- 1). Fill the bucket with 1 to 4 gallons of warm water, depending on how many pieces of fabric you are tie-dyeing. Put on your gloves and dust mask and add 1 cup of sodium carbonate per gallon of water to the bucket. Stir the water with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sodium carbonate.
- 2). Dip the pieces of fabric into the bucket slowly and let the fabrics soak for at least five minutes and up to 12 hours. Remove the fabrics and squeeze the excess water back into the bucket.
- 3). Create a design in the fabric using the rubber bands. Use one of the following techniques or customize your technique.
- 4). Place marbles or coins at random over the fabric, twist each one and secure with a rubber band to make a marble design in your fabric.
- 5). Form a spiral by pinching a center point in the fabric and hold it while you twist the fabric around itself into a flat disc. Wrap rubber bands around the disk to form six wedges.
- 6). Fold the fabric accordion-style into a 2-inch wide strip and secure with rubber bands every 1 to 3 inches to create stripes.
- 7). Mix the powdered dyes according to the package in individual spray bottles or squirt bottles, depending on which type of bottle you want to use for applying the dyes.
- 8). Set up the tie-dyeing area outside, if at all possible, or in a room in the house that has ample floor space. Cover the entire area, particularly if tie-dyeing inside, with trash bags or sheets of cardboard. Wear old clothes or a swimsuit while dyeing fabrics to prevent dyes from damaging clothing. Put the gloves on before you begin dyeing the fabric.
previous post
next post