
Tie Dye Winter Accessories
How-To:
Christmas Decor
MATERIALS:
- Fabric dye either liquid or powder
- Squeeze bottles
- White cotton, silk or rayon garments to dye like beanies, socks and mittens
- Rubber bands
- Baking and cooling tray
- Pan or bin to place tray on
- Soda ash
- Clorox color safe detergent
- Optional to add the pom-pom:
- Fur pom-poms
- Needle and thread
TO CREATE THE SANTA HAT
- French terry fabric in white
- Faux fur or boa feather trim in white
- Faux fur pom-pom in white
- Soft tape measure
- Ruler or quilting square
- Chalk
- Fabric scissors
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Needle and thread
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pre-soak your garments, in soda ash, if possible. Ring out until damp, so the garments are not soaking wet.
- Fold your garment into a crumple, spiral or other tie dye pattern and bind with rubber bands. PRO TIP: If folding into a spiral, make sure the front of the garment face down when you twist into a spiral, it will be a cleaner fold on that side.
- Mix a color of dye in each squeeze bottle. Whether using powder or liquid dye, dilute it with water, this doesn’t have to be an exact science, but you don’t need much dye since they’re made to be diluted into about a gallon of water. PRO TIP: Mix colors in a bottle to create a custom color, test on scrap fabric before using.
- On a cooling tray over a pan or bin, squirt the dye onto the garment in desired pattern. Do one side, flip the bundle and dye the other.
- Cut the rubber bands off with scissors. This prevents any splatter or blurring of the colors.
- Wash each garment individually with the color-safe detergent in a machine. Let the washing machine fill up with water then add the garment if possible.
- Allow the garment to dry in the best manner for the material.
- If you’ve made a beanie and want to add a pom-pom, cut a length of thread, tie a knot on one end, thread the needle and sew from the inside through the top of the beanie and into the pom-pom. Stitch through a few more times pulling the thread taut then knot the thread inside to secure.
TO CREATE THE SANTA HAT
Pre-soak your fabric, in soda ash, if possible. Ring out until damp, so the fabric is not soaking wet.
- Fold your fabric into a crumple, spiral or other tie dye pattern and bind with rubber bands. PRO TIP: If folding into a spiral, make sure the front of the garment face down when you twist into a spiral, it will be a cleaner fold on that side.
- Mix a color of dye in each squeeze bottle. Whether using powder or liquid dye, dilute it with water this doesn’t have to be an exact science, but you don’t need much dye since they’re made to be diluted into about a gallon of water. PRO TIP: Mix colors in a bottle to create a custom color, test on scrap fabric before using.
- On a cooling tray over a pan or bin, squirt the dye onto the fabric in desired pattern. Do one side, flip the bundle and dye the other.
- Cut the rubber bands off with scissors. This prevents any splatter or blurring of the colors.
- Wash each the fabric individually with the color safe detergent in a machine. Let the washing machine fill up with water then add the fabric if possible.
- Dry the fabric.
- Measure the diameter of the head of the hat wearer then decide how tall you want the hat to be.
- Measure, mark then cut a triangle shape out of the fabric with a bottom edge that is the length of the diameter of the wearer’s head plus ½” on each end for seam allowance. The triangle should be as tall as you want the hat to be.
- Fold the triangle in half with the right-side facing inward. Pin the outer edge of the triangle, leave the bottom open.
- Sew a straight stitch along the edge with ½” seam allowance.
- Hem the bottom of the hat if desired, but you are going to glue on trim so that should secure the raw edge as well. To hem, with the hat inside out, fold the bottom up twice so that the raw edge is on the inside of the fold, pin and sew.
- To add the pom-pom, cut a length of thread, tie a knot on one end, thread the needle and sew from the inside through the top of the beanie and into the pom-pom. Stitch through a few more times pulling the thread taut then knot the thread inside to secure.
- Measure the length of fur you trim you need for the hat, cut to size and use fabric glue to attach it around the edge.
- Allow the glue to set and enjoy!