I loved playing with my food. I grew up blending my runny fried egg yolk with my fried tomato to make orange. I’d mix the juice dribbling from my tinned beetroot in with my mashed potato to see if it would become pink or purple. I’m sure having two artistic parents led me down this path of colour wonder.
Colour Friends
Part of my fascination with Tie Dyeing is the amazing colour blends that are created when the dye colours mix together. Our dyes work in the same way as watercolour paints, colours blending together to form parties of secondary and tertiary colours. When Turquoise is introduced to Yellow they discover the both know Green. When Yellow’s family gather around and Turquoise whizzes over Lime Green comes to along too. Forest green is a close friend of Turquoise and will always appear when Yellow pops in for a quick visit but doesn’t stay long. Have you noticed that Magenta and Yellow always wears Orange when they dance together, while Turquoise and Magenta love hanging out at home wrapped in purple. As the dye colours visit together over your fabric our dyes reveal their translucence; the colours blend forming hues and amazing patterns similar to a Mandelbrot set.
Discovering Colour Play
All this colour magic happens while your tie dye is safely tucked away in its sleeping bag of newspaper soaking up the rainbow colours you poured over your fabric the previous day. Tie Dyeing involves a chemical reaction, and your tie dye needs to be tucked away for 24 hours so the dye pigment has time to create a lasting bond with your fabric making it safe for both children and washing with the rest of your clothing.
It’s always so very hard to wait the full 24 hours before unwrapping your tie dye, I know you just can’t wait to see the play of colour over your fabric. You want to know which colours had a long adventure from one side of your fabric to the other, which colours did they meet along the way and what colour combinations did they create as they chatted? What colour footprints and patterns did they leave on your fabric during this holiday?
I love seeing both children and adults unwrapping their tie dye from their newspaper sleeping bags. The oooh’s and aaah’s, the sparkle in their eyes as they see the bright beautiful colours and the intricate patterns that they created with their Tie dyeing. For some, this is the first time they’ve ever created art they feel proud of. They may not have the dexterity for painting, drawing or intricate crafts but they can create breathtakingly beautiful tie dyes.
Experience the Wonder of Tie Dyeing
If you’d like to experience the wonder and delight of tie dyeing for yourself and your children Bright Crafts has both personal and group tie dye kits available for shipping throughout Australia. Your Tie Dye group kit includes detailed instructions. It’s almost like I’m standing there with you telling you each step of the process. Your kit includes everything you need for dyeing. You’ll only need to grab the clothes you want to dye and newspaper to wrap your tie dyes in while they soak up the dyes overnight. Excited? Order your kit online, we post 5 days a week so it wont be long until your creating rainbows too.