What type of dye for tie dye

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Account Profile. Sign Out. Photo: Ali Eisner. The supplies I use to tie-dye. A dyeing vessel. Honey-Can-Do Buy at Staples. Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative. My favorite blank clothes to tie-dye. The sweatshirts. Buy at Amazon. Gerber Short Sleeve Onesies, 8-Pack. Tags: the strategist trust me i should know hobbies crafts. Most Viewed Stories. Expect excellent color absorption and vibrance.

Bamboo is a bit more durable than rayon, so it is less susceptible to damage when wet. It still needs to be handled with care, though, and should be washed using the gentle cycle. Wool is a common natural fiber, but it is not one of the best options for tie dye.

Rougher textured wool may absorb the dye better than a smooth blend, but do not expect vibrant results. Silk responds to dye surprisingly well. It absorbs color easily, and the fine fibers allow the fabric to capture even the most intricate details. While shirts made from percent cotton are regarded as the best option for tie dyeing, you do not need to completely rule out man-made synthetic fibers.

It is important to note, though, that how the dye reacts with synthetic fibers varies significantly. If you are thinking about giving it a shot, here is what you need to know about working with a few common synthetic materials. Polyester can be tie dyed, but it does not absorb color nearly as well as cotton. Because of this, creating vibrant tie dye color combos is nearly impossible on polyester.

If you want to give it a try, you will need to use dispersible dyes and boiling water. You might need to use a color intensifier or dye carrier, too.

And, once you achieve the desired look, you will need to know how to wash tie dye shirts to avoid fading. If you are up for the challenge, find out how to tie dye polyester. Faux fur may be fun to work with, but it is not a whole lot of fun to attempt to dye. The long strands also do not react well to water, so you have to be extremely careful to prevent the project from turning into a matted mess.

The strands can absorb color surprisingly well. Unfortunately, they are not resistant to fading. Even if you get lucky enough to create a beautiful design, it will likely wash out way sooner than you would like. Nylon is one of the few synthetic fabrics that is known to absorb color well.

Keep in mind, though, that not all dye types are appropriate for this project. All-purpose dyes work, too. While they are easier to work with than acid dyes, though, they typically do not provide as vibrant results.

If you are thinking about tie dyeing nylon, it is best to experiment with a few pieces you will not mind ruining. It takes some experimentation to get a feel for how the material will react to the dye.

Once you have mastered the process, though, nylon is one of the better synthetic fabrics to tie dye. If you are thinking about tie dyeing craft felt to use in a project, you might want to reconsider. While the materials from which felt is made may vary, one thing remains the same: This type of fabric does not work well for tie dyeing. Getting felt wet alters its texture.

Plus, a lot of the color washes away when you rinse the dye out. A lot of garments are not made from percent natural or synthetic fibers. Instead, they contain both. Blends are designed to create a fabric that offers the benefits of different types of fiber. Some of these blends work well for tie dyeing, too. Bear in mind, though, that the results can be a bit unpredictable. For the best outcome, use shirts that contain at least 50 percent cotton.

Using a color intensifier helps, too. Tri-blend shirts are made from three types of fiber — cotton, polyester, and rayon. They are extremely comfortable, and they work rather well for tie dye. While many types of fabric can be tie dyed, cotton reigns supreme as the best choice. It absorbs the dye well without the need for a color intensifier or the use of special dyes or boiling water.

After soaking, wring the shirt out thoroughly. The more liquid that you can squeeze out, the more dye will be able to get in! I usually spin my shirts on the spin cycle of the washing machine. Note- if you use a brand new shirt, wash it first to remove the newness, which I think they call "size". This "sizing" will prevent dye from bonding properly, and you may get a streaky effect.

After you have soaked and wrung out the shirt by the way, if you don't do it in the washing machine, try wringing it out with a friend!

Place it right side down, as you will then get a sharper pattern on the front of the shirt. Of course if you want the sharper pattern on the back - well, you know!

Place the dowel rod, or your finger, or a wooden clothes pin in the centre of the shirt and start turning clockwise until you have a nice flat pie shape.

You can also turn counter-clockwise if you prefer, it makes no difference really. This what your shirt should look like at this stage. Do not allow the shirt to creep up the dowel rod, make it behave with the hand not turning the dowel rod! You are now ready to remove the dowel and put on the rubber bands.

The trick is to place the bands, without disturbing the shirt! It can be done! Be careful removing the dowel. You do not want to pull the shirt up in the middle - thus unachieving pie!

This part of the process is the most important step of all. Believe me if you do a sloppy "tie" you will achieve a sloppy and messy "dye" and live to regret it. With your lovely pie shape achieved, you can now put on the rubber bands. Slip several bands on see the picture then turn the shirt over and put on some more. This keeps its shape. Keep the whole thing as flat as you can. Your are now ready to dye!

When doing the actually dying bit, you will need to cover your working surface with plastic. Something like a plastic table cloth will work fine. You also need to wear old clothes, old shoes, etc. The dyes will stain your clothes, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, etc. So if you are not working outside please be careful. The dyes are harmless to your skin, but if you don't wear rubber gloves you will achieve red, yellow or blue dyed hands, which won't wash off wears off in a couple of days - but can be a amazingly embarrassing!

Also be ready with the rags to mop up spills. When I mix the dyes I make sure that the caps are on tight and I also wipe the screw top and bottle neck to avoid "capillary action". I have also purloined some of my husband and son's old white socks and cut them down to fit over the bottles, which helps stem accidental leaks!

Hint: there is a product called Reduran, which can be purchased online from Dharma, which removes dye from the skin instantly, so you don't have to suffer "rainbow hand" syndrome! Place your shirt "pie" on a couple of thicknesses of paper towels on top of a paper plate on your plastic protected working surface. It's less messy, and easy to flip the whole thing over when dying the other side. Wear rubber gloves! Just a note: When I tie dye I usually only use three colours, Fuchsia red, turquoise and lemon yellow.

With these three colours you can make any colour you like. To make the rainbow swirl shirt, imagine that your "pie" is an actual pie chart! Working from the centre of the shirt and holding the bottle low over the shirt, dye one third of the shirt lemon yellow. Do not wave the bottle around as you will make a mess! Dye the second third of the shirt fuchsia red and the final third turquoise. Do not leave any white spaces showing - the "white" is hiding within the folds! If you overlap the colours at the edges of each section you will get the other rainbow colours, i.

It's magic!