DIY: Tie-Dye with Kate Brien

I’ve shared my love for the incredibly talented and stylish Kate Brien here before (her Profile: Kate Brien and Styled By: Kate Brien posts seen here). So when she proposed that we get together for an afternoon of DIY tie-dye (something I have always wanted to learn how to do), I jumped at the chance. Not only was the afternoon such fun, the results were so beautiful – perfectly imperfect and surprisingly easy to achieve. Kate’s tips and tricks for doing it yourself, below. XXJKE

To begin, Kate noted that the techniques most often used for tie-dye are modeled after Shibori dye techniques. The Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing, Shibori comes from the verb root shiboru, meaning to wring, squeeze, or press. She also shared that one of her favorite things about this kind of dyeing is being surprised by the outcome. Because of the differences a subtle change in technique, color, or saturation can make, every tie-dye turns out differently, every time.

MATERIALS

Chopsticks
Rubber bands
Clothespins
Wooden beads
Dye
Fabric/towels/whatever you want to dye

TECHNIQUES

There are a myriad of different techniques you can use to manipulate the fabric, and thus the end result – and they can be combined to create even more intricate designs – but for our afternoon of DIY tie-dye, we focused on just three:

For our first technique (one that results in a striped effect), we began by folding our fabric over itself in an accordion fold. Next we took several sets of chopsticks and arranged them so that the fabric was in between each individual set of chopsticks and then secured them very tightly with rubber bands on both ends. Kate noted that the tighter the chopsticks are tied, the more drastic the dye effect.

For our second (one which created more of an Ikat-type effect), we once again created an accordion fold, but this time in the shape of triangle, folding one triangle over the other. Once the fabric had been folded, we pinched the perimeter of the fabric with clothespins, mixing up the spacing of the clothespins in order to change the effect.

And for our third technique, we used the wooden beads (to create a dot-like effect). To do so, we folded our fabric in half twice. Next, we one by one placed the beads in the middle of our fabric and secured them by tightly wrapping the rubber band around each to keep it in place. Again, the more tightly the beads are secured, the more drastic the effect.

DYE PROCESS

To begin, we poured hot water into tubs for each of the different dye colors we wanted to use (colors hold better with hot water, however cold will work too) and added a bit of salt to each tub. Next, we added our dyes, using as much or as little as desired in order to achieve the preferred saturation.

From there, we submerged our cloth into the dyes, leaving in for a shorter time for lighter colors (Kate’s preference) and longer for more saturated hues. When playing with color, you can submerging fully or partially in each dye, and dip into multiple dyes in order to get a mix of colors, or an ombre effect. Kate also noted that your dyed fabrics will lighten when washed, so it’s a good idea to keep this in mind when deciding how long to leave your fabric in the dye baths.

After dipping, we squeezed out excess water from our fabrics and hung them to dry (they can also be laid flat to dry). Once dry, we finished by rinsing our fabrics (leaving a slightly lighter overall hue, and our final result).