Saturday, October 16, 2010

TIE DYED T SHIRTS

T I E   D Y E D   T - S H I R T S   by Nancy Diodati


Who hasn't owned or made a tie dyed shirt or other piece of clothing at some time? 

During the summer when the days are long and hot, I love making colorful dyed shirts.  

A couple of summers ago I needed to dye something.  I can not even remember what is was now.  I bought the dye. I do remember it was black.  I could not put it in my washer because I did not want to stain the tub and end up with all my nice clothes blackened.  I set up a station on my picnic table and dyed my project. I had some extra dye and a few white t shirts that I had stained with food or something.  I didn't want to throw the dye away.  So...

I twisted my shirts with a fork like one would do to a plate of spagetti and rubber banded them and dunked them in the dye leaving them to sit for several minutes.  I had so much dye left that I went looking through my husbands clothes and found a few white shirts.  Yes. I dunked his too.  When we unraveled them.  They were incredible starbursts of white and black.


That started it.  I had to buy more dye, but now colorful dyes.  I found nice white t-shirts. I twisted them and folded them this way and that.  Never once did I get two the same.  The best part was untieing them.  It was magic. 

Friends wanted one. Family members wanted one.  People who saw me wearing a tie dyed shirt asked where I get my shirt.  I decided there may be a market for them.  So I made a bunch. I sold them at flea markets, schools, and online.  I just like making them.  I like finding new ways of folding them to get new patterns I haven't tried before.  Peopl also tell me when they use to make them in the 60's or in school as a kid.  They bring back great memories or people everytime they see them.


I learned how to fold, tie and make great patterns on ehow.com
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_5036_tie-dye-shirt-designs.html

1 comment:

  1. These are really beautiful...and it's fun that you can see how they were made, in these patterns.

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