Today I continue my Style reMIX blog series featuring Tulip Tye-Dye Kits. Tie Dye is all the rage in fashion trends this season as I shared in this post. I want give you insight in how I use these colorful tie-dye kits from ILoveTo Create for other things than t-shirts and pre-made tote bags. It's a fun technique and a great way to use up all the fabric scraps and painted remnants sitting in your studio.
I've created a two part video series that explores various ideas on how to mix custom colors using the dyes, ideas for resists and demonstrations on how to over dye hand painted textiles. Tulip Tye-Dye Kits and One Step Dyes are super easy to use and produce vibrant colorful fabrics.
{creative toolbox} here are the supplies you'll need to complete this project...
- Tulip Tie-Dye Kit
- various white or natural cotton fabrics - Drill cloth, Roc-lon Super muslin, cheese cloth, Roc-lon Osnaburg, white on white quilting fabric, painting rags from hardware store, old t-shirts
- cotton yarn, fibers and laces in beige, neutral or white
- resists - Collage Pauge in applicator tip bottle, Tulip Slick Dimensional paint, Derivan Matisse gesso, white paint, Aleene's Fabric Fusion, Acrylic paint, Tulip Soft Fabric paint
- painted textile remnants
- stencils - sequin waste {punchanella}, plastic needlepoint canvas
- Tulip Fabric spray paints
- Tulip Fabric markers
- large plastic bin
- Ziploc plastic bags
- rubber bands
- plastic or canvas tarp to cover your table or floor
- apron
- 2-ply paper towels
- optional - rubber gloves, safety glasses and mask
BASIC TECHNIQUE...
FABRIC TO DYE: I start with remnants of my mixed media painted fabrics and pieces of cotton fabrics and fibers/yarns. The pieces above are a mixture of cotton fabrics including muslin, drill cloth and canvas that have been painted with Tulip Soft Fabric Paints, Tulip Slick Dimensional paints and Tulip Fabric Sprays. They can be dyed with or without washing first. If you don't wash the fabric, the final dyed color will not be as vibrant.
MIX COLORS: mix custom colors in Ziploc plastic bags. Then place fabric piecs in the bags and soak them with the dye mixture. Place dyed fabrics with similar colors in ziploc bags and let set for 6-8 hours of longer for deeper/richer colors. Experiment with color mixing. I don't have exact recipies I just experiment and play. Test color with small pieces of fabric and add more dye colors to make changes to the color mixture.
RINSE & WASH FABRIC: Follow the directions on the package to rinse and wash the dye out of fabric. I like to iron my dried pieces to keep them flat.
tips + ideas
- for more vibrant colors pre-wash and dry fabric.
- wetting fabric before dyeing is optional. If fabric is saturated with water first, the dye color will be lighter, it also helps blend colors together or create gradations of one color.
- let dye fabric set for longer than 8 hours for deeper, richer color {I leave mine overnight}
- this is a time consuming but fun project, set aside a day for dyeing and washing fabric. Dye large batches of fabrics, so you have a lot of pieces to choose from for your projects.
- use safety glass & mask when working with powdered dye pigments if you are sensitive.
- use rubber gloves and an apron when dyeing fabric to protect hands and clothing.
- wrap dyed fabrics with paper towels.
- if you have dyed delicate thread/fibers or lace, place items in lingerie wash bag to prevent them from tangling.
- use mixed dye within 45 minutes, dye strength lessens after 45 min
- use the dyed and painted mixed media pieces create fabric journals, art quilts or other fabric projects.
- bottles and ziploc bags are reusable. make sure to rinse the bottles after using them and allow to thoroughly dry.
>>--------------------------VIDEO TUTORIAL-------------------------->>>
Here's a video tutorial which gives an overview and ideas of fabrics painting & resist techniques, techniques on mixing custom colors and how to over dyed painted textiles. It's almost 40 minutes and jam-packed with info...enjoy the inspiration!
Come back tomorrow for part two in the mixed media + fabric dyeing series, I'll show a few more color mixing and over dyeing ideas, a BIG reveal of the colorful finished pieces and ideas for using the dyed fabrics. Happy tie dyeing...xo~Traci
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TODAY'S POST SPONSORED BY ILoveTo Create
