I borrowed Tom and Martine's Advance Tie Dye DVD out from my library, and it goes over Lotus Blossoms. It really is worth it to watch a DVD with instructions, because it gives detailed info.
I agree that the video from Tom and Martine at True Tie Dye really helps (Tie Dye 303 from "Advanced Tie Dye Techniques: Making Shapes and Mandalas" is the one with mandalas). You can see exactly what they are doing instead of having to fill things in with your mind like you do with static picture tutorials. I believe Steve said somewhere that he got this technique from Michael Fowler's "The Art of Tie-Dye", so you might want to try that one instead; I haven't seen that one, so I can't comment on the quality of instruction. If you want to view before you buy, and your local library doesn't have what you want, try asking if they can get it on interlibrary loan. Most libraries can borrow materials from all across the country.
I'd suggest trying this experiment on a piece of cloth or a t-shirt that your not going to be too worried how it turns out (make sure the fabric will take dye well though, don't grab a poly-cotton T). Fold as shown in the instructions, make sure that the accordian folds pick up all layers. One one side of the piece, apply different colors (for this experiment these should be bright or pastel, not dark) between each pair of ties, don't saturate all the way through to the other side (in other words, the part on the bottom should still be white). Flip the piece over, on the other side apply a single, dark color that complements the colors on the first side (black, navy blue, etc.). Alternatively you could alternate between a dark color and leaving areas white, but this probably won't work so well if you used pastels. What you're going for is high contrast between the colors on the first side and those on the other side. Finish setting the dyes, untying and washout as per usual. Look at where black (and white if you left white areas) alternate with the colors. This should give you some idea of how Steve's mandala was done. Note: if you're doing multiple colors on both sides, you'll get a different affect if you apply color between the ties on one side and over the ties on the other (stagger the colors) than if you apply colors between the ties on both sides.
That said, I have to admit haven't done this experiment myself, but I've seen it done on other designs so I'm pretty sure this is how Steve's mandala was done.
