community of dyers

Hello I am pretty new to tie dye but i hope to learn more from this forum. The other day i got this idea for a shirt i want to make but im not sure how here is a picture of what i was thinking of making http://lh5.ggpht.com/_n0iRI7HhpR8/TH2-8hxZe5I/AAAAAAAAAA0/93Rd7wj6-iY/My%20shirt.png

Thanks, Eli.

Two weeks ago I prepared shirts for my son's daycamp to dye (that is, I did all but squirt the dye on). Everything went fine - great detailed spiders, etc.

Another teacher then asked me to do shirts for her class - about 20 shirts. I did the EXACT same thing as always, but as I started unfolding the shirts last night, they are so blobby, that is, the dye spread so much that they're unusable. I am stumped. The teacher provided the shirts, Hanes comfort soft 100% cotton.

I read on Hanes' website that the comfort soft line of shirts are 100% cotton with a special finish to keep them extra soft (or something like that). Could that extra finish be the problem?

I am set up to do tie-dye tomorrow, but just found out I am short on Metaphos. I need to know the most important place to use it in the rinsse-out process (fortunately all my dyes and chemicals are already made)

We are somewhat primitive here at our ranch, so our rinse-out is a bit atypical. We rinse under cold tap water, then do a series of 5-gallon buckets with a bit of Synthrapol. The third bucket is usually very hot water with Synthrapol, followed by soaking in a cold rinse until we're ready to go into the washing machine. The washing machine has only cold water hooked up to it.

I'm guessing either the hot water rinse or the washing machine wash cycle is the most critical point for the Metaphos. I don't have enough to do it in all my rinse and wash, as I typically do.

http://www.stylelist.com/2010/05/17/how-to-wear-tie-dye-spring-2010

check it out!

~Elisheva
www.groovesters.com

I've got a pair of cotton jersey yoga pants that I'd like to tie-dye -- does anybody have any tips about folding pants for dyeing? I'm guessing that if you want patterns on the sides of the legs you should fold the legs separate from one another... and perhaps dye the complicated crotch area a solid color. What has worked for you?

Thanks.

I've been intensively tie dying for a couple years now (I actually tie dyed more shirts last year than there are days in the year), and I like where I'm at, and what I'm doing. Of course, I'm always looking to stretch and expand upon my technique.

Can anyone point me at some pictures of tie dyes that used thickeners to achieve whatever desirable effect they do? I'm not really looking for a "how to" or advice (I like to figure some of that on my own), just some examples of what it does, and maybe something that would compare the end result of with and without.

Thanks.

I've been hired by a local dance group to dye some silk for them... in total about 60 yards of silk habotai! The silk will be divided into three batches for three different color schemes.

If I were doing my usual low water immersion method, I would not be at all worried by the size of this job, but because they want particular patterns, I plan to use direct application of fiber reactive dye, pre-activated with soda ash. Basically, tie dye without actual tied resists. (I find batching silk about 4 hours in a warm room usually sets the color nicely.)

But here's the thing: I usually only do 1 piece of fabric at a time in this method. I use a plastic tub (about 16 x 24 inches) for one three-yard piece, with the silk mostly squished together at one long side, and the whole thing tilted up so that the excess dye can drip away. For this big job -- well,

Hi

I haven't been here for a while, since I hadn't done any tie dying due to frustration with Procion MX going bad (I threw out a ton of procion MX dyes due to the high humidity in Taiwan and heat, things were going bad rather quickly!). I do like procion MX though. The shirts I had dyed lasted for years and it will NOT fade no matter what, in fact the cloth is all torn from repeated washing/wearing and the shirt shows no sign of fade. I want to make more shirts since I need to replenish my wardrobe but I would rather not pay the high cost of shipping to order dyestuff online when something can be found in Taiwan.

A long long time ago some people on this blog were wondering whether the content of superclear might be conducive to growth of bacteria or mold.

Well... I just opened the superclear I haven't had out since last summer, and it's got mold growing in it.

So there ya go!!

I live in Chicago Bears country, and I frequently get requests for Orange and Blue scarves, but I have never been able to get the color combination right. Since they are "opposite" colors, they always run together and make an ugly brown stripe in the middle. Can complementary colors EVER be placed side-by-side in tie dye? Has anyone had any success with this? If so, how'd you do it?

(This is my first post, so if I posted in the wrong board, please forgive me.)

Has anyone ever done Grey water recycling with their washing machines? is it possible to do with the MX dye or is it too harmful? I'm remember something about lead in the turquoise - and I dont know if I would like soda ash and dye in my yard. but I promised my husband I would ask anyways...

thanks!

~Elisheva
www.groovesters.com

My local art supply store has been great about ordering some bigger quantities of stuff for me, and I'm expecting 2 quarts of Synthrapol any day now. I got two smaller bottles to tide me over and after a disaster with dark blue and jet black I ran out faster than usual. None of my local art/craft stores have any in stock right now, and I have a bunch of things to wash out, a bunch more to prep for dyeing, and no heavy-duty stuff to use in the meantime.

Odds are my order'll be here in the next couple days, so ordering some wouldn't be practical. Anything I can use as a substitute in the meantime?

I would like to make a tie dye that looks like this (see link) but I am not sure how to do it. Please help me.

Hi all -- some great photos of people doing traditional tie dye in Mali are here on the BBC website. Enjoy!

I'm dyeing some bedding for a friend of mine who's moving, and the duvet cover was dyed yesterday and has been batching for about 24 hours. Rinsed out the pillowcases this morning and all is well, but I'm not sure where or how to even attempt to rinse out a full-size duvet cover. If I use my bathtub, or hang it out on a washline and use a hose, won't the color bleed all over the place?

I remember in the Tie-Dye 101 videos, Tom and Martine just tossed the dyed and batched garments into the wash with Synthrapol, agitated them for a bit, and then rinsed them and washed them again. I haven't tried that with anything except the towels I use under the garments I dye, and they're so covered with blotches of everything I've done in the past couple years that I'd never know what was loose, what was sticking from this load, and what was old. :)

A friend asked whether I could tie dye her a shirt with a blue background and peacock feather "eyes" on it. (For reference, look here.)

It seems like while I might not be able to get the exact shapes, I could possibly get the "rings" of navy, peacock, brown, and green by tying concentric circles.

What do you think? Worth a shot? Or is there a better approach?

Thank you for the great resource that this website is! I've been reading like crazy, and have found answers to most of my questions. But I have just a few more...

I will be doing a tie dye event for the Girl Scouts in my county. I'm not sure how many will attend, but I'm estimating about 100. (I will know actual numbers before I order my dye.) I will be ordering Procion MX dyes from one of your recommended suppliers. (If I click on the link through your supplier page, does that help support your website?) I've already ordered the 100% cotton T-shirts from Dharma.

We will be doing this activity outdoors. I will be premixing the dyes, so everything should be ready to go. We will tie the shirts while they are dry, and then soak in the soda ash. So my first question - how long should I soak them? I've seen everything from a quick dunk, to an hour.

Anyone have recommenations for thai style tie dyeing? I think it's also called mudmee? I haven't really come across anything that looks all that helpful and my library is lacking in dye books. I'm interested in both history and technique... I like the colors they use better than traditional tie dye and some of the pattens look interesting to me.

TIA!

I have posted pictures of much of my work here:
Julie's stuff

Yes, I kept busy getting ready for Xmas!! Folks seemed to be quite enthusiastic about their gifts, too!

I inadvertently missed a few items. . . must see if I can get pics of those from the recipients!

Hey everyone,

I'm new here. I tried to find the answer to this question before posting but I was unsuccessful. If it's already been answered somewhere, I apologize.

Anyway...I want to tie dye sheets. I was wondering if it's possible to dye Egyptian cotton or sateen with Procion MX dyes. Also, if 100% cotton sheets are the only type that would work best, I'd appreciate any suggestions as to where to buy 100% cotton sheets. Any responses will be greatly appreciated.