Using the tie-dye technique, a white T-shirt can be decorated with a bright colored spiral or randomly spaced color spots. For your experiment, take a cotton item and bottles of fabric dye. The tai dye long sleeve t-shirt is dyed similar to the short sleeved t-shirt, except that extra care is taken when folding the garment for a particular pattern.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Preparing for the Thai Dye Technique
Step 1. Purchase liquid fabric dye from a fabric store or craft store
Ready-to-use paints with applicators are much easier to use than the ones that need to be mixed, as they are conveniently and accurately applied to the prepared sections of the T-shirt. If you want a rainbow effect, look for a paint kit that contains all the colors you need.
Step 2: Read the paint instructions to see if you need soda ash to set the paint or if you can use the dyed T-shirt without it
Purchase sodium carbonate soda ash or baking soda, if needed. Buy rubber bands.
Step 3. Cover the table with plastic
It not only protects the table, but also makes it easier to fold the shirt. Place a bucket and a plastic bag nearby so you can safely carry the shirt to the washing machine.
Part 2 of 3: Folding the T-shirt
Step 1. Practice folding on a dry shirt
Then you can repeat this with the T-shirt already soaked in a soda ash water solution.
Step 2. Spread the T-shirt on the plastic
Slide the sleeves of the shirt towards her main body. They should be close together if you want the pattern to be a continuation of the pattern on the main body of the shirt.
Do not pull the sleeves up if you want to have a separate pattern on them
Step 3. Find an imaginary line connecting the armpits of the shirt
Pinch the center of this line, located in the center of the chest.
Step 4. Roll up the T-shirt
The shirt should be twisted into a spiral. Help yourself with your other hand as you twist the shirt.
Step 5. With each turn of the spiral, fold the spiral fabric in folds
In the intervals between turning the t-shirt, you should make additional folds on its fabric.
Step 6. When making a spiral, the sleeves should be twisted together with the main panel of the T-shirt
Step 7. Stop when you have a tight spiral in the shape of a circle
Take an elastic band and stretch with your hands. Pull it over the resulting circle so that it goes from below and from above strictly through the center.
Do not lift the T-shirt while doing this, as the spiral may become out of shape. Just slide the elastic under the circle
Step 8. Secure the circle with an extra elastic band running perpendicular to the first one
Then pull the elastic bands diagonally. The result should be something that looks like a sliced pizza.
Step 9. Repeat the process with the T-shirt soaked in an aqueous solution of soda ash
Part 3 of 3: Coloring the T-shirt
Step 1. Put on thin household gloves before you start working with dyes
Step 2. Turn the first bottle of paint, tip down
Apply enough paint to one section of the rubber band, just enough to soak it, but not so much that it runs through and starts to spread over the polyethylene. If you have any doubts about this, it is better to use less paint than more.
Step 3. Observe the sequence of colors in the rainbow with smooth blurring at the transition points
Alternatively, you can vary the colors as you like and without blurring the edges. Keep working until you have painted all sections of the spiral.
Step 4. Flip the shirt over and continue dyeing
The paint color on both sides of each section must be the same.
Step 5. Put the T-shirt in a plastic bag
Leave it as it is for as long as indicated in the instructions for the paint.
Step 6. After the required time, soak the T-shirt in cold water
Remove the rubber bands.
Step 7. Machine wash the T-shirt in cold water twice
Do not use detergents.
Step 8. Place the T-shirt in a medium heat dryer
This will allow the paint to set better. Your T-shirt is ready to wear!
Advice
- The tighter the elastic bands are pulled, the more likely it is that they will leave white unpainted stripes on the T-shirt. When creating a rainbow spiral effect, try to paint over the fabric under the elastic so that there are no streaks from them.
- Instead of a spiral, you can choose a chaotic coloring for yourself. For example, you can pull elastic bands on the T-shirt every few centimeters along the entire length for coloring. You can also simply roll up the T-shirt or tie small sections of the T-shirt with rubber bands.