

for the rainbow swirly ones
place t shirt flat
i used a fork, right in the middle
and twisted, round & round till i had what looked like a fat plate
get elastic bands and stretch them over, to make roughly a star shape
get all your ready mixed dyes
and apply with the bottle, to make the rainbow, i applied it, so it looked like a big cake with slices?? (does that make sense)
do one side
then turn and do the same to the other side, making sure you do the same colour on the botton in the same place as the top

take your t shirt, place in a plastic bag, tie it off
and place in an airing cupboard for 24 hrs

then take your "plate" of t shirt
rinse thoroughly under cold water, wash as normal

voila!


using this method saves you buying fixatives/salts/stabilisers etc

midnightraven3

cross post, sorry

i kinda touched on the ash thing
you can do all of those things
but i didnt
and the t shirts have been washed & worn countless times (like LOTS)
and still look 100%

Ladyshopper

Fab, thanks so much!

Been scouring the internet today for dies, found the dylon ones in a round container for about £2.50, and ones in a packet for £2.99.

That includes looking on ebay, googling etc!

Will keep looking, can't wait to try this.

midnightraven3

the colours i couldnt find cheaply on the net i got in a chain of fabric shops, i also know our local hardware shop has them quite cheap too, you know one of those shops that have EVERYTHING packed to the rafters, and piles of stuffs outside?

thinking about your mickey mouse ones
i think they would dye the shirts first, then put the mickey heads on
with something inbetween the shirts to stop it transferring to the back

chatty123

my son is in the royal navy and currently deployed on a luxury island in the indian ocean...lucky beggar.... anyway he called me yesterday and was telling me about his night out where they had a 60's theme.
he google how to do tie dye but couldn't get hold of any dye....(prob no need for it out there).
so he borrowed some food colouring from the restaurant and used that. he said it looked really good ..... BUT he has no intention of washing it (typical lad) so dont know if it will wash out...but could be a cheap option to try