DIY Three Way: A Shibori Textile Project for Your Walls, Your Kitchen, and Father's Day?!

I'grand always looking for another excuse to dye something, and since Father's Solar day is just a few days away (this Sunday), I thought I'd do some last minute DIYing for Dad.

Somehow though, I got a little carried away and ended up turning a simple DIY hankie project into wall hangings, tea towels, and a whole lot more than. Haha. You can utilise them for whatsoever you'd like though!

Then whether it's a gift for dear ol' Dad, or a present for yourself, I accept an easy-to-follow shibori dyed textiles tutorial for yous.

P.S. If the term shibori has yous running for the hills, don't worry! It's simply a fancy term for resist dyeing that consists mainly of wrapping and folding techniques that are really elementary. Pinkie promise.

Quick notation… To make this project more attainable and a scrap less messy, I did not apply indigo pulverisation, which yous'll often see with shibori projects. I used a liquid dye…one specifically fabricated for synthetic materials, since the hankies I bought are a polyester cotton blend.

Synthetic dyes typically recommend that you use the stovetop method. I'thou not especially into having to use pots and pans for dyeing projects, so I do it this way instead (and information technology works actually well)…

Materials

plain white hankies (mine are from Amazon and cost $1 a piece)
synthetic cloth dye (I used this one)
minor pieces of cardboard, rubber bands, metal clips
medium size container
metal spoon for stirring
gloves (I didn't use gloves for this projection considering I find them annoying sometimes, but if you lot don't want to dye your hands, you should definitely wear gloves.)

Instructions:

ane. First, submerge the hankies in water. I used my kitchen sink. Then, wring out the excess water and fold each hankie into a different blueprint. You tin fold them up into squares, triangles, rectangles, scrunched upwardly assurance, etc, etc. And if you get a large pack of hankies, like this one, you tin can totally experiment without having to worry almost being crazy precious with each 1.

I used cardboard pieces on the front end and back of several hankies after they were folded (encounter photo), metal clips, rubber bands, etc. There is no right or incorrect style to do this, so just accept fun with it.

ii. Next, cascade half of a bottle of constructed fabric dye into a medium sized bowl filled with hot water. Utilize the hottest water you can become (just from your sink is fine – as long as it is hot).

3. Stir the dye bath thoroughly with a spoon or something similar.

4. Put on gloves and identify the folded, clipped, and rubber band-ed hankies into the dye bathroom for xx-30 minutes, making sure that all of the hankies are fully submerged in the dye. The longer the hankies are in the dye, the deeper the color will be.

5. With your gloves however on, remove the hankies from the dye. Then, squeeze out the dye nether running water in the sink, until the water runs clear underneath each hankie. I'd recommend using a stainless steel or utility sink, so that the dye doesn't impairment whatsoever surfaces.

six. Launder in washing auto (no soap), then run through the dryer to estrus set before using.

I had then many hankies leftover (I can't requite ALL 13 to my Dad tin can I? Feels like overkill.), I kept some for myself and am using them effectually the studio as tea towels, wall decor, and as little bandanas for Luna and Franz. I wish Gertie was effectually for this. She would have looked so beautiful in a footling bandana. Dang it, I miss her.

Anyhow, if you plan to use these hankies every bit tea towels (they're totally big enough for it), just beware that they're thinner than normal tea towels… They'll dry your hands like little champions though. So, I definitely recommend 'em.