Darla and Fish Couples Costume
Beginner
2 hours
Turn a plain white tee into an underwater scene with aquamarine tie-dye and a hand-drawn fish using FreeFlow. Add a clear “fish bag” over the top for a clever costume that comes together swimmingly.
Supplies
- Rit All-Purpose Dyes in Hyacinth, Golden Yellow, Aquamarine
- Rit FreeFlow Markers – Primary Pack
- Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative
- Darla: White Cotton Sweater, White Skirt
- Fish: White Cotton T-shirt, Clear Plastic Bag
- Rubberbands
- Container for dyeing
- Measuring Cup and Spoon
- Paper Towels
- Tongs
- Rubber Gloves
- Dish Detergent
- Salt
Instructions
- Before dyeing, remove any visible stains on the fabric. This will help achieve uniform color results when dyeing. Prewash item in warm, soapy water without any fabric softener. This helps to remove any finishes that may interfere with dye absorption.
- Wet fabric and squeeze out any excess water so that fabric is slightly damp.
Fish Costume
- Place damp t-shirt on clean, flat surface and scrunch into a flat ball.
- Secure scrunched fabric with rubber bands and set aside.
- Mix four cups of hot water and 2 tbsp of Aquamarine All-Purpose Liquid Dye. The water should ideally be 140ºF / 60°C. If tap water is not hot enough, heat water on the stove and add to the dyebath.
- To enhance the color: (1) add 1 tbsp of salt when dyeing fabrics containing cotton, rayon, ramie or linen; (2) add 1 tbsp of vinegar when dyeing fabrics containing nylon, silk or wool.
- Pour dye over scrunched t-shirt. Flip over and repeat.
- Rinse in cool water until rinse water begins to run clear.
- Wash in warm water with a mild detergent, rinse and dry.
- Once dry, place scrap piece of cardboard inside the shirt to prevent bleeding when drawing with markers.
- Draw outline of clown fish and stripes with Black FreeFlow Marker using the bullet tip. Fill in the tips of the fins and stripes with the brush tip.
- Fill in remaining stripes with Orange FreeFlow Marker using the flat side of the brush tip.
- For the white areas, use Gray Freeflow Marker to create shadows along the bottom of the fish.
Darla Costume
- Create two dyebaths by filling two plastic containers with three gallons of hot water each. The water should ideally be 140ºF / 60°C. If tap water is not hot enough, heat water on the stove and add to the dyebath.
- To enhance the color: (1) add 1 cup / 240 mL of salt when dyeing fabrics containing cotton, rayon, ramie or linen; (2) add 1 cup / 240 mL of vinegar when dyeing fabrics containing nylon, silk or wool.
- Add 1 teaspoon / 5 mL of dish detergent to help promote level dyeing.
- Wearing rubber gloves, add well-shaken Hyacinth dye to the first dyebath and Golden Yellow in the second dyebath.
- Add sweater to Hyacinth dyebath and skirt into Golden Yellow. Continue stirring for 15-30 minutes to prevent splotches.
- When desired color is achieved, remove fabric from the dyebaths and rinse in cool water. Make sure to keep sweater and skirt separate so color does not bleed into one another.
- We strongly recommend using Rit ColorStay Dye Fixativeimmediately after dyeing and before washing. It enhances the color, increases color retention and prevents dye from bleeding into white areas. Follow these instructions.
- Rinse in cool water until rinse water begins to run clear.
- Wash in warm water with a mild detergent, rinse and dry
