Otherwise known as low-water immersion dyeing. I’m going to tell you in five super easy steps how to get the crackle dye look for your clothing & accessories.

You’ll need:
Some 100% cotton items to dye (tees, onesies, totebags, fabrics, et cetera)
Dyes- I use Jaquard Procion MX
Soda ash or washing soda
Gloves
Stock pot
Water
Rubber bands
Cookie sheet, or other large, flat surface
Protective wrap for surfaces & cookie sheet or work surface
Plastic containers with lids
Squirt bottles for the dyes
Synthrapol
Patience & understanding that this is an art form, the results are always unexpected!

Step One: Soak your items in the stock pot filled with water & soda ash (or washing soda) solution. I like to soak my items for at least 4 hours. I also keep an old plastic spoon to use to stir my soda solution while items are inside of it because I find that the soda like to settle at the bottom if you have a stock of on-hand solution.

Step Two: Mix your dyes. I tend to keep it simple with 2-4 colors, but I’ve used a full spectrum with black before & had successful results.

Step Three: Wearing gloves- take your items out of the soak & wring them until they are only damp but not dripping wet. Next take your rubber bands & set an item to be dyed on the cookie sheet or work surface. Lay it out then squish the fabric somewhat so that it is all still flat, yet in a crumpled up round (or whatever!) shape. I like to make sure the fabric isn’t layered up in this process so that the dyes can spread evenly & consistently. (See photo below)

Take your rubber bands & wrap them around the fabric carefully so that the item is still in it’s mostly flat position. The rubber bands simply hold the crumple in.

Step Four: Shake up your dye bottles & then “paint” your fabric using the different colors. If using one color, drop the entire object into the plastic container, cover, & shake every 6 or so hours. If using multiple colors, once the item is painted, squish the top of it a bit with your gloved fingers to help it distribute a bit more. Pick up item carefully & place in plastic container & cover. Let dyes meld with the fabric for 24 hours at the VERY least. I like to go as long as 36 & have even done as long as 48 hours (although that was because I forgot about my containers!).

Step Five: Under a running tap of warm water, rise out the dyes & remove rubber bands. Rinse until water runs clear. I usually have the washer started (set at warm/warm) with a few tablespoons of synthropol added to help make the dyed items colorfast. Throw immediately in the washer to wash in a full cycle. I like to wash dyed items twice. Shout Colorcatchers work very well to catch some of the access dyes.

Posted in crafts, kid crafts & written by Niki —