Tie Dye Instructions for Spiral Mickey Shirt

[PixieDust32]

Did you use tulip or dharma dye?

I made those shirts. Its Dharma dye.

 

[brettcw23]

I made those shirts. Its Dharma dye.

Pixie - I can pick your work out anywhere! As soon as I saw the pic, I knew they were yours. No one makes their outline as crisp as you!

 

[SLamott1973]

Made shirts this weekend DH has too much white..can I salvage this shirt by adding additional color?? How??? Thanks

 

[djmeredith]

Made shirts this weekend DH has too much white..can I salvage this shirt by adding additional color?? How??? Thanks

I've made these tie dyes a few times. The only way I can think of fixing it is to band it up again and apply more dye. Or try to add more dye without banding it. I had this issue last year as well and just decided to leave it alone and have more white space. Good luck!

 

[stacielee]

Made shirts this weekend DH has too much white..can I salvage this shirt by adding additional color?? How??? Thanks

I had to do that, just used a small sponge and dabbed it on, let it set for awhile then washed it. If you looked really close, you could see the difference, but only looking close.

 

[pbennett81178]

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Better late than never These were the shirts I made for our Mardi Gras trip earlier this year. It was my first go, and unfortunately I had to use a bleach pen for the Mickey heads b/c I didn't use enough rubber bands! Lesson learned. I'm going to give it another go when we go in October 2015 for MNSSHP.

 

[OnlyDisney]

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Better late than never These were the shirts I made for our Mardi Gras trip earlier this year. It was my first go, and unfortunately I had to use a bleach pen for the Mickey heads b/c I didn't use enough rubber bands! Lesson learned. I'm going to give it another go when we go in October 2015 for MNSSHP.

This is a great color combo! And the Mickey heads look great

 

[marybrat]

I have been following this thread for years and have always wanted to make these shirts. But I was too afraid to undertake what appeared to be a huge task. Well, today my DD 17 helped me make them for our upcoming trip. They are now soaking in their dye. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what they look like! Fingers crossed!

 

[brettcw23]

I have been following this thread for years and have always wanted to make these shirts. But I was too afraid to undertake what appeared to be a huge task. Well, today my DD 17 helped me make them for our upcoming trip. They are now soaking in their dye. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what they look like! Fingers crossed!

Looking forward to the photos!

 

[marybrat]

Trying to add pic...

http://flic.kr/p/on11Tc

 

[brettcw23]

I love the colors! Very nice job.

 

[marybrat]

I love the colors! Very nice job.

Thanks, I'm really happy with them. The heads didn't strand out after the dying, so I used a white paint pen.

 

[brettcw23]

Thanks, I'm really happy with them. The heads didn't strand out after the dying, so I used a white paint pen.

The heads are by far the toughest part! They really take some practice. I've had some batches that I've done where 3 heads were awesome and then one was so-so. Tight baste stitches and SUPER tight rubber bands along with 'just' the right amount of dye for the ears! It's truly an art. Yours look great though,s o wear them proudly and enjoy the compliments from guests and CMs at the Parks.

 

[lovesdumbo]

The heads are by far the toughest part! They really take some practice. I've had some batches that I've done where 3 heads were awesome and then one was so-so. Tight baste stitches and SUPER tight rubber bands along with 'just' the right amount of dye for the ears! It's truly an art. Yours look great though,s o wear them proudly and enjoy the compliments from guests and CMs at the Parks.

What do you use to do the basting? How small/big are your stitches?

Thanks! I've been going to try this for years.

 

[brettcw23]

What do you use to do the basting? How small/big are your stitches?

Thanks! I've been going to try this for years.

I use dental floss. I've used waxed, unwaxed...never noticed a difference. I try to make them very close...prob a 1/4" each and try to make them as even as possible in size, then I pull it SUPER tight and just wrap the thread around and around. When I put the rubber bands on, I don't focus on making them very wide, but rather focus on making them as tight as possible. I don;t need a lot of white around it. Just enough to offset the mickey head from the colors. The other thing that I do is to dye the mickey head LAST! I am extra careful (I always use black for the the head) to not over saturate the head b\c then it will bleed into the white outline. It think it's also key that when you do the basting to make sure the mickey head is a good shape. If you baste haphazardly, it will show in the head

 

[brettcw23]

Something else that I'd warn people of...

1) some people are craftier than others. Pixiedust does exceptional work. She's also done hundreds. Just like I couldn't step on a sports fields and dominate without practicing, the same thing applies here! Practice makes perfect.

2) Don't be overly critical of your own work. There were time where I really wasn't thrilled and I ended up receiving countless compliments.

3) Don't be afraid to do them again. The more you do them, the easier it becomes and you'll learn little tips and tricks with each shirt that you do.

4) Be patient and deliberate.
pardon my language, but don't half *** it! Trust me, if you are tired, stressed or just not in the mood, it will show in your work.

5) Spend the money on quality dyes. You can read this thread to see what works. I can tell you from personal experience, all dyes are not created equal.

 

[brettcw23]

Quick question for everyone. I was looking for more tips to making better shirts and one thing that I saw mentioned was to make sure that the rubber bands are below the floss and NOT on top of the floss. I'm not sure that I ever paid any attention to this previously. Just curious if anyone can weigh in on that suggestion.

 

[djmeredith]

Quick question for everyone. I was looking for more tips to making better shirts and one thing that I saw mentioned was to make sure that the rubber bands are below the floss and NOT on top of the floss. I'm not sure that I ever paid any attention to this previously. Just curious if anyone can weigh in on that suggestion.

Great question! I've always wondered this as well. I always do mine on the stitching, and have had varied results. Looking forward to hearing others' methods.

 

[angelagavin83]

How did you get the Mickey heads to look so good? I made some last week and it is badm

 

[julieanddanny]

We leave tomorrow! Two new shirts for this trip:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152347747876650&l=237bc4c2ec
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152347747881650&l=fc2895733b
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152347747871650&l=10be6cac46
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152346745106650&l=398a1bcfa5