Fold shirt Prewash shirt to remove sizing. Do not use fabric softener or dryer sheets.

Cover work surface with a plastic tablecloth. Lay shirt onto prepared surface. Fold shirt in half lengthwise.

Draw heart design Draw half of a heart on fold, using pencil.

Gather Accordion fold fabric along heart outline, forcing it into a straight line.

Secure with rubber band Secure with rubber band along area of gathers.

Apply second rubber band Apply a second rubber band about an inch away from the first band (towards the body of the shirt). This is an optional step but allows for an additional color to be applied in the middle banded area.

Apply Dye Wearing rubber gloves, add water to dye bottles. Replace caps tightly. Shake until dye is dissolved. Use full-strength for intense colors. For a lighter shade of color, add more water using extra bottle if needed. Squeeze Purple Dye onto center of heart. Squeeze a line of Red Dye around Purple Dye (between rubber bands). Squeeze Fuchsia Dye onto rest of shirt. Cover fabric with plastic tablecloth. Let

set 4 to 6 hours. Remove rubber bands. Fill washer to large load setting with hottest water suitable for fabric and a small amount of non-bleach laundry detergent. Wash and dry separately.

Michael Fowler's "Tie Dye Heart Pattern" instructions: "1. Lay your prewashed blank apparel or fabric flat on a table.

"2. Wet the fabric until it is uniformly damp (spray bottle), but not dripping. Then, fold the fabric in half- down the middle of the fabric (as shown above). This step is similar to a heart cutout on paper.

"3. Create a heart template on cardboard/posterboard or draw a freehand half-heart. Use a fabric marker or heat-transfer pencil to temporarily markup the fabric.

"4. Accordion fold the fabric along the drawn heart-shape line, forcing it into a straight line.

"Note: Often hearts are made by stitching the shape and resist dyeing, the heart shape is created by the undyed, resisted areas. These illustrations detail how to fold a heart and

the technique will also transfer to many other popular shapes.

"5. Once the arc of the curve is forced into a straight line, the fold becomes a straight accordion fold.

"6. Your accordion folded line should now reflect a small straight line (shown directly above).

"7. View the small portion above. Dye placed in the small area will create the dyed shape of the heart.

"8. Use cotton string to tie along the drawn line. To create a color ring (band) around the

heart, tie an additional parallel band. (optional)

"To dye the heart, place a dye color in the smaller area next to the tied cotton string (or rubberband) and use your hands to squeeze/blend a solid color w/ little or no white areas. The heart looks great with or without a color band (parallel line of color placed on the outside of the heart line) to define the shape.

Peace, love and tie dye. Bring back the spirit of the 1960s with this stitched tie dye heart pattern t-shirt. With an embroidery heart and bright colors, this shirt is sure to attract positive attention. This craft will teach you how to tie dye hearts, and all the tie dye instruction to create more colorful clothing.

Materials:

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Steps:

Jacquard Procion MX dyesGolden Yellow, Magenta, Bright Blue 100% cotton T-shirt (pre-washed) kite string Soda Ash measuring cups and spoons (use for dyeing only) Three squirt bottles paper towels rubber gloves dust mask plastic bags (I like gallon sized zip-locks)

1. Prepare your work area by spreading plastic sheeting over your work table and secure it with some tape. 2. Soda Ash Soak. Dissolve 1 cup of soda ash in 1 gallon of water. The soda ash dissolves easiest in hot water, allow the water to cool before soaking the shirt(s). Soak the shirt(s) for at least 20 minutes. (You can leave them in for longerovernight wont hurt anything). Remove shirt(s) and wring out. Save the soda ash solution, it can be used again, even after a month or more (actually it will keep indefinitely. You would probably get tired of storing itthe stuff just doesnt go bad). Stitching: 3. There are a couple of different ways to approach this design. I will go over them both. One method is to place a damp shirt flat on the table, front side up. Align seams at sides and shoulders, smooth out wrinkles and use an auto-fade pen to draw a heart. Heres an opportunity to be creative! You could center the heart on the front of the shirt (as I have done in this example), but what about putting it off to one side or just on one sleeve? You could even draw a row of little hearts around the neckline or hem. 4. After you have drawn the heart, baste along the line with kite string. I like to start at the top center of the heart and baste down to one point, then baste the other side with a separate piece of string. Stitching through both layers of the shirt will create the image on the front AND back of the shirt. You could stitch through a single layer, which would create the image only on the side you stitched. 5. Remove the needle and pull strings at top and bottom of heart to gather. 6. Keep pulling as tight as possible, pulling the center of the heart up as you go. 7. Wrap the ends once or twice around the lines of stitching (now gathered up tightly) and tie. 8. The second method is different only at the very beginning--fold the shirt in half, smooth out wrinkles, align seams at sides and shoulders. Using an auto-fade pen, draw one half of the heart on the center fold of the shirt, baste (through all four layers) and tie as above. This method will create a heart that is symmetrical rather than free form. Dyeing: 9. Safety. Any powdered dye can cause a reaction if inhaled. Take the following precautions:
1. 2. 3. 4. Wear a mask Work in a well-ventilated but draft free area without fans or AC running. Wear rubber gloves and old clothes Measuring and mixing containers should be used for dyeing only. Do not use for food afterwards.

10. Dye Recipe

11. I like to mix the dyes in a measuring cup. Place the powdered dye in the bottom and add a bit of water to make a paste. Add a drop or two of Synthrapol,if desired, to help disperse the dye (dont be concerned if you havent any Synthrapolits completely optional). Gradually add more water until the entire cup has been used. Pour into a squirt bottle. I like to label the bottle, many colors

look similar in solution. Note: Hard water will affect the quality of color you can achieve. For brightest results, use distilled water. 12. Applying the dye. Be generous with your dye application to get rich, blended colors. Keep paper towels handy to mop up extra dye as you go, otherwise you could end up with color combinations you dont want on your shirt! Apply a generous amount of Golden Yellow in the center of the heart design, including the stitched area. Apply Bright Blue at the stitching line, this will blend with the Golden Yellow to create the green around the heart. Squirt Magenta in a random pattern on the other areas of the shirt, front and back then fill in any un-dyed area with Bright Blue. Squeeze the outside areas of the shirt (not the stitched heart portion) to blend the colors a bit more. Place the dyed shirt in a zip-lock bag and let sit for 24-48 hours in a warm place (but not in direct sunlight). 13. Rinse and launder. After 24-48 hours, remove shirt from the zip-lock bag and rinse in cool water. Carefully cut the strings and continue rinsing, gradually increasing the temperature of the water until it is hot. When the water is almost clear you can stop rinsing. Wash the shirt with liquid detergent in a washing machine set for hot wash/cold rinse. Hang or machine dry.

Instructions
Things You'll Need
y y y y y y y y y y y y 1. o Plastic tarp 1 cup soda ash Water Plastic buckets Marker Needle and thread Rubber bands Tie-dye mix Rubber gloves Face mask Old clothing Zippered plastic bag

1
Lay a plastic tarp on a flat surface, such as the ground outdoors, a workbench or kitchen table. This will be your work area. Create a mixture of one cup soda ash (also called washing soda), which can be purchased in the grocery store's laundry aisle, and one gallon water in a plastic bucket.

2
Soak the item that will be tie-dyed in the soda ash mixture approximately 20 minutes.

3
Remove the item from the soda ash wash and wring out as much liquid as possible.

Lay the item on the plastic tarp. Draw raw a heart with a marker. The heart can be anywhere on the piece, such as in the center or off to the side, depending upon your preference.
o

5
Stitch along the line of the heart with a needle and thread. This will create an outline of the heart that will not allow any dye to be absorbed.

6
Gather the area of the fabric that contains the heart. Hold this piece together with a rubber band. The rubber band will allow you to more easily make any adjustments on the piece during dyeing.

7
Prepare the tie-dye according to the package directions. Make sure to wear rubber gloves, a facemask and old clothing when preparing and using the dye.

8
Dip the area that contains the heart into the dye. The amount of dye used and the time the area is allowed to soak in the dye will determine the depth of color.

9
Squeeze out any excess dye from this area and continue to dye the rest of the piece until the desired shade is reached.

10
Place the dyed piece in a plastic zippered bag and allow it to sit for 24 to 48 hours. This will allow the dye to set into the fabric more effectively.

11
Remove the piece from the plastic bag and rinse it out thoroughly with cool water. Continue to rinse the piece until the water runs clear.

12
Remove the rubber bands and pull out the string to reveal your newly heart dyed piece.