Ways to Batch

[ktaltre]

This if for Bob-Cactus Jammies Tie Dye, and other tiedyers living in cool northern climates. And southern climates too!
Set up a heating blanket folded in half or quarters, depending on the size, between an old comforter (folded depending on size) on a table. I prefer a table, but the floor works too.
Set the blanket on medium heat and insert your tie dye wrapped in plastic bags or otherwise protected, in the heating blanket/comforter sandwich. Batch for your ideal length of time.
Don't forget to turn off the blanket (I unplug it too); I have a modern blanket that turns itself off after 10 hours - I still unplug it.
I wrap my tiedye in newspaper, then insert into a plastic bag, garbage or otherwise. The bags get used over and over and then become garbage bags for real. I usually have 3 or 4 pieces in one bag for the heating blanket batch.
I live in a hot place so I do this in the winter.
I also use the dedicated microwave; insert tiedye wrapped in newspaper in a plastic bag - One item in the machine for 3 to 5 minutes, gets nice and steamy, very hot, wear gloves to remove. I do this all year when I want instant gratification.
And there are other ways................
k. taltre

[ezri]

Thank you for this tip, we're in mid winter right now and its getting harder to batch! I haven't got one but might go hunt for one this week.

One thing I do is place items in nice big flat container, wrapped in black plastic (after being wrapped individually in plastic) and place in sun, that helps too but we've had so much rain here there hasn't been any, and its just not heating enough in winter.

[ktaltre]

haha, I forget there's tiedyers in cool southern climes!
That have summers and winters.........
I also have a really really old heating blanket I got at a second hand store a gazillion years ago - still works, but doesn't turn itself off.
k. taltre

[ezri]

I hope to get one at a secondhand store here too, here we call them op shops but I wasn't sure what you called them up there

I'm sure it wasn't that long ago I was having to put the dyes in the fridge every hour to keep them cool, this year is getting away from me!

[2D4]

I use a retired medical supply cabinet that my brother in law
who works at a hospital got for me with the refrigeration unit
removed. I've placed an old egg incubator in the bottom so it
keeps it nice and warm. I place my dyed pieces on large
plexiglass sheets then placd them on the shelves in the cabinet.
Works dandy.....

[deb]

I usually wrap in plastic wrap/plastic bags and in the winter I leave the wrapped garments on my heat registers overnight (forced air heat). Usually good to wash out the next day, although I sometimes wait longer.

I have begun NOT leaving my stuff out in the sun to batch, as the condensation was falling back onto the dyed items and leaving mottled patterns. Once I worked out why the blobs were happening, I now nuke them and leave them in any warm place - since I don't turn on the house A/C till it gets up to about 84F in here, the house itself is more than warm enough to get them batched over the course of a day. 

[mustdye]

I bought a small greenhouse similar to this http://www.amazon.com/Gardman-R687-4-Tier-Mini-Greenhouse/dp/B000NCTGQE/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1310302252&sr=1-1 and have a good space heater on the bottom shelf set for 100 F
Works pretty good for me....

[Jaja]

I like greenhouse idea. When I'm in urge need to rise the temperature for batching I use my electric oven set for a while to minimum temperature (50C).