Ice Dyeing
You will need:
- White prewashed T-shirt
- Procion MX Dyes
- Soda Ash (fixative)
- Dust Mask
- Calgon PT (if you are dyeing in a hard water area)
- Rubber Gloves and an apron – these dyes will stain.
- Ice
- Cooling rack or similar
- Plastic bowl
- Bubble wrap or plastic bag
Mix three tablespoons of Soda Ash with warm water. If you are working in a hard water area add one tablespoon of Calgon.
Soak your T-shirt in the Soda Ash solution for 15 minutes.
Place a cooling rack over a plastic bowl – this is to ensure that the dyes and ice can drip through the fabric and the fabric does not sit in the excess dye. Squeeze out as much of the Soda Ash as you can (squeeze it back into the jug as this solution can be used again). Scrunch your T-shirt into a rectangular shape. These mounds of T-shirt will cause the dye to spread in mysterious ways!
Cover the T-shirt with Ice.
Wearing a dust mask, sprinkle dry Procion MX dye onto the ice in a random pattern. A dry brush is good for this. We used Indigo, Scarlet and Olive for the T-shirt on the left and Lemon Yellow, Magenta and Turquoise for the one on the right.
Cover with bubble wrap or a plastic bag and leave for 24 hours.
This is how the T-shirts will look after 24 hours. Remove bubble wrap and rinse with cold water until water runs clear.
Wash on a 40’c cycle to remove excess dye using a non-biological washing powder/liquid or Metapex.
