Fit To Be . . . Tie-Dyed

I haven't been knitting much lately.
Or stitching.
Or sewing.
Or painting.

(Life is full.)
(Life is good.)

But that doesn't mean I haven't been making anything at all.

When Erin was visiting, we decided to try our hand at some tie-dye!

I've done some tie-dye before, but never as The Instigator. And Erin had never tried it before. So the first thing I did . . . was to contact Vicki, Auntie Camp Tie-Dye Expert, for some advice and pointers. Vicki . . . sent me to Dharma Trading for supplies . . . and we were off to the races!

Dharma Trading sells everything you need for all kinds of dying projects, including kits for home tie-dying (dyes need to be ordered separately). And there are instructions (not always the most clear, but pretty clear) and inspiration guides for various projects and styles of tying/dying. We followed the steps very carefully to assure good results. There was a lot of mixing and soaking before we could apply any of that "inspiration." (Just sayin.)

If you've never worked with fiber reactive dyes before, the mixing process can sound a little . . . technical. Complicated. Science-y. Maybe a little intimidating, even. (Or maybe that's just me . . . the wife of a chemist.) Anyway. Tom wasn't intimidated at all, and he jumped right in to help us mix up our dyes. (Thanks, Honey.)

And then . . . we got to the fun parts.

The tying.

And the dying.

After 24 hours of "curing," we were so excited for our Big Reveals.

Erin went with a purples/blues/pinks palette for her tees. (And tank tops and sweatshirts and aprons.) (We did a lot of tying and dying.)

And I went with a more . . . citrus-y/tropical palette.

Really . . . you can't go wrong with tie-dye! Everything turns out COOL. (Even the hooded sweatshirt I did at the end . . . using all the leftover dyes. I call it "fireworks" -- because it's kind of like the end of a fireworks show when they send everything up into the sky at once. It's pretty . . . busy. But even that worked!)

We had a lot of fun. We were pleased with our results. And I thank Vicki for her inspiration and advice.

Five stars!
Would do again!

==

How about you? What are you making these days?

 

 

Comments

[kat]

Ooo! I love this! Vicki is absolutely inspiring! This could be a fun thing to bring to do with the kids when I head to Michigan later this summer! (and me? I am of course still knitting! lol)

[Bonny]

They are all very cool! I might try some tie-dyeing later in the summer. John loves tie-dye shirts and never has enough of them. Thanks to you and Vicki!

[Vicki]

Haha. Yay!!! It's Tie-Dye Week!! Your shirts look great!

Technically, our results are always somewhat missed, but creatively, we FLY HIGH!! It's so much fun to do, and the boys love to try new ideas, and we're already thinking about next year!

[Vicki]

...somewhat MIXED! ;)

[Sarah]

I am so inspired by you and Vicki! I have a feeling my husband would not be too keen on us using dye anywhere around the house, but I think this looks like such fun! Perhaps it would be a good way for my kid to have a camp experience without actually going to camp.

[Vera]

Cool, Cool, Cool. Everything looks great. I want to see the Aprons!! And the hooded sweatshirt that is like fireworks.

[Carolyn]

What a fun time! It looks like you had gorgeous weather, the best companion, and a great assistant. (Here, I've just started picking up the ripped out stitches on my 'rustic apron.' Rustic is simply how I roll, I've come to accept. So we're just gonna make do with how the neckline turns out and wear the darn thing! When it's done.)
:)

[Margene]

This looks like so much fun! Years ago we had a shop with teachers who loved to dye just about anything and we had so much fun learning and playing. I miss that opportunity to do something different. It looks like you and Erin not only had a great time, but also made something fun you can wear!

[Kim in Oregon]

Now you are both official Oregonians--Tie Dye is a must have!
I love Dharma trading. Great products and service.

[Mary]

Everything turned out great, Kym - what fun! ...still knitting. reading. and sewing half-square triangles around here!

[Jane]

Very fun and creative. I am so happy you have time with your daughter.

[kathy b]

That looks like such a fun process to share with family!!! Nice going.

I made the red solo cup hummingbird feeder and it is a hit with the hummers. I am almost ready to open my pressed flowers from a montage!

[Helen Mathey-Horn]

My co-science (8th grader) teacher and I always used this as an end of the year activity with the 8th graders on the last day as the 6th and 7th were having awards and the 8th graders were technically done (the night before) but had to come to school that last day (made no sense) so the 8th grade teachers organized 'activities' for the kids to pick and choose from. Since we had labs and didn't mind dealing with the 'chemicals' my colleague and I always offered tie dye in one of the science rooms. Two teachers working with a room of 20 (or so at a time) kids was about right. We also prepared labels for them to print their names on that included the 'finishing' steps they would have to do at home and plastic ziplock bags to carry their projects home in. They had to provide the white cotton shirts or socks, or what ever they wanted. We did not limit them in number of items, and most did at least one shirt. We provided a small choice in colors, but made sure that we had the school colors for the HS they would be moving 'up' to in the next year. Messy, but fun.

[Pam]

I've used the Jacquard Tie Dye kit (which I think Dharma sells, along with places like Joann Fabrics) with elementary age kids. I once had a whole Destination Imagination team tie-dye shirts in my kitchen. We all survived, and the shirts were fun.

I'm currently just trying to stay cool, or at least not die of heat.