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?

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!

Simple Saturday// Dyed and Painted T-shirt

This post is the beginning of a DIY t-shirt series that I will post over the next few Saturdays. It can be difficult to find reasonably priced, unique t-shirts so I'm going to share some techniques that will hopefully inspire you to make your own!

I have a bunch of rit dye leftover from a tie-dye party from a year or two ago and I've been wanting to play around with it. I decided to do a really simple dye and then use my stencils and fabric paint on the back. I don't know about you, but whenever I use rit dye I tend to get frustrated with how much it fades from its original vibrant color right after dying so I looked up some tips and tricks to, hopefully, maintain a nice color. Here's what I did:

 I took four rubber bands to create lines around the sleeves and two bands in the middle. The great thing about dying fabric is that every piece is unique. This is another really customizable project. My favorite :)

 Next, you'll need a large bucket to hold your dye solution. I heated my water, 4 cups at a time, in the microwave and then dumped it into a larger bucket. In the last batch of water that I heated, I added the powdered dye and mixed it until it dissolved. Then I added it to the rest of the bucket. This promotes a more even blending of color and prevents the powder from sinking to the bottom of the bucket and splotching up your t-shirt. Add a tablespoon of laundry detergent to the dye.

 Now the dye bath is ready. Place your t-shirt in. Submerge it completely in the dye and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then add a cup of salt (I used a 1/2 cup of kosher salt and this worked fine).

 Stir in the salt and move your t-shirt around pretty constantly until it is darker than the color you desire. **After rinsing, your shirt will not be as dark as it looked like it would be so if you want intense color, leave your shirt in for a while. For the blue color I achieved, I left my t-shirt in the dye for about 30 minutes.

 Rinse your t-shirt thoroughly, wringing out all the extra dye, until the water runs clear. Remember, you are working with dye. Rinse someplace it won't matter if the dye leaves a slight residue or splashes. I used the basement sink.

 Unwrap your rubber bands and look at your handiwork! :) Throw your t-shirt in the wash with a little detergent and wash on cold. For the first few times that you wash your shirt you may want to do it separately just in case it bleeds a little color.

 After I dried my t-shirt, I chose a phrase and stenciled it on to the back of my t-shirt using white fabric paint. It's a pretty simple project with endless possibilities. If you make your own I would love to see what you come up with! Happy crafting and stay tuned for next Saturday's t-shirt post! :)

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