Best way to tie dye... dry or wet?

Question

so my friend and i are going to do some tie dye. we already researched everything and got ALL the supplies and stuff. i have some questions...

after you soak the shirts in soda ash, does it work better to ring them out and dye them while they're damp, or is better for the fabric to dry before we start? we are doing the traditional rainbow swirl

and i have read so many different ways to tie dye... 

so does soaking the shirts in warm soda ash or colder soda ash work better? and does it matter if they're in there for over the 20 min the box says?

the kit isn't specific on the temp to use for the dye, so what temp of water should i use for the dye?

thanks for any helpful tips :)
have a great summer

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Tie dyes for T shirts are designed for cold water dying unless the box tells you otherwise.  This applies to the soda ash as well.  Don't exceed the 20 minutes - soda ash will damage the fiber in the shirts if it is used for too long.

As for wet or dry, it depends on how crisp you want the color changes to be.  On a dry shirt you will get cleaner definition between colors.  On a wet shirt the dyes will bleed into each other making a transition area in a third blended color.  Most of the swirl shirts I see are worked on damp fabric and have that color blending as part of the design.

romanok · Answer

Best Way To Tie Dye

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Best way to tie dye... dry or wet?

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