Dyeing at home is fun and is also an excellent way to turn your old garments into a new one by adding colors, textures and pattern to it. But there are many ways to dye and there are a few which are lengthy and complicated. But ice dye is a simple method which almost anyone can do at home easily.
-Pre preparing the product that needs to be dyed is very very important. Start with removing stains on the fabric, for this pre-wash them in warm soapy water. This step is very necessary as it helps in achieving uniform color results and also helps in getting rid of any dirt and oil regimes.
-You would also need a cotton based fabric as natural fabrics like cotton, silk, linen absorb dyes easily in contrast to the polyester and rayon based fabrics.
-For this project use cold water dyes in different colors as they will yield better results than the hot water dyes.
-Make sure that you dip the garment or the piece of the fabric that needs to be colored in water for about at least 20-30 minutes prior to dyeing, this step helps the product to absorb the dyes easily. Squeeze out the water completely and while still wet put it in a rack or a strainer so that the excess dyes and water drips off easily without destroying the patterns.
-Now just put a lot of ice over the product and sprinkle the dyes all over, the way you do so will determine the result pattern. Let it sit untouched till the ice melts completely.
-Once the ice melts, dip the product to a color fixer solution. Fixer enhances the color, increases color retention and prevents dye from bleeding into the white areas. If you miss this step then the colors won’t come out nicely and will also bleed and fade after one or two washes.
Image reference- Pinterest
