Tie Dyeing 5 Ways – Spiral Dyed T-Shirt

Here is the last instalment of Tie Dyeing 5 Ways and it is a bit of a classic. We used the method for a Spiral Rainbow Tie Dye but only used two colours Scarlet Red and Bright Royal.

• We took a dry plain white T-shirt and placed a fork where we wanted the centre of the spiral to be. We then started twisting (as if putting spaghetti on the fork).

• When all the edges were in the spiral. We took some elastic bands to secure the twist. 

• Then we made a solution made from 2 litres of water and 2 tablespoons of Soda Ash and left the T-shirt to soak for 15 minutes. 

• We made up two dye solutions. One bottle of Bright Royal and one bottle of Scarlet Red. Each bottle had 200mls of warm water and 1 teaspoon of Procion MX dye. First, we squirted just over half the circle with Bright Royal (turning over the T-shirt to make sure we covered both sides), then we squirted just over half the T-shirt with Scarlet Red. We wanted the colours to overlap and blend.  

• We wrapped the T-shirt in clingfilm and left for 24 hours for the dye to fix well. (You need to leave for at least 2 hours, but the longer the better).

• After 24 hours we remove the T-shirt from the clingfilm and rinsed (whilst still in elastic bands) under cold running water, until the water ran clear. Then we undid the T-shirt and rinsed again until the water ran clear. 

• After the water runs clear you can wash the T-shirt in a washing machine. We would recommend using Metapex on a 60′c wash. Metapex will remove any remaining excess dye. (If you don’t have any Metapex you can use a non-biological washing powder/liquid).

The finished T-shirt! 

I was sent this lovely pic from Hannah Clay – they followed our guide and look what they made!