How to achieve lovely patterns through tie dyeing

The ability and desire to create beautifully appealing work of art has for ages been a fascination for human kind. Dyes were said to have been discovered by primitive men through various uses of plant juices, flowers, leaves, etc. and applying the substances to basic clothes or materials. The practice of tie dyeing in the olden days was achieved through colours extracted from plants and herbs. But the problem with the early dyes is that they were easily faded and washed off. Now, we have a slightly more adventurous series of application for producing different patterns and designs.

The tie and dye processes usually involve folding, twisting, pleating, or crumbling the fabric and binding it with strings or rubber bands, then followed by the application of dye. Our traditional material, which is known as the Kampala, has gone through the processes and finished work of tie and dye to bring out those beautiful, colourful patterns we all see and love.  
Tie and dye is perfectly done on all sorts of materials that are mainly cotton. Note that it is very necessary to wash and dry your item before you dye. There are directions needed to create a specific pattern when tie dyeing, but the easiest way to do so is to take you shirt and crumple it up the way you would like. It should be very messy and rumpled, not neatly rolled or folded; then take as many strings or rubber bands as you would like, and wrap them all over the shirt. With this you can create a pattern with them.

Tie dyeing can be very messy. In order to prevent this, it is advisable to set up a covering away from any furniture or carpet. First and foremost, make sure you have all your equipment ready for the job so that you avoid running around with gloves or spilling anything in the process of moving things. Soak your shirt and let it remain soaked for around 20 minutes in lukewarm water. Don’t use hot or cold water because it will make the dyes less effective on the shirt. Then, prepare your dye. Each dye package comes with directions giving specific amount of dye to add into the water. Meanwhile, if you want to create colours that are more faded or faint, then use more water and less dye. To create a strong bright colour, use plenty amount of dye and less water. You can then wrap your shirt up in a nylon bag to keep it wet and moist.

Keep it aside for not less than 4-6 hours so that the dye has time to react with the clothes. Placing the shirt in a warm area will help the dye to act faster. Rinse out the dye afterwards. With your gloves on, take the shirt out of the nylon bag and unwrap the strings and rubber bands that you have used. Then rinse it with cold water to remove any excess dye.

After all these, you can allow your shirt to hang dry using the sun, or toss it in a machine dryer, but you will have to put it to the coolest setting. After it is well dried, you can iron and rock your new shirt around town! 

 Rifkatu Yusuf