How do you make the dye for tie dye shirts?

When you make tie dye shirts how do you put different colors on it?

• Answer:

  For example, the typical spiral pattern of tie-dye t-shirts starts out with a 100% cotton t-shirt. Soak it in a solution of water and soda ash (available at dye companies such as Dharma Trading Co) fwhile you prepare the rest of your tools and dyes. Supplies: A bucket for soaking the T-shirts soda ash procion dyes in the basic colors-red, blue, yellow, black--others if you want specific color themes a couple of large buckets or tubs for rinsing--or a washing machine synthropol--from the same source as your dyes--a sort of detergent used to remove extra dye from the rinsing RIT dyes will do the job, but not as well and not as long-lived. Mix the dyes according to the directions you receive with them. Procion cold water dyes are the best, as RIT dyes will wash out and fade fairly quickly. Place your dyes in squirt bottles (like clear ketchup/mustard bottles, cylinder-shaped with a narrow tube out the top.) remove the t-shirt form the soak, and wring it out to as barely damp as you can. Moist cotton will absorb the dyes better than dry. lay the t-shirt flat on a table covered with a plastic cover. A split open garbage bag will work. Pinch a bit of the shirt in the center and begin to twist it, keeping it flat, until it's all coiled up in a spiral circular flat shape. Tie a string or place a big rubber band around the outside edge--like around the tread of a tire, not across the spiral folds. Wearing rubber gloves is a good ides during the dying procedure, as you will turn colors--and they won't wash out for a long time! Once it's tight and flat, take your first color bottle and carefully squirt the dye across it in a centered diagonal stripe, not too much. Make stripes across the coil with all your colors and let it sit a few minutes. Oddly, if you squirt the dye in line with the coils, you'll get stripes when you undo the coil. Untie the string, or remove the rubber band and rinse thoroughly in a large bucket or tub of water, then another of clean water until the color is all washed out--ideally, use a washing machine with some Synthrapol in the wash to keep the released dyes from reattaching to your cotton. When all rinsed, dry in a drier, or on the line. Be sure to wash your washing machine out after, doing as load of old towels or other items you don't care about the colors, with a little bleach will clean out any remaining dye.