Dying with Inkodye

 If you've been around the blog awhile, you've probably noticed some recurring themes in my DIYs. Namely, fabric paint, stencils, and dyes. Paint is my favorite medium with dye coming in a close second. This project uses a sun-activated ink, called Inkodye (check it out here), and a stencil. Shoutout to a Mr. Zachary Mink for supplying the dye! This was my first time using Inkodye and I did not have enough ink to do a practice run. I am pleased to report that the ink is easy to use. Even for newbies.

My best friend from high school has a birthday coming up and she is obsessed with Pocahontas so I decided to make a Pocahontas silhouette stencil. I found a picture I liked online, traced it onto a white piece of computer paper, cut it out, traced it onto a black piece of construction paper using a white crayon, and then cut it out again. Inkodye activates in sunlight, so I wanted to block out all of the ink from the sun except for the Pocahontas silhouette. I figured black paper would do the trick. I still had a few light leaks, but it worked pretty well.

The Inkodye comes in these little packets that you just bend in half to break open. I know the red dye is pictured, but I used blue for this project. I placed a piece of cardboard between the layers of my shirt to prevent the ink from bleeding through. After watching a video of the process on Lumi's website, I decided to squeeze the ink out of the packet into a disposable container and use a foam brush to apply the ink to my shirt. I felt like I had more control over the ink application this way. I was sure to apply the ink to my shirt in a dim corner in my room. Then I smoothed my stencil down over the inked area, making sure that the details of the silhouette would lie flat and stay in place.

 Now it's time for the sun to get to work! I brought my shirt outside and let it sit in direct sunlight for about 10 minutes. It's so cool to watch the ink activate! It works quickly and the longer it sits the darker it gets. Because of how quickly the ink activates, it's important to have the stencil in place before you bring it outside. I didn't fully cover the area that I inked so I have some random blue blobs, but I actually like how they look so I got lucky.

After I brought the shirt inside, I brought it down to the basement before removing the stencil to prevent further activation. Lumi recommends washing the shirt with their Inkowash, but I used a bit of regular laundry detergent, washed the shirt on cold, and dried it normally and it seems to have worked just fine. Washing and drying the shirt makes the ink permanent and safe to wash with other garments.

I love how this turned out! I like that I have more control over what areas get dyed with Inkodye vs. using a traditional dye. It allows for greater project possibilities! I would love to try using a photo negative for my next dying experience. What design would you dye?

Reusable Stencil Painted Tank DIY

 Paint projects are my absolute favorite. I don't know why particularly. Just something about paint makes me glad to be alive! And adding paint to something I can wear takes the cake. I made some simple reusable stencils to add images to a couple of inexpensive blank tank tops from Forever 21.

Start out by sketching a design on a piece of scrap paper. I actually used Google Images and traced them right off my computer screen. To create a sturdier, reusable stencil, I then traced my design onto a plastic report cover. Initially I planned to use a basic transparency, but it turns out a box of transparencies is ridiculously expensive. So use the plastic report covers. I bought a package of 6 for $3 at Office Max. Since the covers are double sided, that's the equivalent of having 12 transparencies to play with. After I transferred the image I wanted, I used an exacto knife to cut out the design. Now it's time to paint! Make sure to put a piece of cardboard in between the shirt layers to prevent bleeding. I used spray paint, but obviously fabric paint would work too. To have more control over the paint application, I sprayed a small amount of paint at a time into a disposable plastic container and applied it to the cut out areas within my stencil using an old sponge. Easy peasy. Let it dry completely, then wash normally. This is a really fun process with so many possibilities. I'll definitely be making more! If you decide to make one share your pics :)

Simple Saturday// T-shirt DIY

 This is another really simple t-shirt DIY that is extremely customizable. The techniques can be used to create any kind of design you can imagine. I created a change the world graphic. Get it? Because delta is the Greek symbol for change. I'm not a nerd or anything.

I drew an outline of my design with washable markers because, let's face it, I'm no artist and free handing the earth wasn't going to go smoothly. You can see two different colors I used because I screwed up the outline. No big deal though, it washes right out. I then used a puffy fabric paint to go over my outline. After it dried I filled in the continents with a regular fabric paint. After that dried I prepared some blue fabric dye and filled in the rest of the world with a brush. It's not a perfect process, but the bleeding was pretty minimal. I let it dry completely and waited several days before I washed it just to make sure everything was set. Then I rinsed the shirt thoroughly and washed it by its lonesome the first time to prevent any dye bleeding into other fabrics. This is a really fun and easy project. I can't wait to make more with different designs!