Tantalizing Tie-Dye Bedding

Step 2:

- Fold comforter in half and mark the center with blue marking pencil. Working on a large, padded table, measure up 6” from bottom edge of comforter. Fold fabric up and pin across width of cover in several places. Iron fold to create a crisp edge.

Step 3:

- Then begin to accordion fold the comforter in 6” wide pleats. Continue making accordion folded pleats through the entire length of the comforter. Pin through layers of fabric in several places before turning and pleating. Use paper weights or heavy objects to keep fabric from slipping off the table. If possible, iron between each fold for a crisp edge.

- After comforter is pleated, use the blue pencil to mark 9” intervals, working from the center pin out toward each side. This is where comforter will be tied to create a tie-dyed pattern.

Step 4:

- Cut rubber bands in half. Place a pin on the blue mark. Tie 4 rubber bands on each side of blue mark, spacing them about ¼” apart to fill a 2” space (8 rubber bands total).

Step 5:

- For extra resist, cut small pieces of soft cording and wrap over white area between rubber bands. This is optional.

Step 6:

Soak tied comforter in warm water while preparing dye bath.

- Dye Recipe Preparation: Phlox is a custom dye recipe (#567 in the Rit Color Formula Guide, Purple palette) so I weighed the dry comforter on a food scale. The
comforter weighed about 3 pounds. As a guideline, ½ cup (half bottle) of liquid dye will color up to 16 ounces of dry weight fabric. The recipes are based on 1 ounce of dry fabric. To determine the amount of dye needed, I first determined how much was needed for 1 pound, then I multiplied the recipe by 3. Since Phlox is a dark color, I doubled that amount. So here’s my recipe.

Dye Preparation:

3 ½ bottles Violet
3 ½ bottles Purple
1 cup salt
Wearing rubber gloves, pour dye into small bowl or large measuring cup. Shake bottles before pouring out dye.Add 2 cups very hot water; stir well to dissolve salt and mix with dye.

- Fill large plastic bin with 3 ½ gallons very hot tap water (140ºF). Note: If water is not hot enough, heat some water in a tea kettle or in the microwave.

Step 7:

- Pour dye solution into hot water, add a squirt of dishwashing detergent and stir. Test dye color to be sure you are satisfied. Note: If color is too light, add more dye. If color is too dark, add more water.

Step 8:

- Remove comforter from water.

- Immerse comforter in dye bath for 15 – 20 minutes or until desired shade is achieved. The longer the item remains in the dye bath, the darker the color will be. Push down on tied comforter with a spoon or use rubber gloves to push by hand to help dye penetrate folds.

- Remove comforter from dye bath and squeeze out excess dye. Cut rubber bands. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. At this point the comforter is a deep phlox purple and white. Because I wanted an overall blended effect and wanted to pull out the Violet color, I overdyed the comforter.

Step 9:

OVERDYEING COMFORTER:

Dye Preparation:

½ cup Violet dye
¼ cup Purple dye
1 cup salt

Wearing rubber gloves, pour dye into small bowl or large measuring cup. Shake bottles before pouring out dye. Add 2cups very hot water; stir well to dissolve salt and mix dye.

Fill large plastic bin with 3 ½ gallons very hot water (140º F).

Immerse comforter in dye bath for 2 – 3 minutes, moving fabric continuously.

Remove comforter and squeeze out excess dye. Rinse in cool water until water runs clear. Then launder in washing machine with mild detergent.