Spirals to Dye for

Transcript:How to Tie Dye Spirals

Hi, I'm Jen D'Amore for About.com, and today I'm going to show you how to tie dye spirals.

Supplies to Tie Dye Spirals

You'll need:

• White t-shirts
• Fabric dye
• Rubber bands
• Plastic or rubber gloves
• Plastic bags
• A tray with a grate
• A bucket of water

And you probably want to wear clothes that you don't mind ruining or splashing dye on.

Prepare to Make Tie Dye Spirals

Damp fabric will ease the spreading of the dye. So first, dunk that shirt and squeeze it out. Lay the shirt on a clean and flat surface. Choose where you’d like your spiral to begin, hold it, and twist the entire shirt around that point. Carefully wrap two or three large rubber bands across the spiral. This will create quadrants for the dye. Make sure the rubber bands cross directly over the center of the spiral before adding dye.

Tie Dye Spirals into a T-shirt

Each section gets a different color. Take note of where the neck of the shirt lands, and use your favorite color in that section. Flip over the shirt, and dye the back the same way as the front. You can use as many or as few colors as you want as long as you follow the grid. Wrap it in plastic bags or saran wrap and let it sit overnight to set. 

Wash it out until the water runs clear…and see what you’ve got. Tie dye spirals. Wash them in hot water with a little detergent. Other ways to set the dye include adding vinegar to the wash, or using a hot iron when they're dry. 

ATCs on the Cheap

ATCs are a really great choice for creating some art pieces.  You don't get overwhelmed by looking at a huge white canvas when the canvas is about the same size as your hand.  :)  However, purchasing the little cards already cut to the right size is *expensive!*  With that in mind, I'm always after new ways to find materials to cut my own ATCs out.

Yesterday, I was at Fred Meyers (a store sort of like super WalMart that aims to answer all your shopping needs in one stop).  They were taking down the previous week's sale posters and I asked if they were going to toss them.  When the answer came back yes, I requested a couple.

I didn't do my math correctly, so I ended up with a lot of material to recycle in the bin.  Here's what I got from the first poster:

I did better on my math with the second poster and only had about an inch (length-wise) of bin recycle material.  But the great part is I've got a pile of ATCs about an inch and a half thick now!  And it's great material for cards because it's heavy!

I'll have to either gesso the shiny side or stick a label on it in order to put my information about the card on it, but I think I can handle that; especially since I've got a whole BOX of mailing labels I purchased at a second hand store thinking I'd use them somehow for ATCs.  Hahaha!

ATC Creation Process

I've been working on a 3D sort of ATC today:

It was a fun process, too!  I used recycled material throughout the whole thing.  The top piece is made from the top center of a #6 plastic clam shell that our Russian cakes came in.

I used Sharpie markers to make my design.

Then I cooked it in the toaster oven!  Yup, ~275 degrees (F) for about 6 minutes on the parchment paper seen in the picture above.  It shriveled all up and curled around itself.  I had to flatten it back out a little and put something heavy on it to sort of get it to lay down again.

Then I covered a recycled cardboard ATC card (I just cut it out from the bottom of small package) with this flashing leftovers:

Then I put a neat little design in the flashing and lined up the plastic:

I used E-6000 glue to fix them to each other and added a few final swirls to the metal bits...  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!

I call it Emotions.  The depth and movement, darkness and light...  It's even got a well in the middle of the plastic - a well of emotions.  :)