There are many tie and dye ideas that you can make for simple home decor or for creating unique fabric patterns. Here, we will discuss some tie dye design ideas that are easy to do.
Tie dye is the process of dyeing fabrics in a pattern that is achieved by first folding the fabric in a certain way and binding portions of it in strings. It is then dipped in dye and allowed to dry. Afterwards, the strings are untied and you can see a pattern emerging. There are many tie dye patterns that are used for this purpose.
Tie dye is not limited to the use of dyeing fabrics as it can be used for making patterns in various other materials like handcrafted paper, vellum and rice paper.
Traditionally only cotton was the fabric of choice for tie dye techniques, but nowadays, it is often used in linen, silk and even satin. Basic tie dye techniques and instructions are the same, although tie dye folding techniques vary.
Materials Required
White cotton bag
Plastic container
Liquid dye colors in lime green
Plastic spoon
Shallow microwave safe dish
Measuring cup
Cling film
Paper towels
Rubber bands
Rubber gloves
Plastic tablecloth
Directions First wash the white cotton bag and let it air dry. When the bag is dry, iron the bag to make sure that it is free of creases. Next cover your workstation with the plastic tablecloth. Now pleat the bag into accordion folds diagonally, 2 inch wide. Also pleat the handle of the cotton bag.
Wrap a rubber band around the folded bags at a gap of 2 ½ to 3 inches and make sure that you tie the rubber bands tightly and securely. Place this wrapped and tied bag in a container of warm water for two to three minutes and then squeeze out all the excess water from the bag.
Wear the rubber gloves and prepare the dye by first heating some water in the microwave. Make the lime green liquid dye by mixing ½ cup of the liquid dye with 2 cups of hot water in a plastic bowl. Now place the wet and wrapped cotton bag in a shallow dish and pour the liquid dye over the bag.
Push down the bag so that the dye penetrates the cotton fabric of the bag. Cover the dish with a cling film. Line the bottom of the microwave with clean paper towels and then place the plastic wrapped dish with the bag in the microwave.
Set the microwave on "High" for 2 minutes and then remove the dish, take off the cling film and allow the fabric to cool down. Once the fabric has cooled, remove all the rubber bands from the bag and rinse the bag thoroughly with cold water. Let the bag dry in sunshine and your beautiful tie dye sling bag is ready.
Homemade Tie Dye Wrapping Paper
Materials Required
Blue food colors
Piece of rice paper
Rubber bands
2 paper clips
Clothespin
Directions First fold the rice paper into very thin accordion folds, either width wise or diagonally. Tie rubber bands after every 1 ½ inch of the paper. Attach paper clips on both ends of the rice paper so that the folds are held in place. Now dilute the food coloring into a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of water.
Dip the folded rice paper into the diluted food coloring and remove immediately. Allow the paper to dry and then unclip the paper clips and untie all the rubber bands. Unfold the rice paper and hang it from a clothespin and allow the paper to dry. Your tie dye wrapping paper with unique tie dye designs is done and you can use it for wrapping gifts.
You can also make tie dye T-shirts, scarfs, lamp shades and wall hangings in a similar way. Cool tie dye patterns are many and you can experiment with different folding techniques to come up with them. The art of tie dye is quite flexible and there are many projects that you can make by using this dyeing technique.