I'm sure you've seen tie dye kits before. Not only do craft stores carry them but tie dye has become so popular that Walmart has them. They generally come with 3 colors, 3 dinky little bottles, and rubber bands. Then they charge you $15 dollars for it. Psh, yeah right. There is only enough dye to fill each bottle once! If you buy tie dye kits you are getting ripped off. It is alot cheaper to buy the dye and tools separately and measure it out yourself. Not to mention you have more control over what colors you get, rather that just what comes in the box.
Now this is what I call a tie dye kit. This is my personal kit, composed of things that I feel are essential:
8 large bottles (at Walmart in the kitchen section)
3 small bottles
eye dropper for detailed dying
rubber bands galore
measuring spoons
8 colors of Procion MX dye (dharmatrading.com)
Soda Ash (this is what fixes the dye, also found at dharmatrading.com)
rubber gloves
face masks (if the dye powder is inhaled you will develop an allergy to it, and it will end your tie dying days forever)
4 cup capacity measuring cup (used to measure amount of water for soda ash to soak clothing in, and to mix dye solution)
Many of these things don't come in an average tie dye kit. And once you begin tie dying as much as I do, you will be lost without them! I highly suggest you put together your own kit!! It is also good to have a dish strainer (like the ones that fit into your sink). I turn mine upside down and place the clothes on top that I am dying, that way the dye is free to drip thru and won't effect the rest of my project.
I have a few more tie dyes that are setting overnight! It is a couple of orders that some friends of my step mom have put in. I will have pictures tomorrow! :)
Posted by
joyousjess
3:54 PM
I am never EVER using any other kind of dye again.. Procion MX is officially my one and only pick! Why, you ask? Frankly because Dylon sucks compared to it!! I am glad it went out of stock or I never would have ordered this stuff. I am so impressed with this dye, just look at the results of my dress! Dylon didn't look this bold and bright even when the clothing was still wet! I am in love.
Here it is when it was just white. I bought it at Walmart for $14. It's a super nicely made dress by Faded Glory so I am thrilled with the value. But man is it boring white ;) It gave me the tie dye itch!
I am in love with the spiral pattern. It always looks super cool and it's the easiest pattern to control, so it's my favorite when I want things to go smoothly.
I made this dress yesterday and I just finished washing and drying it. I was supposed to use twice as much dye for brown (certain colors you have to use more) but I forgot and it looks perfect! So I am glad to know I don't have to waste twice as much dye when I use brown :) Orange is so bright, I love it. And the purple and blue look really nice when they fade into the little white streaks. I don't really have any darker or earthy toned tie dye so I wanted a dress in these colors :) I am super happy with it!
I have changed my colors! I was only going to do purple, orange, and brown. But now I'm thinking a little blue would balance out the cool/warm color ratio. I also realized that my two favorite tie dye shirts are made of these colors! One is purple, orange, and blue. And the other is brown, orange, and blue! So I'm throwing them all together into my tie dye dress! I probably won't get to make it until this weekend, so keep on the look out!
Posted by
joyousjess
10:25 AM
I made a test shirt yesterday and this morning I rinsed it off and washed & dried it. & LOOK! It's pretty!! The colors are so vibrant, I cannot wait to make my dress!!
The embroidery made for a very nice contrast, since it was stitched with a material that isn't dyable (did I make that word up or does it exhist?). Then only thing I am going to have to watch from now on is that the colors like very much to blend. Alot more than I am use to! You can see that the orange and green got a little too friendly and made brown. Which would have been good if that's what I wanted, but I really like the orange & I would have liked more of it along the embroidery than I ended up with. I am glad I tested the dye out before I actually made my dress!
This is the back of the top, it is a racerback. The colors look really pretty on the braided straps!
So far, I really like Procion MX better than Dylon. It's a bit more work, but the results are nice! :)
I just finished making a test shirt with my new dye since I am unfamiliar with it. If you are wondering, it is the GOOD stuff: Procion MX. It is so much different than Dylon hand dyes, & I like it that way! I had to presoak the shirt in a mixture of water and soda ash, this is what "fixes" the dye and makes it permanent. Then I had to wear a face mask to mix the dyes! If you breathe it in you will develop an allergy to it! Plus it's known in the state of California to cause cancer.. so I definitally love my face mask even though I look like a mad scientist muhahaha. One thing I definitally love about this dye is I can save any of the unused dye mixture for later. Dylon dyes had to be used immediately because the salt was mixed in already. I have to keep the tie dyed clothing at atleast 70 degrees while it "fixes." So I pretty much have a heating pad and a fleece blanket around that sucker :P But as for the results, you will just have to wait 24 hours. Yup, that kind of stinks but if it turns out as bright as it is supposed to it will be worth it! :) I will have pics!!
Posted by
joyousjess
2:08 PM
My dye is here!!!
Posted by
joyousjess
12:33 PM
Here is a fairly recent tie dye of mine. The shirt was already beautiful when it was just white! There was a flower design stitched throughout the top and alot of embroidery. When I tie dyed it, it only made it better! It was a gift for my stepmom, she absolutely loves tie dye! Pretty much all of my family and friends ask for this kind of stuff every holiday :P
Fail. It did not work quite how I wanted again (read my previous blog if you have no clue what I am talking about). Although it was much better, those are still not the results I am looking for. The black (which is all I have until Wednesday) started to take a pointed shape towards the bottom, but it was very weak. It still made kind of a cool pattern, so I'll keep the tank top I practiced on. Although it does kind of remind me of those really pathetic Miley Cyrus tie dyes at Walmart. It takes absolutely no skill or creativity to squirt random blotches of dye onto a tank top, & that's pretty much what they are. Ha, maybe they were just trying to make a mandala :P Oh well, I will get it sooner or later just like I did when I was learning to make a cross. But for now I think I am going to go ahead and make my tie dye dress on Wednesday when my dye arrives. Spirals are easy and always turn out perfect, so I am going to use that pattern. I'd hate to ruin such a pretty dress trying to create a pattern I am so unfamiliar with! I am thinking orange, purple, and brown for the spiral :) What do you think?
Posted by
joyousjess
9:08 PM
I just attempted the "Mandala" pattern and it was mostly a fail but the results weren't 100% disappointing. I am on to something! I have been refolding and studying the folds over and over and NOW I think I've got it. So I will try again! It is not discouraging since it took me several fails to finally figure out how to make a cross and a heart. There aren't very many free tutorials online so I pretty much had to wing it! But all it is is symmetry. Eventually you figure it out. That's why I thought I had figured out the mandala because I got the symmetry down. But the way I was trying to fold it was too bunchy and the rubber bands wouldn't hold it up. So I will try again! If it works I will have a picture for you!
Posted by
joyousjess
12:30 PM
As of right now I can make hearts, crosses, guitars, spirals, stripes, circles, V's, and the list goes on. but there is one pattern I have been dying (ha) to learn how to do.. Mandalas. For those of you who don't know what a mandala is, it has got to be the most detailed pattern I have ever seen. It literally looks like a kaleidoscope. This picture is not mine, I did not make it, but it's just to give you an idea of what it would look like:
(This is not my tie dye, it is just a sample of what I am aiming for. All other tie dye pictures on this site are my originals unless I say otherwise)
And.. I think that I have figured out how to do it!! It will be difficult, especially starting out with a new kind of dye I am unfamiliar with. But I think I figured out the folding technique and how to apply the dye to get this effect. I tried drawing it on a piece of paper with the same folds and it turned out right so cross your fingers! I am going to try it with a regular tshirt first and if it works I am going to make my dress this way :) It is going to drive me nuts now because my dye still won't even come in the mail until Wednesday. So, my next post will more than likely be about a success or a major failure. But hey, that's the whole point of blogging right? Sharing my experiences :)
I just ordered some new dharma fiber reactive procion dye and it should be here in about a week! I have never used this dye before, but since they discontinued dylon hand dyes I had to switch! Procion is said to be the brightest and boldest dye so I am super excited. It's the most popular kind used for tie dye. I ordered red, blue, deep orange, deep yellow, hot pink, bright green, brown, & deep purple. I have plenty of things to dye when it gets here so I am super anxious! I just bought myself a white cotton dress that is beautiful! The dress is much higher in quality than I had expected from walmart, and the crocheted detailing makes it super cute! And for only $14, I am pretty pleased! I will post in on here as soon as I make it. I also have a hoodie and a tshirt that a few people ordered thru my stepmom :) I will probably put pics of those too. Plus a few other things, that I'm not going to mention just yet (teehee) you will have to wait and see!
I still have plenty of tie dye on my etsy if you are interested in buying any!
www.gethappytiedye.etsy.com
Here is another dress I have made! I made it about a month ago, it is super cute with boots! I love how flowy and carefree it is! It definitally brings out your inner southern bell :) Oh, btw.. this dress is for sale! It is on my etsy: www.gethappytiedye.etsy.com
:) Enjoy!
I stumbled upon this romper in a local store and decided to try it on. I use to think rompers were only for babies, HA. Ever since I first saw a romper I thought they were too cute! But I never thought I could pull it off. Well, I tried. & I love it! I was so excited it was 100% cotton, I knew it would make the perfect tie dye canvas! I haven't even gotten the chance to wear it yet, the weather is playing peek-a-boo with my days off from work! But, I will definitally enjoy throwing this over my bathing suit this summer :)
These days it's pretty hard to find a white cotton maxi dress that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. And since I bought my other one from Old Navy for only $20 and it turned out so beautifully (see my first blog) I was itching for another maxi dress. So.. I did what anyone (hehe) would do.
Here is what I started with. Four tshirts. Sizes 4T, Youth XL, Adult L, and Adult XL.
I chopped those suckers up and formed them into what would soon be my maxi dress!
I folded each section separately and dyed them each with a different pattern, but same colors.
My original plans for the straps had changed to beautiful braids that come together to form a racerback :) Here are some sample pictures of what the straps looked like when the dress was finished.
I sewed all of the pieces together.......
Viola! The final product!! It hits the floor right at my ankles and is SO comfortable, it's almost as if I am wearing a tshirt ;)
Posted by
joyousjess
8:46 PM
As a tie dyer I started out with the basics. You know.. wingin' it. But the more I tie dyed, the more I learned and the better I got. There are now several different patterns that I know how to do. Some are easy, some are not. But they always look wonderful! These are all pictures of tie dyes I have made :) Enjoy!
This is just a simple "Stripes" pattern. It's extremely easy to fold and dye, it can just get a little messy if you don't have much room to work with!
This is the "Bullseye" pattern. It's almost too easy. Just about every tie dyer (including me) starts out doing this one.
This one took me a little while to figure out. I call it a "Brushstroke" pattern. It was pretty easy once I finally figured out how to fold it, and it opened doors to several other patterns that I then realized how to do.
Obviously, this is a "Heart" pattern. A very easy shape to fold and dye.
The "Cross." A little harder to fold than the others, but with a nice border it can be very bold.
I actually made this one for my sister using the "Spiral" and the "Bullseye" patterns. I call it the "Lava Lamp."
No doubt you have heard of the infamous "Spiral." It is very easy, and probably my favorite. It never fails to turn out perfectly and jazz up any outfit.
When you "Scrunch" up the fabric to dye it, it gives that nice striped effect between colors.
I guess you'd call this one the "Carnival" pattern. Atleast that's what I've always heard it called. It is really just a "Spiral" with a black overlay.
The "V." This one is fairly easy and almost always turns out right.
Another variation of the "Stripes," only this one is vertical and the colors symmetrical.
On occasion, I am able to pull of a letter or two! This was a Tennessee Tech University shirt that I made for a friend :)
Lastly, the "Guitar." It is probably the hardest one to do. It's a 50/50 shot that it turns out right but when it does it's rockin' :)
The dye that I love to use for tie dying is Dylon's collection of hand dyes. The colors are very bright (although not as bright as Procion dyes) and they are easy to use. Plus, they were conveniently in stock at our local walmart.. were. They aren't even on Joann.com anymore. Which, has led me to assume the worst. I am pretty sure they've been discontinued :( So now I am going to have to order the GOOD stuff :P It's more expensive but it is alot brighter and bolder, so I guess it's for the better :) (The picture above is of several tees and tanks I have made!)
Here are several tshirts that I made for my family when we went camping.. it's pretty much a family tradition now. The year before I also made everyone tie dye tees, and I am sure we'll be doing it again this summer! :) I still have some tshirts and some tank tops for sale on my etsy. The tshirts are only $5!
I really wish the weather would hurry up and get warm here. I keep thinking it's summer but its only spring. It wont even stay warm enough for more than a day or two at a time. I went out and bought all kinds of summer clothes a few months ago all because it was warm one day! :P But hey, atleast I am stocked up now for whenever it decides to get a little sunny. This summer is going to be great. I cannot wait until the 4th of July. I love how almost everyone in town, even people who have gone off to college, come up to the Rec Park every year for fireworks. My birthday is the 5th of July but I usually pretend like I have two birthdays and the 4th is really a party for me!! :P It's nice to see everyone again, and the fireworks are always beautiful. Last year I wore a tie dyed tank top that had really pretty embroidery on the back, which made the colors look fantastic!
I'm not sure what I'll wear this year but I can guarantee it will be tie dye!
