Confused! Urgent Help Required Please

[alexknight]

hi all

sorry to be a pain but i need some urgent advise on how to tie dye using the washing machine method.

i have bought some dye powder from a specialist company which they worked out how much i needed by the weight of my fabric. i have the right amount of salt and soda crystals

the problem is i have done some tests in my washing machine and none of the results give a nice pattern!
there seems not to be enough "white" on any of them

is this because im not using the "washing machine process" and not another process like the dipping the prepared t-shirt into a solution as the washing machine method allows too much of the dye to soak in?

i have 30 thirty t-shirts to do today or in the next day or two for a hockey tournament and desperate for some advise

all i want to do is a marble effect

many, may thanks in advance

alex

[deb]

You're probably not going to get a good marbling effect in the washer if there's a lot of water. I've had some luck doing a bedsheet that way because there's so much fabric the dye doesn't get all the way into all the folds, but otherwise if the fabric is exposed to the dye, it'll take the dye.

You could try rolling the shirts loosely and looping rubber bands around the rolled-up shirts to keep some of the folds inside. Do some rolls, so twists, do some folds and then roll the folded fabric, and you should get some interesting results.

Those are my thoughts pre-coffee, anyway.

[pburch]

Deb's right, the washing machine method is not intended for a marbled effect. That's for solid-color single-shade dyeing.

What kind of dye are you using? That's a very basic piece of information that you need to specify if you want help with using it. What brand is it? Is it a cold water dye or a hot water dye? Is it a fiber reactive dye or an all-purpose dye or a direct dye?

If you want a marbled effect, don't use the washing machine, or if you do, jam it completely full and don't let it agitate. If you are using a cool water fiber reactive dye, use a plastic container that is small enough to jam the fabric into tightly. If you are using a hot water dye, use a stainless steel or enamel cooking pot, again one that is small enough to jam the fabric into tightly, and simmer the dye with the fabric.

What you need to do is called low water immersion dyeing. See my page on How to Do Low Water Immersion Dyeing.

Paula

[2D4]

You could try using buckets instead of the washing machine. (The washing machine agitates too much to get
that marbling effect.)

This is the technique I use;
Get the shirts wet, loosely rubber band them (but not too loose), prepare the dye in a small jar or container where you can shake it up,
(I just put the dye powder in a jar with water, shake it up then pour into a bucket where I have mixed one cup
of salt per gallon of warm water) Put the bundles in, stir them around, I leave them in about 10- 15 minutes, then pour
in the soda ash solution ( I use 1/3 cup soda ash (per 3 gallons water), shake it up in a jar with warm water, then
pour into the bucket, stir it around again, then leave it. Sometimes, in the first few minutes I'll go in and reposition
the rubber bands to create more of a two tone effect. The darker the color the longer I leave it in the bucket.
Then wash in the washing machine with hot water, usually one cycle with hot/cold, then another with cold, (with lighter
colors it might just take one cycle, I check the rinse water to see if there is still color in it) Dry!

Hope that helps,

Jo