Tie-dying is a popular spring and summer activity, but sometimes finding a decent quality dye can be a challenging or expensive process. Want to design your own clothing? Try reverse tie-dye, a method of removing dye from fabrics by submerging and soaking them in bleach.
When dying clothing through tie-dye, rubber bands and other objects are bound to the fabric to prevent the dye from altering the color of the fabric. However, reverse tie-dying needs to have a pre-dyed fabric, and the fabric is altered through standard tie-dye binding. This way, all the areas that have been bound with rubber bands will squeeze out the dye and leave behind a lighter hue.
This is where it gets exciting. Sometimes, the color that gets left behind in the process is unpredictable. Some colors are consistent: black usually leaves behind rusty-brown streaks and primary colors usually leave a lighter shade of the primary color. However, secondary colors, like green, can leave behind one of the two primary colors that make up the secondary. For example, green can leave blue or yellow streaks.
Now, like tie-dye, it is recommended to use natural fibers when dyeing. Cotton is a go to, because it is easier to work with. However, reverse tie-dye is pretty versatile and can work with blended fabrics as well. Reverse tie-dying a blended fabric will require a longer soak than cotton. Where cotton requires about 5 minutes, synthetic blends could take fifteen minutes to see results.
The process is simple.
1. Bind your article of clothing to make the desired pattern. You can find guides on the internet that will walk you through the steps required. Any pattern you can use for tie-dye will work for this too.
2. Buy a gallon of laundry bleach and pour it into a container that is deep enough to fully submerge your item. Make sure to use rubber gloves, wear old clothing and practice where it is safe to spill, like outside. There’s a good chance that your first try might not turn out so well, so consider buying another piece to get a good second try.
3. Soak your fabric for 5 minutes if using cotton and shoot for fifteen minutes if you are using a blended fabric. This is just an estimate, so make sure to periodically check under your binds to make sure the dye is releasing properly.
4. Once time is up, undo the binding and rinse off your fabric liberally with a garden hose or in the shower. Hang overnight in the shower to catch any dripping that will occur
5. Wash your article of clothing alone in the washer and then dry.
