Tailgate DIY: Ice Tie Dye

Tailgate DIY: Ice Tie Dye

Tailgate DIY: Ice Tie Dye

Turn the style up on your favourite team tee! We tested out ice tie dying on a rad Raptors screenprinted tee and it turned out awesome.

Check out the how-to:

1. Ensure your tee is 100% cotton - I can't guarantee this project will work on any sort of blend tee or alternate material. 

2. Place an old cookie drying rack either in a large plastic bin or a utility sink. This project needs to sit overnight so it's best not to start this in a space that you'll need to use before finished. 

3. Fully dampen your tee and place on the rack. You can create a pattern and use elastics to hold in place or free form it like I did for this project. Because we use ice, it's a very randomize dye method so how you place your shirt may or may not change the finished product.

4. Completely cover your tee with ice.

5. Sprinkle powdered dye over the ice. I used a kit from the brand "Tulip" which I bought at Michaels for around $9. But I only used the powder which came in a squeeze bottle. I used approximately half of what was provided - about 1 tbsp worth, spread around. The RIT brand also comes in powder form at Michaels and is around $4 for just the dye. I wanted to use black and RIT was sold out otherwise I would've just bought that powder.

Note: if you choose black, it has a really interesting outcome because the powder has multiple colour crystals. You'll see these colours when you get them wet and on your finished tee. I like the look but if you want something more muted, choose a grey.  

6. Let the powder sit on the ice overnight. When the ice is melting, it carries the dye through the tee.

7. The following day, I used a large plastic bowl and added 2 tbsp of the RIT Colorstay Dye Fixative (bought at Michaels for $7) to hot water. I added my shirt to set the dye. Stir gently to move the tee around the bowl for 10-20 minutes. I used takeout chopsticks for this part so I didn't have to touch it with my hands. 

8. After setting the dye, wash and dry the tee like normal by itself!

Additional notes:

  • Wear scrubby clothes to complete this project just in case you get a bit spilly...especially if you use a plastic bin and need to dump the dye water after the ice melts.
  • You may also want to choose to wear gloves.
  • I did this project using a 100% cotton tee with a screenprint design. I don't know how any sort of alternate fabric, heat-pressed decoration, embroidery or direct to garment decoration will work. Do so at your own discretion.

 

@tailgatemercantile

Ice tie dye experiment ##tiedye ##customshirt ##raptors

♬ Maniac (Flashdance Version) (Re-Recorded / Remastered) - Michael Sembello

 

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