I will post questions I have received and the answers I sent.
March 23, 2001
Q:Hello,
I have a daycare and I am planning on doing tie-dye one warm spring afternoon.
I am wondering how to get the swirled effect on the shirts. Also do you have
to let the color dry before adding the next color? If you have any other helpful
"tricks" I would appreciated them.
Thanks, Jenette
A:The
swirled effect is commonly called the spiral. You can see some that are representative
in the Shedstock picture here: http://members.home.net/tiedye/tiedye.html
If I had done those shirts, they would have been colored more like the picture
of my extended family! I'm sad to notice that I don't actually have any images
of a spiral online, only instructions: http://members.home.net/tiedye/tiedye/HowToTie-dye.html
I'll fix this oversite! You definately do not have to let the colors dry before
proceeding. This would take days and they would not "blend" as well- ie yellow
and red forming orange on their medial margins. My best trick is: Don't be afraid
of the dye. Some times it is better to have a little too much than too little
color. I use recycled (reused) cardboard flats to soak up excess, exchanging
the flats for new ones when I flip the shirt. On the grass, a clean spot would
work just as well. You don't want to flip the yellow part into purple outwash!
It would turn brown. Remember that complimentary colors create brown. yellow
+ purple = brown; red + green = brown; orange + green = brown; etc. It is best
not to place these colors next to each other; neither next to on the same side
nor overlayed on opposite sides. When I move my shirts to let them set overnite,
they drip a little and a gentle squeeze would produce runoff. Good luck, and
I'm here. . . Jeremy P.S. you might try these useful links:
A spiral:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/featured/038/images/12.JPG
"group instructions" http://www.dharmatrading.com/info/groups.html
June-1-2000
Q:Please
could you help!!! I am a student studying textiles for my GSCE's in England.
Iam doing a project on dyeing techniques and have found all the information
on tie dyeing, batik and every other form of dyeing apart from tritik. i found
your web site through ask Jeeves and was wondering if you could e-mail me some
instructions on how to do the tritik and if possible you could tell me how to
do some of the diiferent techniques of sewing the material. Unfortunately I
have left it to the last minute thinking that it would be easy to get hold of
the information so I am in a rush. Thank-you for your time, it is greatly appreciated!
Heidi
A:
Tritik is a simple metohd of resist dying. I use watercolor markers (usually
yellow or light green - they wash out best) on white material to draw a pattern
such as a heart. Then using a strong nylon (usually dark colored) thread, stitch
along the line I have drawn spacing my stitches about 1 cm apart. Needle goes
in, skip 1 cm, needle comes out, skip 1 cm, needle in, etc. Depending on the
size or detail required, spacing varies. 3 stiches per cm for fine detail (unusual)
1 stitch per 2 or 3 cm for large objects or wide color bands. Pull the thread
tight to close your "circle"/shape. If I am doing a "straight" line (usually
I do something along the lines of a sine wave or chevron) I put a big knot at
one end, push the material along the thread to create pleats and tie off with
another BIG knot that will not pull throug the material easily. Try to pull
tight enough to create a straight line with the thread, or in the case of a
heart or other closed shape, pull tight enough to get a smooth circle.
The above figure shows on top, the drawn line, and where the stiches go. When you pull your thread (at the arrows) the line becomes straight and the material where the small 0's were gets pulled into the straight line. Put a rubber band or string around the material where the thread is (dark colored thread is easier to see) and bind tightly to create the resistance. Apply dye color 1 along the binding and dye colors 2, 3, ... adjacently. When the material is unfolded, the pattern will closely follow the original drawn line. This technique is great for getting perfect circles, and with practice you can fill in continents to make a globe, or faces, or just about anything! Good luck and I hope this helps.
In the past I have used Deka with some luck, in fact, one of my favorite shirts is about 12 or 13 years old, dyed with deka and still looking great.
As for keeping you colors from fading, follow the the recommendations for the amount of time to let it set, then double that. However, do not ever let the material dry completely as that generally causes the colors to come out funny.
Thanks...
- RA
A:Robert,
I know exactly what you are
trying to do. I asked the same questions of a guy in Atlanta in April
of 1995. He was very vague and didn't give me much real help.
My best guess is bleach. The first step would be to tie your black shirt, bleach it for some unknown length of time (too long will rot the material, too short will leave it brown), and then rinse thoroughly without untying. The second step is to dye this already processed shirt and hope for the best. If you do it, let me know how it turns out.
Whenever I get the inspiration to try this pattern on black, I always decide I am happy with the shirt after the bleaching process. You can do some cool things with bleach.
Something else to try might be to apply the bleach and dye during the same step for a washed out pattern, but I don't really think that it would work.
Good luck!
1998, April 19
Q:Could you please explain to me how to make squares
and diamonds with tie-dye??? I have a project for math and I need help.
[. . .] Thank You -Akila
A:I do not often do squares or diamonds but I
do have some different approaches. The first is a more traditional
approach, the second is tritik.
this answer has many pictures and to see it you should click
here.