What should I use to tie my fabric?

[Ocean]

String?  Rubber bands?  In the tie dye video they use some kind of string that I can't remember the name of.  

And also how tight am I supposed to be tying it?

TIA!

[Kathy]

I primarily use kitchen twine. Lions Brand yarns has big fat jumbo cones of it at Joanns. When I am working with  a small piece of silk or the fold is real thin I use those little hair rubber bands(the ones for doing little hair braids).

In the tie-dye 101(etc) videos they use artificial sinew. I tried this but didn't like it b/c I got too much slippage of the knots. Dancingbarefoot(and others I'm sure) have used dental floss too.

As far as rubber banding over tie-ing I prefer the control of tie-ing knots.

Kathy

[tiedyejudy]

I agree with Kathy, except I still use rubber bands when I am doing swirls.  Reason being, it divides the swirl into even sections so I don't have to guess how much of each color to get an even division.  As for how tight to tie the string, I try to make it snug, but not so tight that I can't get the yorker spout on my squeeze bottle down into the folds when I dye.  Also, if you tie too tight you will distort the folds, which will change the design.  Have you seen Michael Fowler's DVD?  He demonstrates a really great tying method which I have been using over a year now.  It's really too long and involved to try and describe here.  I will try to take some pix and post it on the Wiki over the next week or so.  Better yet, if you can afford it, his DVD is on sale at ProChem.  I heartily recommend getting a copy if you can.  I had been dyeing for several years when I got his DVD, and it really improved my work, mostly because of his tying method.

Judy

[ecilA]

You know, it's all about what you want to achieve.

Rubber bands have their place but understand that a rubber band tied dye is going to look different than a string tied or sinew tied dye.  Learn those differences and use them accordingly.

Take the heart tie-dye as an example.  If I want to surround my heart in scrunch I will most likely use rubber bands and work with a wet shirt.  If I want a heart surrounded by tight rings of more hearts?  I'll work dry and tie with sinew.

This is, of course, the tip of an iceberg