Materials needed
1. Appropriate dyes, such as Procion MX dyes (these will give you golden yellow, magenta, and bright blue colors)
2. Item to be tie dyed, such as a t-shirt, sheets, or any other item that is cotton (polyester won’t take the dye well enough to dye)
3. soda ash
4. kite string or rubber bands
5. 3 squirt bottles or 3 squeeze bottles
6. measuring spoons and measuring cups
7. rubber gloves
8. paper towels
9. plastic bags (such as gallon sized zip lock bags)
10. a dust mask to protect yourself from breathing in the dangerous chemicals in the dyes
1. Begin by pre-washing whatever item you have chosen to dye. Many items come with an finish over them that will prevent the dye from seeping into the fabric the way that it should in order to create the best colors.
2. Prepare your work area. You need to spread plastic sheeting or newspaper over your work table in order to protect the work area from any staining or any other dangerous chemicals.
3. Create a soda ash soak. Dissolve 1 cup of soda ash in 1 gallon of water. The easiest way to dissolve soda ash is to dissolve it in hot water. This means that you will need to let the water cool before you soak the shirt. Make sure that you soak the shirt for at least 20 minutes, though you can soak the item longer, even up to overnight.
4. Remove the shirt from the soak and wring it out.
5. Lay the shirt out on the table. Use an auto-fade pen in order to trace a heart anywhere on the shirt.
6. Once the heart is drawn, baste along the lines with kite string. If you want the design on both sides, then stitch throw both layers of fabric. Otherwise, stitch through just one layer of fabric.
7. Next, remove the needle and pull the strings at the top and the bottom of the heart to gather the fabric. Pull the fabric as tight as you possibly can.
8. Now, prepare the dye according the manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure that you wear your mask and wear rubber or plastic gloves while working with the dye.
9. Dye the fabric according to the instructions on the package.
10. Don’t be shy with your dye use! Using more dye will create richer and brighter colors for your tie dye project.
11. When you are done dyeing, place the fabric in a plastic bag and let it sit for about 24 hours so that the dye can really seep into the fabric.
12. Take the fabric out, rinse it, and let it dry either by laying it out or by putting it in the dryer.
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