The Basic Technique of Tie Dying and Batik

Batik and Tie Dying is "probably the oldest and most primitive methods of printing designs on fabric" (Young, 1872, p.203). These two types of dyeing are related because they both imply methods that cause some of the fabric to not absorb the dye; this is known as resistance dying, and it is a fun and easy project that anyone can do at home with little money required. Here are the basic instructions for both tie dying and batik. Have fun and remember to experiment!

Tie dyeing is a method that requires folding or scrunching the material into a pattern and securing it with rubber bands. The dye is then applied to the fabric. When the rubber bands are removed the areas that are scrunched up will be without color. This method is a lot of fun for people of all ages, and it was very popular in the 60's and 70's. Remember the fabric can be folded in different ways to create different patterns. It can also be twisted in a spiral to create a spiral. Tie dying is a fun way to experiment with negative space, and it can be done cheaply and easily at home.

Batik is a slightly more complicated method of "resistance dyeing" that I am very interested in (Young, 1972, p. 204). Batik requires the use of wax to block dye from reaching the fabric. When using a brush to apply wax the "wax should be applied hot enough so that it will penetrate the cloth fairly evenly and not just spread out over the surface of the fabric in a crust or the dye will seep through it" (Young, 1972, p. 208). Next dye the fabric in a cold water dye and hang to dry. In order to remove the wax, "cover your ironing board with newspaper and, while the piece is still slightly damp, lay it on the ironing board, put a layer of newspaper over it, and begin to iron very carefully" (Young, 1972, p.209). Continue to change newspapers and keep your iron hot enough to melt the wax. When no more wax seems to be coming out on the newspaper submerge the fabric into a pot of boiling water; this will remove the last bits of wax (Young, 1972). The fun part about batik is that you can repeat the process over and over until you have many layers of color.

Both of these methods of resistance are a lot of fun, and they can be done easily in the comfort of your own home so find some old clothes and revamp them with these techniques!

References:

Young, J. (1972). Woodstock craftsman manual. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers.

Have it All: The 2 Reason Rule and Recycling Your Stained Clothes with Tie Dye

Some of you may remember my post about organizing clothes for success and quick everyday use. Here are some pics of the results and some info on the 2 Reason Rule.

  After organizing all my clothes and making a pile of stained stuff that I did not want to part with, I decided to separate the stained clothes into 2 piles. One for tie dying, and one for doing galaxy prints.  This way I get to have fun and be crafty and save some stained clothes from the dump.

This is an excellent example of what I like to call the 2 reason rule. Basically, I find that if I have 2 reasons to do anything then I am much more likely to actually do it. It is the perfect combination of multi-tasking and motivation that I find is necessary if you are going to have it all.

I realize after the fact I should do before and after for the satined clothes so you can see how they looked, but most of them came out pretty great. I love these overalls; I used a basic spatter dying technique and added more teal later. I used some darker tan colors on the shirts to cover the stains, an I think the striped collar one came out the best.

Let me know your thoughts and ideas on tie dying, recycling, and if you find the 2 Reason Rule works for you.