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May 2008 THIRD THURSDAY: Tie Dye Tips
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For some of us, tie dyed t-shirts have long been a wardrobe staple,
while for others, our May 15, 2008 Third Thursday was a step back
in time, as Scott Gilland shared his secrets for getting the best
tie dye results (including the elusive "spiral"
pattern)!
It was a hazy evening as we gathered on the
Iapalucci's driveway to hear Scott's ideas and
take a turn at tie dying ourselves. Despite his
assurances that there was no "wrong way" to
tie dye, we were all anxious to get his secrets!
Scott describes how
different methods of
folding makes different
dye patterns.
The group assembles, t-shirts in hand......
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The dye needed to set overnight, so
we didn't get to check out each
other's creations...but I'm hoping
everyone who attended will send
in a photo of themselves modeling
their t-shirts! I'll be sure to post
them right here for all to see!
Thanks to everyone who came out
for this event, and a huge thank you
to Scott Gilland for sharing his
expertise! We had tons of fun, and
got a new t-shirt to boot!
The powdered dye was pre-mixed with urea, and a tub of soda ash
solution stood at the ready.....we donned our latex gloves (Jen
sheepishly displaying her blue-dyed hands as proof that the gloves
are highly recommended!).........
Scott demonstrated several ways to fold
our shirts, including an easy crumple fold
for an all-over distressed look, a pleated
"accordian" fold for stripes, and the
secret spiral fold (see photo at left) for
the classic tie dye look.
After folding, we soaked the
t-shirts in a vat of water and
soda ash for 20 minutes, to
prepare the fabric to accept
the dye.
The various dyes were put
into squirt bottles for ease of
application, although Scott also demonstrated the use of sponge
brushes for more control (see right).
We were a little nervous to get started, but once we did, we
couldn't stop! Everyone dyed their first shirt, and then we quickly
ran through the extras as we got bolder and more adventurous with
our techniques.