So, I was confused before.......

[tireesix]

........ And now I am feeling positively blonde.

So, I am new and fed up of pink baby wear (I am currently pregnant with  my  third baby, don't actually know the sex but DH has fathered 4 girls and one boy so the chances of having a boy are slim, even if I were to have a boy, main stream baby clothes bore me lol), so I thought it would be a GREAT idea to dye my own and add some creative twists. I thought it would be simple but then I realise there are like loads of different dyes and what on earth is soda ash and how in the world do I do those wicked patterns etc?

Anyhoo, what the above paragraph kinda translates into is:

Hi, I live in te UK, 27 yars old, pregnant with number three and I want to learn to dye clothes etc but am really confused so can you help?

Best wishes,

Katie.

Hang on, am  I 27 or 28? I was born in 1981 so that makes me 27!

[ecilA]

Katie, a little pregnancy brain?

There's a lot of good basic information here, dig in and read!  Try the wiki where everything is broken down nicely.  http://tie-dyewiki.com/wikinew/index.php?title=How_to_make_a_tie-dyed_t-shirt

Have fun!

[deb]

Heehee! Boring baby wear is what got me into tie dyeing to begin with! And don't forget maternity shirts too!

[Releaf]

Alice is right -- there's a lot of good information here.  You will find that different people use different techniques, but just make sure you use fiber-reactive dyes and soda ash to make them bond with the fabric.  Don't even bother with "all-purpose" dyes you can find in supermarkets.  The colors will not last, no matter what you do -- and baby clothes get a lot of washing.

They're fun to dye, though, because they're small and they don't take long.  Another good thing about baby clothes is that they're easy to find in 100% cotton, which you must have if you want the dyes to bond.  My daughter had a baby in January and she went nuts, even dyeing cotton diapers and receiving blankets.

If you do get that boy, though, and put him in tie-dye, be prepared for people to tell you how cute "she" looks.  My daughter went out of her way to use colors not considered girlish, and she still gets that all the time. 

Now, really, does this adorable bald baby look anything like a girl?



Believe me, he's all boy.

Good luck with your dyeing adventure -- and your baby!

[pburch]

Boring baby wear is what got me into tie dyeing to begin with!

Same here! I found that even my most amateurish beginner tie-dyes were far better than any baby clothes I could buy. Cute baby, Releaf! I have lots of pictures of my two babies in tie-dye on my How to Dye website. For some reason my tie-dyed boys were rarely mistaken for girls.

In addition to tie-dyeing, Katie, I recommend that you try low water immersion dyeing, which is quicker and easier than tie-dyeing and produces more subtle results. It requires the exact same materials as tie-dyeing.

As long as you use Procion MX dyes, and follow the recipes that say to use soda ash, you will get brilliant permanent results. After the first two washings in hot water, you can wash all of your Procion dyed clothing, of any color, even with your whites, and even in hot water, without fear of bleeding dye. That's very different from all-purpose dyes such as Rit or DEKA L.

Look at Dharma Trading Company (in the US) for an incredible range of dyeable blank baby clothes. (The snap-crotch baby clothes only go up to size 24 months, unfortunately, which my second son outgrow at about one year old.)

For some good mail-order sources of Procion MX type dyes in the UK, see my page of Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World. (Scroll down to the section on Europe.)

Paula

[tireesix]

Thankyou all!

This is so exciting!

I am not even supposed to be having a baby lol, but Oooooooops!

Usually (although I haven't done any in a while) I do jewellery, I love working with silver and gem stone beads. I adore the colours and patterns you get on the beads (malachite and lapis lazuli being among my favourites, oh, but then there is the moss agate and amethyst can be stunning). Ti dye just seems a natural follow on ecause of the effects. Not that I itend to mimc, its just the working with colours etc.

So, I am going to have to get myself ttogether with this. I had been thinking of buying from Dharma but the shipping is so expensive so I guess I will buy my dyes etc over here and maybe consider Dharma for the blank clothes (I have 2 older daughters Kaya who is 4 and Kama who is 2 and I think they would really enjoy this kind of thing too, well, they are kids lol).

I shall start a reading.  I figure if I print out the info it will be easier to digest!

THANKYOU again.

[pburch]

Someone in Australia told me that she ordered dyes from Dharma Trading Company by calling them by telephone and requesting a cheaper (and slower) shipping option. Doing it this way, she said, made her overall costs significantly lower than if she ordered from a major Australian dye retailer, even after adding in the cost of shipping from the US to Australia. She said that you cannot get the slower shipping option on the website; you must call in order to get it.

It is interesting to see how very much higher the prices charged for Procion MX type dyes are at most shops outside of the US. This was true even before the dollar fell so low. The same amount of Procion MX that will dye one pound of fabric costs 40 to 60 cents when ordered from one of the major retailers in the US, but costs three times that from any retailer I've checked outside the US, even in Canada. They are still cheaper per pound of fiber dyed than Rit or Dylon dye, of course. (See comparison of dye costs.)

Paula

[2D4]

Hi Releaf,

Handsome baby, beautiful tie dye....

I noticed the ?tiered dresses? hanging in the background.
The style looks different than the usual blank options.
Did you sew them or find a supplier? I really like how you dyed the
babies tank and your shirt and what I can
see of the dyeing on the dresses.

Jo

[Releaf]

Thanks, Jo!

I'm afraid I can't help you find those dresses.  I wish I had more of them myself.  That was one of those lucky retail finds -- I bought them from a clearance rack at Rave.  I only ever had eleven of them and two went immediately to my daughters.  The rest sold out quickly at our last festival.  They sure were nice while they lasted!!

[tireesix]

Excellent, well, I think  am going to go the Dharma way for Dyes for now, I was thinking about one of their kits? Just till I get used to it all.

So, hopefully, in the next 2 montths (money is tight) I should be able to come up with some good stuff.

[steve]

Excellent, well, I think  am going to go the Dharma way for Dyes for now, I was thinking about one of their kits? Just till I get used to it all.

So, hopefully, in the next 2 montths (money is tight) I should be able to come up with some good stuff.

The kits are not the best buy. If money is tight buy the dye--no smaller than 8 oz--3 primary colors. Get the soda ash from a swimming pool supply. You really don't need anything else. Skip the urea. Use string and condiment squirt bottles.

Steve

[fiberartist219]

I bought 8 oz jars of dye four years ago and I still haven't used anywhere near all of my dye.

It really depends on the quantity of fabric you're dyeing. If you are going to dye enough shirts for your town, 8 oz jars are good, but 2 oz jars are also good if you aren't sure which colors you want to try yet. I suppose it also depends on how dark you want your colors to be too.

I agree though that the dye and soda ash are the only chemicals you really need. The rest are just optional. I use condiment squirt bottles myself.