Craft experts- a question about tie dying

[Goofycampers]

I saw a kid's tie dye t-shirt that had a cross in the middle. The cross wasn't dyed but the rest of the shirt was. It looked sooo cool and we were wanting to do this as a craft for our upcoming mission trip to a kids refugee home. Does anyone know how to make a specific design when tie dying? tia

 

[Imzadi]

It could be done in a number of ways. Some tie dying actually isn't done with the dip & dye method anymore. You can take plain spray bottles and spray the fabric dyes on shirts to to get a tie dye effect.

This shirt could have used fabric paints instead of dyes. Paints do not bleed as much, so they are more controlable. They laid down a paper pattern of a cross on a shirt. Then sprayed tie dye around the paper pattern. Since the paints don't really bleed, they didn't go underneath the pattern. The pattern is lifted away and it's a clean area underneath.

A second technique that could have been used is painting the cross with a fabric resist. A resist creates a physical barrier. Wherever the resist is applied, dyes & paints won't seep through that part of the fabric. If it's a washable resist, then, as the fabric is washed, the resist is washed away, leaving no telltale signs of where it was.

Melted parafin wax can also be used as a resist but has to be ironed away instead of washed. This is how the East Indian batik fabrics are made. Where the wax is applied, again, no dyes penetrate. Once the dyes dry. The wax is removed by repeatedly placing on paper towels on the wax & ironing until all traces of the wax are removed.

You can get all your tie dye paints & dyes & some basic instructions from Dharmatrading.com

My favorite tie dye paints are the Setacolor Fabric Paints. They leave almost no feel to materials. The fluorescent & bright colors are really BRIGHT! The black is a true black. The pearlescent colors leave a nice sheen. And you can water down the colors to get nice, soft pastel or watercolor effects. They also can be used for a technique called Sun Paintingwhich is another way to get the cross or any pattern onto the shirt.

 

[eeyore65]

Check out simply spray paint for clothes. I just did 20 t-shirts and doing designs is really easy with it. It is much easier to work with then traditional tie dying with equally beautiful results.

 

[Goofycampers]

Wow thanks for the help. The kids always love to do crafts and since these are teens we thought this would be something they would really enjoy. Where do you get the fabric spray paint and the fabric resist? Our Walmart does't have much in the way of crafts. Maybe Michael's or Hobby Lobby?

 

[hichewlova]

Michaels has yet to let me down. I would head there.

 

[Imzadi]

Where do you get the fabric spray paint and the fabric resist? Our Walmart does't have much in the way of crafts.

At the dharmatrading.com links I listed above. buy the Setta colors and put them in spray bottles from the dollar store. The fabric resists would be under the silk painting category. The parafin wax, you can probably get a Michaels. I think Michaels does have an aisle for the fabric spray paints.

 

[java]

Well the mickey head tie dyes are made by sewing the shape with unflavored dental floss and then pulling it- just use a running stich- get to the last one and pull and gather the fabric out. Then just dye as usual.