How to Set Tie Dye

Pretreating Fabric for Natural Dyes

Fill a large pot with a fixative solution. Pour salt and/or vinegar into the pot. Add enough cold water that you will be able to submerge your fabric later. For berry dye, use 1/2 cup of salt for every eight cups of water. For plant dyes, use one part vinegar to every four parts water.

Add fabric to simmering solution. Bring the solution to a boil over high heat. Reduce the temperature to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Submerge the fabric and allow the solution to simmer for one hour. You can use tongs to carefully lower the fabric into the simmering solution.

Rinse out the fabric. Remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool. Remove the fabric from the pot and wring out the liquid. Hand wash the fabric with just cold water. If you’re in a hurry, you can drain the pot and cool down the fabric right away with cold water in the sink.

Setting Color After Dyeing

Dilute vinegar in a bucket or large glass bowl. Pour in one to two cups of vinegar. Add a generous sprinkle of sea salt or table salt. Pour enough cold water in the container to submerge your fabric. Use a teaspoon or two of salt for a large bowl. Use more for a bucket. Use one cup of vinegar for a bowl or two cups of vinegar for a bucket.

Submerge the fabric to soak for a period of time. Put on gloves before handling the dyed fabric. Place the fabric into the solution. Swish it around with your hands so that the fabric is fully moistened and submerged. Allow the fabric to soak for at least 30 minutes, up to one hour.

Wash the fabric in a washing machine. Take the fabric out of the bowl or bucket and wring it out. Place your fabric into the washing machine. Add 1/2 cup of table salt and one cup of white vinegar, if desired. Use a cold water setting. Tumble or hang dry. Don’t add anything else to the load the first time or two that you wash your tie dye fabric. Adding salt and vinegar is optional. Make sure that is compatible with your washing machine. Laundry detergent is not necessary for this first washing. If desired, add just a small amount.

Maintaining Color

Wash your fabrics in cold water. Don’t use warm or hot water to wash your color-dyed fabrics. Choose the cold water setting, and use a color brightening laundry detergent.

Add baking soda to your washing machine. Pour in 1/2 cup of baking soda while your machine is on the wash cycle. Alternately, use a liquid laundry detergent with baking soda in it. Baking soda helps dyed fabrics to stay bright. As a bonus, baking soda can also tackle washing machine odor!

Pour in vinegar during the rinse cycle. Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar for a small load, or 1/2 cup for a large load. Use this technique to help colors stay vivid, and also as a natural fabric softener. Vinegar softens fabric by dissolving mineral, soap and residue build-up. Vinegar is also anti-microbial and safer than chemicals.