Tie-dye has been used for hundreds of years to create decorative effects on fabric by people all over the world including India,
West Africa, Nigeria and Japan. Patterns of dyed, undyed and partially dyed fabric are produced using various techniques to bind the fabric so that it will resist dye including tying, knotting, sewing and pegging. Special thanks to artists, Jennifer Weir and Bobbi Rai Purdy for demonstrating the following tie-dye techniques.
Getting Started
• Work with small groups of children unless there is a high ratio of helpers
• Provide children with aprons and gloves
• Keep a wet area for dying and a dry area for tying
• Cover work surfaces.
1.
A cotton t-shirt is ideal for tiedye but any light weight starch free natural fabric is good for dying including cotton, silk and muslin (avoid synthetic fabric such as nylon which will resist dye).
You will need
Cold water dyes (yellow, red and blue for the projects shown)
Salt
Washing soda
Rubber bands
String
Clothes pegs
Needle and thread
Kitchen roll or newspaper
T- shirts (cotton fabric)
Scrap store items - bottle tops, wood, stones, plastic rings
Other items – beans, stones, wax crayons
2.
Weigh the fabric - use one packet of dye for each 250g of fabric. Mix two or three dye baths (use basins or buckets) following the manufacturers instructions. Wash the t-shirt in warm water so that it will absorb the dye.
3.
Knot, tie, bind, peg or fold the t-shirt using some of the techniques described in detail further on.
Tools
Buckets or basins
Scales
Measuring jug
Scissors
Rubber gloves
Wooden spoons
Make sure you wash your t-shirt separately because some of the dye may run into other clothes.
4.
Place the t-shirt in a dye bath starting with the lightest colour
(yellow in this case) and stir with a wooden spoon to make sure the dye reaches all parts of the fabric.
Leave to soak for one hour.
5.
Lift the t-shirt out of the dye bath, rinse several times in cold water before removing the ties. Soak the t-shirt in hot soapy water to ensure the dye is fast and won’t wash out and then rinse again.
7. Re-tie and dye the t-shirt with the second colour (red in this case) and leave for one hour as before. Rinse thoroughly and untie the strings to reveal your tie-dye pattern.
Experiment with different tying and colour combinations. www.playresource.org
- Tie-Dye 1

Sunburst Pattern
Hold the cloth by a point to get the center of the sunburst and let the cloth drop evenly before tying it at various intervals along its length. Tying with thin string will produce fine lines when dyed and tying with raffia, tape, elastic bands or heavier cord will produce broader bands.
Marbling
Roll the fabric into a tight ball and wrap string around it in several directions (you can also use elastic bands). Dye in the usual way to produce an all-over effect of clouds or water rather than a definite pattern produced by other methods. Dye the fabric with two or three different colours.
Binding-in
Wrap fabric around items that you think might produce interesting effects such as pebbles, beans, corks and bottle tops. Dye the cloth as before.
Pleat and Tie
Pleat the fabric and then tie it at regular intervals to creat a wavy pattern. Try rolling the fabric and tying at regular intervals to produce a more uniform effect.
Cover and Tie
Tie polythene around the area you want to prevent the dye from reaching.
Small Ties
Small points can be made in fine fabric such as cheese cloth using a needle to pick up the tip of each point. Tie a slip knot just below the needle using a
5 inch length of thread. Bind as tightly as possible around the fabric and fasten. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Knots
Exciting effects can be achieved simply by knotting the fabric. Folding it into a triangle and knotting each corner will produce a symetrical pattern when dyed.
Alternatively rolling the fabric and firmly tying knots along its length will produce bands of pattern when dyed.
Pegging
Use plastic clothes pegs to pinch, twist or pleat the fabric producing small dots when dyed.
Twist and Tie
Twist the fabric until it folds in upon itself and then tie it as tightly as possible in this position. A wavylined pattern is produced once it is dyed.
Tritik
Tritik is a stitching method used in tie-dye. Draw a basic shape on cotton fabric using a charcoal pencil. With a running stitching sew along the outline (use a double thread knot at the end to ensure it doesn’t slip through the fabric).
Gather the fabric along the stitch line by pulling the thread and secure with a few stitches. Wrap a length of string around the gather line and then dye as before.
Fold and Tie
Fold the fabric in four and bind it with string to produce a sunburst pattern when dyed.
www.playresource.org
- Tie-Dye 2