Supplies
- White Cotton T-Shirt
- Rit All-Purpose Powder Dye: Scarlet and Royal Blue Used Here
- Ice
- Cooling Rack
- Storage Bin or Sheet Pan to Catch Dye
- Spoon
- Rubber Gloves
- Paper Towels
- Plastic Table Cover
- Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative (Recommended)
Time
Total: 1-2 Hours
Difficulty
Beginner
Instructions
- Cover table with plastic and gather your supplies.
- Pre-wash t-shirt, rinse and leave wet.
- Lay out damp t-shirt flat on your work surface and completely crumple into a small, flat ball. Place crumpled fabric on top of drying rack, over the plastic tub (to catch dripping dye).
- Cover fabric completely with ice. Different ice sizes will yield different patterns.
- Open dye packages. Use spoon to sprinkle dye on the ice. Sprinkle dye as you might sprinkle salt on food. Use very little dye. You will probably think you aren’t using enough, but you are! For this project, we separated Scarlet and Royal Blue into sections to create the red, white and blue look.
- Let the ice melt completely through the fabric.
- To help set the dye, we recommend either using your microwave or letting the t-shirt sit in the sun. If using your microwave, wrap the dyed fabric in plastic wrap and seal the edges. Place the wrapped fabric on a paper towel in the microwave and heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Plastic will puff up, creating a heat chamber that helps bond the dye with the fabric. Once the microwave is done, remove the clothing and open the plastic, letting it cool down.
- Wash in warm water with a mild detergent, rinse and dry.
