How to Tie-Dye - Beginner's Guide

Easy & Trendy Tie-Dye Techniques For All Skill Levels. How to Tie-Dye - Beginner's Guide

what we used:

• Indigo Tie Dye Kit
• 8 gallon bucket or tub
• long spoon or stick for stirring
• drop cloth
• an armful of white or cream 100% cotton stuff to dye (we did sheets, socks, shirts and a bag!)

how to dye:

• first you’ll need to make your dye bath. this is as simple as pouring all of the pre-filled packets from the kit in water. stir it all together VERY slowly as to not let too much oxygen in. it will appear neon green and may have foam on top- that’s okay!

• cover the bucket or tub and let it sit for 30 min to an hour. in order to achieve that dark, magical ocean-like tint, let the dye bath sit for as long as you can. the longer it sits, the darker the indigo!

• while it’s sitting, you can start tying string or rubber bands (all included in the kit) around your clothes in different cool ways! my personal favorite technique is creating mini ponytails all over your fabric to achieve full moons or polka dots! basically wherever your rubber band is, that’s where white will remain. rinse them all in cold water.

• next, immerse the separate pieces in your bucket or tub, make sure and squeeze out the excess dye VERY slowly into your bath. Once you have everything in, you should dunk them all under to make sure everything is equally covered in dye.

• leave the clothes in the dye and cover the tub  for about an hour. when you can’t wait any longer and you’re DYEING to see your indigo creations, take them all out one by one and rinse them in cold water again. At this point you can cut all of the string or rubber bands off and spread your pieces out on your drop cloth. at first the fabric will look green, don’t worry! as the oxygen hits it, the green will turn into blue. indigo magic! make sure and wash and dry your pieces all together (the indigo won’t fade) before you wear them!

p.s. the leftover dye bath can last up to two weeks if covered and can be used again and again!