Appendix T for Tie dye instructions
Tie-dyeing resources
Here is a list of my favourite resources for this delightful craft where science and art meet.
If you are thinking of trying this, remember that you must pre wash your fabric or t-shirt. The hotter the water the better, and a touch of bleach or non-chlorine bleach helps a lot.
Better yet, use Synthrapol Soap a non-ionic soap first and then again after dyeing. Use only 20 ml or one fluid ounce per large load, and use hot water.
Maiwa – Vancouver
Maiwa is a local company with its main store on Granville Island in Vancouver. You can also shop there on line. Great source of gifts, dyeing supplies and even courses on how to do a variety of crafts.
Maiwa has a variety of instructions on the many different type of techniques. They also have podcasts.
http://www.maiwa.com/stores/supply/instructions.html
The type of dye we used in our workshop, and the one I recommend, is called Procion MX dye.
http://www.maiwa.com/pdf/procion_mx.pdf
Maiwa’s instruction on so-called “natural” dyeing is also very good. Be careful – “natural” dyes can be as corrosive to our lungs and skin as “artificial” dyes.
http://www.maiwa.com/pdf/natural_dyeing.pdf
Blim Artist Studio – Vancouver
This studio is located on Main Street in the China Town district. They offer a number of workshops on tie-dyeing, button making, silk screening, etc. It is where I learned how to tie-dye. You can purchase supplies there.
Paula Burch Another great resource is Paula Burch
Here are her instructions on how to dye using Procion MX dyes
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/howtodye.shtml
Her instructions on how to tie-dye are the best I have found. As she says “The whole point of tie dyeing is to prevent the dye from reaching the fabric evenly. Any place that the dye can’t reach will stay white, or a lighter color, of course. You can accomplish this by folding the fabric, tying it with string, using rubber bands, etc.” Nice YouTube video as well.
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/howtotiedye.shtml
Tie-dye Wiki
For even more information
http://tie-dyewiki.com/wikinew/index.php?title=Main_Page
Colour combinations from Paula Burtch
A good basic rule is to apply two colors next to each other only if they appear next to each other in the following short list:
fuchsia-yellow-turquoise-purple-fuchsia
For a more detailed color scheme, choose adjacent colors from the following expanded list:
fuchsia-red-orange. -yellow-green-turquoise-blue-purple-fuchsia
It really does help to place fuchsia between red and purple.
Rainbow colours ROYGBIV red-orange-yellow-green-blue-violet
Some of my favourite YouTube videos on this subject
How to tie-dye a spiral
https://youtu.be/2PJnM6MK30U
Or
How to tie-dye a spider pattern
How to tie-dye a heart
Jennifer’s Summary of Instructions from Maiwa and Paula Burtch’s tie-dye
Materials
1) Pre-wash your fabric. If you can, wash it in very hot water and detergent, which good, or Synthrapol Soap, which is the best. If dyeing cotton, add a little extra soda ash or washing soda if you have it in your pre-wash.
2) Tie up your fabric.
3) Mordant – either Sodium Carbonate or Alum for at least 15 minutes
One cup of soda ash per gallon of water. Soak for at least 15 minutes.
4) Dye – have fun
1 teaspoon of urea per cup of water.
Proxion – 4 teaspoons of dye in one cup.
Sodium alginate thickener is optional, but useful in particular when doing socks if you do not want the colours to run together.
5) Wait – put in plastic bags and wait for 24 hours or so,
6) Wash with Synthrapol soap. Rinsing first is a good idea, but not necessary. Wash first in cold water then twice in hot water, using Synthrapol each time.
Background information
Note: Alginate tends to clump horribly when water is added. I’ve had good experiences by adding the alginate to cool water gradually, while whisking constantly with a small stainless steel whisk.
If that doesn’t work for you, here are two different answers to the problem. One is to mix the alginate the day before use, using a kitchen blender.
The other answer to the problem of dissolving alginate is to mix the alginate with either alcohol or corn oil before adding the water, so that the particles will be separate and not stick together when water hits them. An added advantage to the use of alcohol or vegetable oil is that the solutions are said to stay good much longer than those prepared with water alone.
The alcohol you use to mix your alginate with before adding water can be denatured alcohol, also known as methylated spirits, or it can be isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol. Corn oil has also been used successfully for this purpose; any refined, tasteless vegetable oil should work as well. The goal is just to separate the particles of the alginate before adding any water.
Synthrapol soap
Synthrapol soap: The special thing about Synthrapol is that it is supposed to be exceptionally good at removing Procion dyes from fabric. Many dyers believe that Synthrapol is better than other detergents at keeping dye from coming off a dark section of fabric and landing onto a light section of fabric – having a medium pH, unlike the high pH of the dye bath, keeps the dye from binding to the cellulose fiber in the wrong place. However, this claim has been disputed and appears to be more tradition than fact. A far more effective way to prevent back-staining of fabric with fiber reactive dye is to allow excess time for the dye to react, so that no un-reacted dye remains when you start washing out.
Another special thing about Synthrapol is its neutral pH. The neutral pH does not encourage further reaction of active fiber reactive dyes, and it is much kinder than regular laundry soap to protein fibers such as silk or wool. Ordinary laundry detergents typically have a high pH, often from large amounts of soda ash in the formula, which aids in ordinary laundering of cellulose fibers such as cotton but which can damage silk or wool.
http://www.bestdye.com/health-safety.php for Health and Safety tips.
MSTE5120 Tie dye instructions
First think about what you want to do.
1) Pattern
- Ø horizontal stripes?
- Ø vertical stripes?
- Ø Spiral? (Please note that a true spiral is difficult in the thick lab coat fabric, you are more likely to get more of a starburst of coloured lines radiating outwards)
- Ø Round circles of white?
- Ø Random spots of colour?
2) Colour
Do you want one colour or two colours to pre-dominate?
If so, which ones?
Colour combinations from Paula Burtch
A good basic rule is to apply two colors next to each other only if they appear next to each other in the following short list:
fuchsia-yellow-turquoise-purple-fuchsia
For a more detailed color scheme, choose adjacent colors from the following expanded list:
fuchsia-red-orange -yellow-green-turquoise-blue-purple-fuchsia
It really does help to place fuchsia between red and purple.
Rainbow colours ROYGBV red-orange-yellow-green-blue-violet
Then get ready to tie-dye
1) Start to tie your cloth. Tie as tight as you can. Where there is string – where it is tied – that will prevent the dye from attaching to the cloth, so it will still be white there.
2) USE GLOVES. You must mordant. Soak your tie-dye in the mixture of soda ash and water.
3) Dye – have fun
4) Wait – put in plastic bags and wait for 24 hours or so, before washing.
Why are you doing tie-dye in MSTE5120? The history of pigments in art and cloth can be thought of as the history of chemistry and technology.
