Cold Water Tie Dye

Teen and young adults love the retro look of tie-dye crafts. Making this shirt with your teen may just remind you of your “groovy” days.

1. Cold Water Tie Dye-One of the biggest benefits to this type of tie-dye is that there is no hot water needed meaning you can do this craft just about anywhere.

What you will need:

Cold Water Dye 3 pkgs – all different colors (available at craft/fabric stores)
Water
3/4 cup Salt
Washed and damp T-Shirts 100% cotton (make sure there are no finishes on the shirts)
Rubber gloves
Plastic bags (Ziploc-type or other totally sealable)
Large Rubber bands
Bottles with squirt-type top
Old craft-bowls or buckets (one large/one medium)
Funnel
Lots of newspapers, paper towels, old trays or pans to work on

Instructions for the project: Prepare your work area by carefully covering anything that could be damaged by the dye. In an old medium bowl or pitcher-type container mix 1-1/2 cups of warm water with package of first color of dye mix. Stir till dissolved. Pour each color into a squirt top bottle using the funnel. In the old large bowl or bucket pour 6 cups hot water, 3/4 cup of salt and 3 packages of Cold Dye Fix from the Cold Water Dye packages. Stir to dissolve. This will be the dye fixer once you have dyed your shirt. Now you are ready to tie knots in your shirt or place rubber bands on the shirt to create a pattern. There is no right or wrong way but the more you knot the shirt or place it in rubber bands the more intricate your design will be. Wearing rubber gloves soak the shirts in the fixer solution for five minutes. Squeeze shirt gently so that it is damp but not soaking wet. Lay shirt in preparation tray. Begin applying colors as desired. The placement of the color is up to you. Be sure to color all sides of the shirt completely saturating it with color. When you are finished with your design place shirt in a plastic bag and seal completely. Let set 24 hours. After 24 hours you can remove from bag (while again wearing gloves). Rinse, undo ties and rinse again. Soak in a pan of hot soapy water for 10 minutes. Rinse again till water runs clear and lay flat to dry. The first time you wash the shirts, wash them separately from other laundry with a cup of white vinegar in the load.