How To Set Tie Dye With Vinegar And Salt

Tie-dye is a fun style to express your creativity and have some fun. And if y'all're like most people, you desire your necktie-dye t-shirts to stay bright and vibrant for years to come. In this weblog post, I'll teach you lot how to set up necktie-dye the right way and then that it doesn't fade in the wash. I'll besides share some helpful tips and tricks that I've learned over the years and then that you get the best results.

Summertime is the perfect time to learn how to necktie-dye and have some fun! And after spending all that fourth dimension perfecting your necktie-dye folding patterns, you lot'll want your tie-dye shirts to stay vivid, bold, and beautiful.

How to Continue Tie Dye From Fading

The key to getting vibrant colors is setting the dye properly. If you don't ready the dye correctly, your colors will fade over time, and your shirt will wait old and tired.

So, how practise y'all fix tie-dye?

Spoiler alert: vinegar is not the answer! Some people recommend setting necktie-dye with white vinegar or salt to keep colors vivid, but that'south simply not necessary.

To help you get the best results, I've put together a few tips on how to brand sure your tie-dye looks keen wash after wash.

Choose the right fabric dye
Choose the correct fabric
Follow the proper process
Let the necktie-dye set up long plenty
Rinse and launder the dyed items correctly

Read on to learn the best means to gear up tie-dye and continue your shirts looking vibrant for years to come!

Cull the Right Blazon of Dye

The most important thing you tin do to make certain your tie-dye doesn't fade is to select high-quality dyes that won't wash out and fade over fourth dimension.

The all-time type of necktie-dye to use on cotton fabric is cobweb reactive dye. Cobweb-reactive dyes react with cotton wool and other plant fibers to grade a permanent chemical bond.

If you use them correctly, fiber-reactive dyes are permanent – they won't fade, fifty-fifty after repeated washings. In general, if you are using quality fiber reactive dyes for your projects, they volition remain bright and beautiful, and you shouldn't have a trouble with fading.

Best Types of Fiber Reactive Dyes

Here are the types of fiber-reactive dyes that I recommend.

Procion MX dyes. This is the well-nigh popular type of dye for tie-dye enthusiasts and professionals. Procion MX dyes are colorfast, not-toxic, and very easy to use. Plus, they come up in a huge range of colors. You can find Procion dye kits from suppliers like Jacquard or Dharma Trading Co.

Note: When you're working with Procion MX dyes, you lot'll need to pre-soak your fabric in a soda ash solution before dying.

Tulip One-Step dyes. These tie-dye kits are super easy to use, so they're an excellent choice for the occasional tie-dyer, younger kids, and tie-dye parties. The Tulip dyes are formulated with soda ash already in the dye powder, so all y'all have to do is add together h2o, milk shake and apply. This eliminates the need to pre-soak fabrics in a soda ash solution.

Don't use all-purpose dyes.

If you want bright, vibrant cotton shirts that won't fade in the wash, you should always use fiber-reactive dyes rather than all-purpose dyes.

All-purpose dyes, such as Rit and other brands, do not piece of work on cotton or other cellulose fibers at room temperature.

The cold-h2o, squirt-canteen tie-dye technique only works with fiber-reactive dyes. If you try it with all-purpose dyes, the colors will pale and wash out over time.

Choose the Right Fabric

The second well-nigh important step to getting brilliant tie-dye that won't fade is using the right fabric.

For example, the best type of fabric to utilize with fiber-reactive dye is 100% cotton wool or other cellulose cobweb similar rayon, linen, Tencel, or hemp. If you tin't notice 100% cotton, look for at least a 70% cotton wool blend.

You can try using a 50% cotton 50% polyester blend, merely the colors will exist much paler. (Information technology volition give y'all a squeamish pastel necktie-dye wait, though, if that'south what you lot're going for!)

Synthetic fibers like polyester require a different blazon of dye birthday. If yous try to tie-dye 100% synthetic fiber with cobweb-reactive dyes, you lot won't get skillful results.

photo collage showing the steps to fold a white t-shirt into a rainbow spiral design

Follow the Tie Dye Process

Here'south a quick guide to tie-dying a t-shirt and so that the colors stay vivid and don't fade. For complete instructions, read this footstep-by-stride guide to tie-dye. And after that, you'll desire to bank check out this list of 17 ways to fold tie-dye.

Instructions

Here is how to tie-dye cotton textile with fiber-reactive dyes (and optional soda ash pre-launder):

Prewash your fabric.
Wearing eye protection and a mask, set up a soda ash solution of 1 loving cup soda ash in 1 gallon of warm h2o. Pre-soak your material in a soda ash solution for at least 15 minutes.
Wearing rubber gloves, wring out the material until information technology's but damp. Tie or bind the material every bit desired.
Prepare the dye as instructed on the package. Apply the dye as desired.
Place the dyed material in a plastic bag, or wrap it in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Permit the textile set in a warm room for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Remove the textile from the plastic, and remove the condom bands or ties. Rinse the fabric in cold water several times until the water runs clear.
Wash the dyed fabric in hot water in your washing machine with Synthrapol or some other laundry detergent, and hang dry.

Think: You only need to use the soda-ash presoak if you lot're using the Procion MX dyes. If y'all're using the Tulip kits, you lot don't demand to exercise the presoak.

Let's talk about a few of these steps in a picayune more detail – particularly how to ready the necktie-dye to prevent the dye from fading.

How to Set Tie Dye

Once you have finished applying the dye, you need to permit it set, or "procedure." The dye needs three things to react with the fabric and create a permanent chemical bond: time, water, and heat.

How long does tie-dye need to sit?

Let the dye ready on the textile for a few hours – at least eight hours, but preferably overnight. Longer setting times will result in brighter, stronger colors. The amount of time required volition depend on the ambient temperature.

How to speed upwards the setting procedure?

Allow the necktie-dye fabric set at temperatures over 70°F (21°C) for the best results. The dye reaction takes longer at cooler temperatures. So if your room is too common cold and you don't expect long enough, you may become pale, faded colors.

How to keep the dye from drying out?

For the reaction to have place, the fabric must stay wet. To proceed the textile from drying out, you tin can place it in a nothing-summit plastic bag or wrap information technology in plastic wrap. (I always put my wrapped shirts in a bucket, just in case they drip or leak.)

Some Color Rinsing Out is Normal

Fifty-fifty if you're using high-quality dyes, you might run into some dye rinsing out of your necktie-dyed fabrics for the commencement couple washes. This is normal. About dyes demand at least one long rinse in absurd water (without detergent) followed by two washes in hot water (with detergent) to remove excess dye. This is merely the extra dye leaving the fabric.

The Right Way to Launder Tie Dye

After yous rinse the tie-dyed garment in absurd water, you lot tin run it through a wash cycle in your washing motorcar. It's a practiced idea to use a special detergent, called Synthrapol, to wash out backlog dye and prevent the dye colors from mixing. (Synthrapol doesn't help set the dye – it just helps launder out the extra dye.)

Y'all may need to launder the tie-dyed garments separately for the showtime few washes. But after that, yous'll exist safe to wash them with your regular laundry.

Using Commercial Dye Fixative

In most cases, post-obit the instructions above should be enough to set up the tie-dye, keep it colorfast, and preclude information technology from fading in the wash.

That said, some commercial dye fixatives can exist used to gear up tie-dye. Retayne is a commonly used dye fixative that will prevent color bleeding during washing. You can find Retayne in stores like Dharma Trading Company. Make sure to follow the instructions on the bundle.

close up photo of a rainbow crumpled tie dye fabric

Other Tricks to Set Tie Dye

Y'all may accept seen another ideas about setting tie-dye with vinegar, baking soda, or salt. Let's talk about them.

Does vinegar help set tie-dye?

No, vinegar will not help to fix fiber-reactive dye on cotton fabric. Nor volition not make the dye more than resistant to fading.

Reverse to popular belief, you practice not need vinegar to set necktie-dye on cotton. Unless your tie-dye kit specifically tells you to use vinegar, y'all don't need it.

Notation: Vinegar tin help set some acid dyes on animal fibers like silk or wool – merely it'due south not necessary to set dye on cotton fiber fabrics.

Does salt aid set up tie-dye?

No, washing tie-dyed items with table common salt volition not assist the dye set better. Salt is not a dye fixative and won't brand the dye more permanent or colorfast.

What about baking soda?

Baking soda is sometimes recommended as a substitute for soda ash; however, its effects are much weaker.

What will really assist set up the tie-dye?

The best way to set necktie-dye is to let it process in a warm, moist environment for 8-24 hours.

The Best Fashion to Keep Necktie Dye From Fading

So, what do you need to forestall dye from fading? Permit's sum up.

Starting time, brand certain to employ the right blazon of tie-dye for your fabric. To do the cold-water, squirt-bottle fashion tie-dye, yous'll want to utilise fiber-reactive dyes like Tulip or Procion MX dyes.
2d, use the right kind of fabric. For the brightest, most vibrant results, apply cotton material.
And then, follow the correct tie-dye procedure. Read the dye instructions to know if you need to pre-soak the fabric in a soda ash solution.
Next, fiftyet the necktie-dye set up long enough! Continue your tied-dyed textile wet and warm for at least viii hours – or upwardly to 24 hours – for the strongest colors.
Finally, rinse and launder the dyed items correctly. Some dye rinsing out is expected – just if you lot follow the steps, yous should all the same get a colorfast upshot.

What's Next?

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pin image for how to set tie dye with a background of a rainbow spiral tie dye shirt

Sarah Stearns has helped thousands of makers find their next arts and crafts project with free patterns and footstep-by-footstep tutorials on her blog, sarahmaker.com. Read more.

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American, Adept Housekeeping, Vocalisation, Flat Therapy, Lifehacker, and more.

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