Crafterateur

I did tie dye for the first time! My crafty friend’s crafty daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday with a crafty party. Part one was tie dye!

Tie dye is similar to indigo dyeing but with essential differences: (1) there are lots more colors, (2) instead of dunking into a vat we squirted color onto the fabric, and (3) these dyes have to sit longer before the big reveal for 12-24 hours (versus the 12-15 minutes per dip for indigo dyeing).

We used Jacquard powder dyes and a tie dye kit from Dharma Trading Company plus some extra bottles, funnels, and measuring spoons/cups. We got the jewel tones color kit – super bold and gorgeous.

We mixed urea with water and added dye powder to each bottle and we mixed a vat of soda ash solution. We dunked our fabrics in the soda ash solution before dyeing to help the color stick to the fabric.

We folded, rolled, and tied our fabrics. We had socks, tees, sweatpants, headbands, and dish cloths. And I brought a sarong, rope, and fabric scraps.

We used grids to hold the fabric, trays to catch excess dye, and baggies to keep our fabrics moist for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, lots of rinsing, and a double wash – the big reveal!

What a fun summer project! I’m happy and impressed with the way each piece turned out. Thank you to birthday girl Paloma for inviting me to be part of this colorful celebration!