community of dyers

Very inspiring. The slide show of the children's dyeing was adorable, too. Does anyone know what kind of tape/fiber the children were using to tie with?

I have to confess... I haven't heard that term before in tie-dye. Can you explain what you mean?
Thanks!

Judy

Judy Sall Originals
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/tiedyejudy
"Life without tie-dye is waaaaaaaaaaaay dull!"

I call the round shapes pinched, because you pinch the fabric and then wind the string around the pinched material. Good old rubber bands work great, too, because you don't have to let go of the pinch. Rub them (the pinches) in your hands to make more folds if you haven't wound too tight.

Okay, sounds like a more detailed version of bullseyes. I was intrigued at the 'star shape' of the dye. They must use a lot of care in applying just to the edge of the folds to get that effect, huh? I generally apply 'abstract' style to bullseyes, just 'cause it's a little more forgiving. But I do like the results:

Judy Sall Originals
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/tiedyejudy
"Life without tie-dye is waaaaaaaaaaaay dull!"

Is this what you are looking for? i threw this together last night. if i could make a better bullseye, but that's judy's department!!!

chaos... the disordered state of unformed matter

Your bullseyes are just fine! Would you mind describing the bleaching process you used? How much bleach? How long did you submerge? Do you use a neutralizer to stop the bleach? I'm assuming you then have to wash, then dye with the colors? And are you pre-soaking in soda ash before dyeing or do you mix the soda ash in your dyes? I have read general instructions on discharge dyeing, but I'm just not comfortable enough yet to try it without a little better understanding of the process!
Thanks,
Judy

Judy Sall Originals
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/tiedyejudy
"Life without tie-dye is waaaaaaaaaaaay dull!"

judy, you're making it too hard!!! no bleach. i did the same as you do for your bullseyes... plus one measly thing!!

but before i tell you what, you know how you do your bullseye by picking up a point of fabric... etc...

instead of that way, fold your fabric in half, and draw a half circle. now fold your circle doing little accordian pleats instead of a general grab. this is the same exact thing as the earth fold, but you wouldn't scrunch up the center. i actually pinned my fabric to my board when i folded so i could keep track of the center of the circle.

then tie it up. use a bit of care just to maintain the folds (important later.) then dump on the dye as usual. batch for a while.

then... you ready?? i have a container in the fridge of REALLY thick alginate gel all ready. i use it to dye-paint. i took about 2 or 3 tbls of it and put it in a dixie cup. i dumped in some DRY navy dye, and mixed it up. wicked thick... (but the navy mixed in well)

i took a foam brush and dipped it in the navy, and painted it on JUST the edges of the folds on the bullseye. the super thickness won't allow the dye to travel, and the edges is exactly where you want it. i wouldn't tie this up with heavy thick string, because then you would miss a lot on this step, but i used the teeny hair rubber bands. fishing line would work too. i batched it for another couple of hours...

and there you are.

the ellipse needs some work, but basically i folded fabric in half, did a couple of accordian folds, and then a half circle on top of that. then the same dye. i was just thinking that after a couple of folds i could just put a stiff ruler on edgeat the top of the folds, and bend the fabric up on each side. hmmm. gotta think that over. ooh, also realized that if i fold in half and then half again, then pleats up and 1/4 circle on top. i can see how this will make the center line up the centipede. . yup, i got it! now i have to try it.

anyway, this dye technique is the exact thing i do to do my stained glass spirals. i dye the whole thing, both sides with my colors and batch for a while. then add super thick dye to the edges. including sheet pic to show. (you've seen it before i'm sure)

try it!! your bullseyes are so pretty , you'll do great. i gotta wash out the shamrock i tried on an old 5K shirt. later.

chaos... the disordered state of unformed matter

Looks like I've got much more to learn! I was wondering why you could see the strings in the dark portion - now I know. Cool way of doing those pinches/bullseyes, too. I was never able to get that much dye on it. I always ended up with lots of white areas Gotta try it. Thanks so much for the information.

I think Jaja is right and they tied the eyes onto a dark shirt and then dipped it into bleach or some other discharge. Then they color it without unwrapping, so the dark areas stay dark. Yea, I think that's it. Gotta try discharging sometime. I've got some black shirts ready.

Hi, I'm new here, but I think they might get this with tieing and then lwi. I'm also not sure how to post a picture, but I'll try. :)

This is a shirt tied in a spiral and lwi dyed with green and turqoise. After adding the soda ash water, I drizzled in a little purple that drifted down to lay on top of the folded bits. It's not exactly what ThaiDye has done, but it seems sorta close. maybe. :)

Well, I can't seem to get the picture to work, so you can see it here.

[I corrected the picture link. Very pretty! -Paula]