WHOLESALE TYEDYE APPAREL

Tie Dying With The Masses - How To Group Tie Dye In The Classroom

I’ve loved tie dying ever since I dipped tightly rubber banded t-shirts into tubs of Rit Dye in elementary school. The colors and patterns were magical, but the fun part was wearing my creation!

Several years later and I was in The Brightside Tie Dye Emporium in Brattleboro, VT. Upon checking out with a bag of goodies, I noticed a small sign that announced that the owner was running a class in tie dying. I signed up immediately and soon learned the mysteries of making eye catching, non-fading t-shirts in myriads of colors and patterns. Beyond using the information to create pieces to sell at local farmer’s markets, I also used it in school and summer camp so that kids could make delightful pieces of their own. The pride they showed when wearing shirts they made themselves was justified. They were truly gorgeous.

I’m about to describe the method I used with the groups of kids. I’m sure there are different and better ways, but this worked great for me. The dyes to use are Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes. I always bought mine as a dry powder so that the dye would have a much longer shelf life. If you want to do this on a limited scale, try buying three or so colors. Remember, the colors can be mixed! Dyes, chemicals, and squirt bottles can be bought from the source given at the bottom of the article, though there are several other purveyors, too. Pro just happened to be the company I used. They also sell small booklets detailing how to create certain designs are are well worth the few dollars they cost. Any other materials may be purchased at the local Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or grocery store. The key is that I wanted the shirts to be non-fading and last a long, long, long time. If fading is not an issue, Rit Dyes are far less expensive and much easier to use. If you want to create something that will be regularly worn and still stunning three years from now, here’s the deal…

Here is our method for group tie dying. It’s a lot of work, so roll up those sleeves and enlist the parent volunteers!

1)Buy the shirts on sale. We get Large and Xlarge for sixth graders. I do not take pride into account when we do shirts. No one that I’ve met wants a shirt that looks like Spandex! I put several mothers in 4XL, and though they said they would use them for sleep shirts, they sure looked comfortable!

2)You will now need to wash the shirts to remove any grease that was left on the threads from processing. Wash shirts in HOT water with ¼ cup of washing soda or Pro-Dye Activator and ¼ cup of Synthrapol. Rinse on COLD. Dry shirts

3)Put a different number on the tag of each shirt in permanent marker.

4)Make a solution of 5 gallons of tap water to 3 cups of soda ash or Pro-Dye Activator. You will need four or five batches of this in one tub. I use my large sink for this. Add the shirts; up to 18 at a time, and let sit in the solution for 15 minutes. Wearing rubber gloves, squeeze out and put in washer. Set washer to final spin, and spin with no water coming into tub for rinse. Place shirts in a garbage bag to prevent them from drying.

5)Mix dyes with distilled water up to one week before dying. To one quart of distilled water in an old blender, add the following:

¼ cup of dye

Fuschia

Bright Orange

Golden Yellow

Deep Purple

Raspberry (reddish purple)

½ cup of dye

Turquoise (FOAMS!)

Kelly Green

Cobalt Blue (FOAMS!)

1 cup of dye

Better Black

6)Store the dyes in squirt bottles and clean milk jugs.

7)Keep folded shirts on a "grid table" when dying.

8)Wrap shirts in seran wrap. Get this from a kitchen / restaurant supply firm.

9)Let shirts sit wrapped for two days.

10)While filling washer (top loading only), take rubber bands off clothes (wear rubber gloves) and toss in washer (12 - 18). Wash and rinse on cold. Then wash on HOT with ¼ cup of synthrapol and rinse cold. Dry in drier.

11)Wash with dark clothes the first few times, but shirt will be colorfast.

Dyes and supplies are available from Pro Chemical and Dye Company of Somerset, MA.

Have fun!

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The Tie-Dye Crash Course presents to you the following:

Finishing the Process - You will learn how to clean the finished tie-dyes once they are done.
Swirls

Learn how to make tie-dye swirl patterns. There are 3 patterns I show here. The first is the standard swirl pattern with the rainbow colors. The second is another swirl with black lines spiraling outward. The third pattern is a spider swirl. This pattern also uses the rainbow pattern. At the end of the video I show you some more examples of different types of swirls. The chapter ends by showing you numerous examples of modified swirl patterns.

Crinkles

In this video you will learn how to create crinkle folds for a tie-dye. Brad shows you techniques for creating the folds, holding them together, and then describes how to layer colors. The section ends by showing you examples of using crinkle folds as filler.

Stripes

I show you how to create a symmetrical diagonal stripe on a shirt. Then I show you how to created the fanfolds and secure them with the string. Then I show you how to color the folded cotton into a brightly colored tie-dye. This section ends with more examples of straight line tie-dye patterns.

Wavy Lines

I show you how to create a wavy line tie-dye pattern. I walk you through creating the pattern, gathering the folds and securing them. Then I demonstrate how to apply the dye using unique layering patterns. This section also has examples at the end of different wavy line designs.

Hearts

In this chapter I show you how to create and color a heart pattern tie-dye. At the end of this chapter I show you different heart pattern tie-dyes that I have made to help give you ideas. You will see another heart pattern being made in the last chapter.

Peace Signs

In this chapter you will learn how to design a peace sign tie-dye. You will see how to fold the symmetrical folds, create the fan folds, secure the folds, and color the peace sign. You will see another peace sign being made in the last chapter called Multi-Pattern. The examples for the peace sign mainly demonstrate different color designs.

Clovers

In this second to last chapter you will learn how to create a clover design on the front of the shirt. Then create a stripe or v pattern on the back of the shirt.

Multi-Patterns

In this last chapter you will learn how to create a peace sign on the front of a shirt and a heart on the back. I also show you how to use crinkles as filler to finish the pattern. These techniques teach you the details of manipulating the cotton so there is twice as much room to create tie-dye patterns.

www.phatdyes.com

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Technorati Tags: instant tye dye t-shirts, tye dye designs