first tie dye...

[adam]

any suggestions or comments?



not the best photo but you get the idea, probably should have put a bit more time into getting the tie right but oh well i'm pretty happy how it turned out 

[Jeau]

Hi Adam!  I really like your choice of colors, and the placement of the swirl.   Can you tell us a little about your method?  Did you use rubber bands, string, or sinew?  Did you start with a dry, damp, or wet shirt?  At what point did you apply the fixer?  I notice that your colors came out uniformly, but perhaps this is what you were shooting for, or maybe the lighting in the photo just makes it look that way.  Starting with moist or wet fabric allows for greater variations in saturation (value).  Moisture that is already in a shirt prior to dyeing acts as a resist...it's harder for the dyes to creep into fabric that's already wet, so you get good contrast (but if you don't apply enough dye, or work it into the fabric enough, you can also get a lot of white).  Tighter ties also create a stronger resist.  It's easier to tighten sinew than rubber bands, but cellulosic string will absorb dye and affect the resist.  All this said, uniformity is not a bad thing...but contrast can help your design pop off the shirt. 

[Marg]

I think that's beautiful and really good for a first tie-dye. Most of the time, there is a lot of white (undyed fabrid) in beginner pieces. Very nice! Marg

[adam]

thanks all i'm really pleased with it
Jeau i used rubber bands and a dry shirt, i'd read about dampening the shirt but totally forgot when it came time to dying i'll give it a go next time. Yeah i noticed it was rather uniform and basic, any tips on applying the dye? i divided my shirt into sections like a pie and did each slice a different colour, would you recommend   a more random approach?

again thanks for the comments all i'll be attempting my second dye in the next couple of days so i'll keep you posted 

[pburch]

Try putting different colors on one side of your tied bundle than you do on the same sections on the other side. This creates a sort of alternating stripe effect. (Make sure you choose colors that will not combine to make mud color.)

Paula

[Jeau]

Adam--yes, I'd go with what Paula suggested.  You can see some examples of this on the Tie Dye 101 dvd (available on Netflix).  You'll get the feel for how much dye to apply, though your first shirt tells me you'll do just fine.  I look forward to seeing the results!  Good luck!   

[adam]

thanks again, i've decided to just put the latest in this thread rather than start a new one so here they are. i ran out of white t-shirts so i cut up some cotton squares that worked rather well except for the fact that i cut them too small and had trouble controlling my dye, but oh well twas fun 

i made this bullseye with my remaining dye, i first thought it looked a bit weak and lacking but its growing on me let me know what you think


i had a go at doing circles with bouncy balls and a sharpener, the circles look decent in the photo but in real life they are quite faint. i tied them as tight as i could, any ideas on making them stand out more?
p.s please excuse the little green splotches was a small work area 

 

[Jeau]

Adam--looks like you've been having some fun!  I like both of them...the first one has a lot of value contrast.  The yellow is so vibrant, and the fuschia subtle.  Was this planned, or accidental?  The second one makes me think I'm swimming up under a school of jellyfish, wearing rose colored goggles.    Keep playing!

[Marg]

Hi- The only circles I have done that really stood out were with Low Water Immersion pieces. I tie the fabric very tight with rubber bands and let the shirt dry completely and then pour the first dye on  the part where the circles are supposed to be and then dunk the shirt into a different color. here are a couple of examples:
Keep experimenting-Marg

[tiedyejudy]

Here is one I did last year.  I banded circles all over, used LWI, washed & dried, then banded circles again and used LWI with different colors:



Judy

[Jeau]

Wow Marg--those circles look electrified!  TDJ--I really like the feeling of depth created by the layering of colors.  When you re-banded the circles, did you try to get the bands in the exact same spot, or just start with the center in the same spot, and space the bands randomly?  I can't really tell from the photo...

[fiberartist219]

This is really interesting to see the variety of styles that can come out of the same tie.

Adam, if you want to get a higher contrast between the white and the pink on the circles, presoak your fabric, so it is nice and wet before you dye. The water keeps the dye from soaking into the places where you don't want it to go. It might also help if you experimented with sodium alginate (kelp) or superclear to thicken your dyes. This might help give you more control of where they go. Of course, you'll want to keep tieing them tight like you did. I really like the first one though. The colors you chose look great together, and even better in the spots where they mix with each other. Part of the fun of dyeing is playing around with it, and seeing what results come out. There is a lot of unpredictability in dyeing, especially when you start out. Definately get some more fabric and shirts and keep dyeing stuff.

Judy, that's a cool idea. I am very tempted to try some overdye with resists. The colors in that look mysterious because of the way they mix and reveal themselves in the circles.

[Jaja]

Since there are new experiments in this field, I'm going to publish picture of what I did using this technique

<img src="http://staff.utia.cas.cz/jaja/textilni/mix4/tricko73.jpg">

I had luck to find shirt that discharged to almost white.