I knew I'd signed up for the right class when I heard Shabd say that with tie dye,
"there are no mistakes" and you have to let go at some point, as you never really know how it's going to turn out. Just my speed. What a 180 from the oh-so-stressful upholstery crash course, with the race-to-finish classes that had no room for anything but perfection and precision. I much prefer an evening at Lena Corwin's amazing studio, with a few lovely women, dye baths, rubberbands, and magic tie-dye makeovers of clothes.
I had the best Monday night. Anyone can tie-dye, but the talented Shabd showed us ways to make more modern tie dye patterns (so you don't look trapped in the '60s.) It was hard to decide on colors (as they all looked so pretty on the papertowel test!). Seriously, squirting dyes on scrunched up fabric should be a required activity on Mondays. Here I am (above) scrunching together a ribbed tank before putting it in the dye bath below. The steps and methods for tie dye are simple. We worked on the scrunch method last night. And get this: the materials are so affordable! Besides the soda ash and dyes, you need rubberbands and squeeze bottles (both are available at the dollar store.) What a difference from the tool list for doing upholstery, which would tally up to about $500 worth of supplies if you bought everything. Ok, I'm officially through with being debbie downer on upholstery, but I just had to draw that last comparison.
Here's Lena working on a pair of leggings.
I can't wait to see how everything turns out!
The dyes even leave cool patterns on the newspaper. Lena does an amazing job of bringing in creative talent to do workshops at her studio — I'd keep an eye out on her blog for the next one if you're in the area. So much fun!
p.s. I made this last night! This is the ribbed tanktop that I scrunched and put in a dye bath. It's now washed and ready to wear. The blue shirt I tie dyed (top photo) will be getting washed tonight. I love my new tank! I think I want to bring in some sheets to tie dye next week.
