Name: Greg

Region: Vermont

Message: First, thank you for compiling all the information on your site. The detail and depth of information is wonderful, and has inspired me to try my hand at tie dying.

My desire is to recreate the Irish flag: I'll have the shirt divided into thirds vertically, with the left dyed green, the right dyed orange, and the center left white. My question is what is the best way to prepare or treat the shirt (either before or after dying) so that the white portion stays that way?

The key for your Irish Flag design lies in preventing the dye from creeping on the fabric. The way to do this is to, 1, use Procion MX type fiber reactive dye, not direct dye or all-purpose dye , and, 2, thicken your dye with sodium alginate.

All-purpose dye (such as Rit or Tintex) invariably bleeds from one part of your fabric to another, so it's not suitable for your project. Even if the colors are distinct when you're done dyeing, the all-purpose dye will always bleed in the laundry, so that, in your project, the white portion of the fabric will pick up faded green and orange, ruining the effect. Never use all-purpose dye for tie-dyeing or dye painting; there are far better dyes that will not cause this problem.

The right kind of dye to use is fiber reactive dye. Fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, can be applied in such a way that each dye molecule forms a permanent chemical bond to the molecules of the fiber in the fabric. This is a simple process, the same as used in any tie-dyeing kit, in which all you need is soda ash or washing soda to make the dye-fiber reaction occur. Allow plenty of time, at least overnight in a warm (70°F) room, so that you can be sure that all of the dye has completed reacting, before you wash the excess out, so that there's no possibility of staining the wrong part of the fabric with dye that is still active. After dyeing, there will always be be some unattached excess dye, which can bleed into unwanted areas, but washing in hot water will completely remove the dye that can bleed. Rinse in cold water first, then wash twice in very hot water, ideally 140°F or higher, and no loose dye will be left that is capable of bleeding in the laundry. Sometimes a third hot-water wash is needed. If you fail to wash the excess dye out adequately, don't worry: any transferred unattached dye can be removed by washing in very hot water, as long as you allowed enough time and warmth for the dye/fiber reaction to completely finish in the first place.

However, even fiber reactive dye will spread a little on the fabric, during the reaction phase, if you don't thicken it. Unthickened fiber reactive dye is lovely for making rainbow gradients, but thickened dye is what you need when spreading and mixing are to be kept to a minimum. I doubt that you want a little pale orange blending between your white and your orange, for example. Tying very tightly with string (my favorite tie-dyeing string is synthetic sinew) helps considerably in preventing dye from crossing that line in your design, but thickening the dye is important, too.

The most commonly-used thickener for tie-dyeing is sodium alginate, a derivative of a certain form of seaweed. See my page, "Sodium alginate, Superclear, and other dye thickeners", for information and a recipe. The best place to buy your sodium alginate will be by mail-order from a dye supplier, such as PRO Chemical & Dye in Massachusetts, which is the closest of the major dye suppliers to your location in Vermont. Dye suppliers sell two grades of alginate, one fine (usually labeled "sodium alginate F") for use on sheer silks, and and a coarser grade (usually labeled "sodium alginate SH") that is ideal for tie-dyeing. You can buy your alginate at the same time that you order your Procion MX dye, your soda ash, and the urea that is used to keep the dye moist during the reaction time.

Thickened dye can be used for tie-dyeing, but it can also be used for dye-painting, in which you either presoak the shirt in soda ash, or mix soda ash with your thickened dye immediately before using, and paint, squirt, or drip the dye onto the shirt exactly where you want it to go. This freedom of technique gives you many possibilities for forming your design. Be sure you chose a good shirt to dye, one which is 100% cotton and which does not have any stain-resistant or permanent-press treatment applied to it, and prewash it in hot water.

It is possible to mix a bright green and a bright orange using the three dye colors supplied in most tie-dyeing kits, but it will be a lot easier to get just the right colors if you buy a small jar of orange dye and a small dye of green dye. There are no natural unmixed green dyes in the whole Procion MX line, but there are many different hues of premixed greens that you can buy. If you're ordering from PRO Chemical and Dyes, look for their "PRO MX Reactive Dyes", which is what they call their Procion MX dyes. For other good mail-order dye sources, see my page of "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World" page, or take a look at the advertisements on this page.

And secondly, you mention the use of fabric markers to touch-up polyester thread. What about Sharpie permanent markers?

Thanks again for your great site!

Sharpie markers are handy for a quick touch-up on fabric, say if a stray drop of bleach or acne wash created a light spot on a garment, but they're not 100% permanent, if you ever wash the garment. They invariably fade, with time and laundering. If you ever use one for the touch-up trick, keep it on hand, because you'll need to use it again later. Fabric markers last longer on fabric than Sharpie pens do. 

However, my experience is that the color produced by even the best fabric marker on polyester thread is duller and paler than the same marker on cotton, and it takes too much time to be worth the trouble to color in the thread on a cotton shirt that's been sewn (like most clothing) with polyester thread. If you need a shirt with cotton thread for better dyeing, try ordering from a good dye supplier. PRO Chemical & Dye sells t-shirts sewn with cotton thread; Dharma Trading Company sells those, too, and also a wide range of other clothing blanks that are sewn with cotton thread. The results are worth the trouble of mail-ordering.

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