Combo of techniques

[BB]

I really love the way this turned out.

I started with a dry shirt that had been soaked in soda ash. I randomly scrunched and then tied it fairly tight. I used thickened dye for the first time...burgandy/raspberry combo on one side and eggplant on the other. I wrapped the shirt in a plastic bag for several hours until the dye was dry. I thoroughly rinsed then scrunched again and did a LWI bath in orchid. 

I am extremely happy with the richness of the thickened dyes. I feel like a whole new world has opened up! Can't wait to dye some more

[tiedyejudy]

Great job!  I like the colors you used, and the markings are really good!  Question:  was the shirt wet or dry when you applied the thickened dyes?  It almost sounded like you scrunched it dry, but I don't think that's what you meant... my guess is you soda soaked, scrunched, then allowed to dry, right?  At any rate, the results are very nice... I would like to see you try other color combos with this technique as well!

[BB]

Hi Judy, I soda soaked, then hung it to dry, then scrunched and tied. I usually tie my shirts very tightly and am afraid if I tied them wet, they wouldn't dry all the way through and might sour if I left it too long. I definitely will be trying some other colors

[tiedyejudy]

I usually tie my shirts very tightly and am afraid if I tied them wet, they wouldn't dry all the way through and might sour if I left it too long.

I guess if you left them for a really long time, and they didn't dry, you might have a problem.  My experience is that I can leave them for about 2 days before dyeing, and they aren't really wet but they haven't dried totally.  There is a whole school of thought on wet vs dry before dyeing!  Steve, our forum host, likes his shirts to be bone-dry before applying the dyes.  I have morphed into liking the shirts damp from the soda soak, but not too wet, and not bone dry.  Also, I damp fold/tie before soaking in the soda ash solution to protect my hands... I tend to have skin that is sensitive to the soda ash, and don't like trying to fold with gloves on.  Dyeing is such a forgiving art...

[pburch]

I don't think it's possible for anything with a lot of sodium carbonate in it to go sour, that is, to grow mold or bacteria. Nothing can grow in a soda ash presoak solution, and, as it dries, the soda ash can only become even more concentrated and inhospitable to microbes.

Paula

[deb]

After a tie-dye workshop at a church retreat, I had a couple of soaked garments in a plastic bag that I forgot about for about 2 MONTHS. Found then, unwrapped them fearing the worst, but no mold AND they dyed up fine after all that time.

[BB]

Good to know, thanks!