Message: Hello,

I just found your site by doing a Google search for tie dye.  I'm planning on tie dying a variety shirts for an almost 5 year old boy who just loves the look.  I thought it might be a neat idea to attempt a seasonal type tie dye shirt for one of them and wondered if you had any suggestions for how to add/dye a candy cane, Christmas tree or other similarly associated item to a shirt?  I know you probably get inundated with questions from tie dye novices like me all the time but I would appreciate any advice you might have.  

Thanks so much and have a great day!

The easiest approach would be to dye a shirt in appropriate seasonal colors, then sew on an applique of an item such as a candy cane or a tree.

Another option is to do the same thing, but instead of an applique, use opaque iron-on inkjet transfer paper (also known as dark t-shirt transfers) to add the design. This is very easy to do, and supplies all manner of possibilities, including an actual photo of your boy (very cool, I'm sure he will agree). The one drawback is that the opaque iron-ons are a bit fragile, so the shirts should be washed only inside out, preferably in cool water (which means don't use a white background since they show dirt!), and line dry if possible. For an example, see this picture of a tote bag I dyed and then ironed some photos onto, for my mom.

Non-opaque inkjet iron-on transfers are more durable; if you use black in your design, and dye the shirts in bright light clear colors, they work very well. Check out this picture of a shirt I made for my son this way.

You can tie-dye any simple symmetrical design. Fold a shirt in half vertically, then draw the outline of half of a simplified Christmas tree so that its center is on the fold. Use either an ordinary number 2 pencil or a child's washable marker to do this, on a cotton shirt. Start pleating the fabric along the line, and turn and follow the design as you go, then tie it off once you get back to the center fold. Apply dye of one color inside the tie, and dye of another color outside of it. This is the same technique used for many designs; to learn better what I mean, see this blog post: tie-dyeing a ribbon shape and this illustrated tutorial on how to tie-dye a heart in the Tie Dye Wiki.

When you tie-dye, be sure never to use all-purpose dye, such as Rit or Tintex. You need to use a cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. This is the kind of dye used in all the good tie-dye kits. If you don't have one already, go to a crafts store and look for a tie-dye kit. There are good ones made by several different companies, such as Jacquard Products, Dylon, Rainbow Rock, and Tulip. For the very best prices, order your dyes by mail-order from PRO Chemical & Dye in Massachusetts, Dharma Trading Company in California, or Grateful Dyes in Colorado. Either buy a tie-dye kit, which will have everything you need, or buy Procion MX dyes, soda ash, urea, disposable plastic gloves, plastic squirt bottles, and a dust mask (for when you mix the dye powders). Also, use only 100% natural fibers, or rayon, for your tie-dyeing; avoid polyester in the clothing you buy to dye.

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