When I was a child I only went to one tie-dye party. The dye baths were lukewarm, my little hands didn't wrap the rubber bands tight enough and everything I made sucked. I have been really into tie-dye lately but I'm not going to try and analyze it... wearing these pants will just make my life better in every way. Simple.
Starting with a pair of Kenneth Cole pants purchased from Salvation Army a few years ago, probably for three dollars. I wore them fairly often during the fall and winter, and after growing tired of mustard colored legs I packed them away. They are light-weight and are made from 98% cotton, 2% spandex.
Dye Progress
i o n Filled a plastic bucket with my hottest tap water, and dissolved 1/2 a packet of Tulip Turquoise dye with 1 tablespoon salt.
Bundled my pants, then soaked in warm water for a few moments, squeezed out the excess, then placed into my dye bath.
Pants were in the dye for 50 minutes total, with me stirring and agitating the pants every ten minutes or so.
Bundled my pants, then soaked in warm water for a few moments, squeezed out the excess, then placed into my dye bath.
Pants were in the dye for 50 minutes total, with me stirring and agitating the pants every ten minutes or so.
After removing my bundle from the dye bath I didn't let it sit long before removing the rubber bands and admiring my work. I love how the turquoise dye became a great lizard green over the mustard color.
I re-heated the original dye bath in the microwave, and put the pants in again with no bands. The point was to color the remainder of my pants green, while saturating the original green streaks to a darker hue.
Pants soaked around 20 minutes, then I took them out and rinsed in cool water. I know this means the dye didn't have much time to set, and the recommended course of action is to actually microwave the entire garment which really heats it through. Because these pants have a metal button, zipper, and rivets I chose not to put them in the microwave. If my pants start to fade I don't have a problem overdyeing them and heat setting with an iron right away.
I re-heated the original dye bath in the microwave, and put the pants in again with no bands. The point was to color the remainder of my pants green, while saturating the original green streaks to a darker hue.
Pants soaked around 20 minutes, then I took them out and rinsed in cool water. I know this means the dye didn't have much time to set, and the recommended course of action is to actually microwave the entire garment which really heats it through. Because these pants have a metal button, zipper, and rivets I chose not to put them in the microwave. If my pants start to fade I don't have a problem overdyeing them and heat setting with an iron right away.
Black Rit dye.... for some reason I did not bother measuring or working out my ratios for mixing such a small amount of dye. Seriously, I just shook some dye into a plastic cup and added a bunch of salt.
After letting my garment dry to the point of still-damp-but-not-dripping I wrapped them in bands again and applied the black dye using a brush.
The next day I twisted my pants lengthwise and dyed black again. Then I folded them accordion style and dyed black a third time.
After letting them dry for a little bit I set up my iron on the hottest setting and went over the front and back of my pants three times.
Rinsed again, let dry, put on my body.
After letting my garment dry to the point of still-damp-but-not-dripping I wrapped them in bands again and applied the black dye using a brush.
The next day I twisted my pants lengthwise and dyed black again. Then I folded them accordion style and dyed black a third time.
After letting them dry for a little bit I set up my iron on the hottest setting and went over the front and back of my pants three times.
Rinsed again, let dry, put on my body.
My pants didn't turn out how I had been imagining but I am still really pleased. I tried to make small pleats so the black lines would be close together but obviously that didn't work. My vertical striations also didn't manifest quite how I hoped, but I like them anyway especially as it keeps the overall pattern from looking too "tiger" or "zebra". As with most fabrics the colors on my pants are richer and more dense when wet-- once they dried I could see the black is more of a dark gray and there are a few areas where the original dijon color is peeking through. This was definitely an informative experience and I have plenty of ideas I want to try out on another unsuspecting piece of clothing... or bedding... or curtains? Nothing is safe.
My super cool sister even weighed in on my latest project-- if that isn't an example of unbridled enthusiasm, I don't know what is!