5 Breezy Pieces

Tie-dye has become a trend starting from when we became homebound in March to now. Before the pandemic, we were all moving so fast. Now, with our slower world, we’re seeing more family time dinners, cooking at home, and for people like me with high-pressure jobs, finding creative outlets. For me, that has become sharing recipes, my book club, and tie-dye projects. I’ve been creating tie-dye dish towels, bracelets, and T-shirt and hoodies—some with beaded accents. I hope to make beach towels and pillowcases next.

My go-to brand for the dye is Tulip (a dry dye you can buy on Amazon). I add some baking soda to the dye and water which I place in a large stainless-steel bowl, one big enough for a large sweatshirt. I roll or scrunch the clothing into a circle, or ball, and create six sections, using rubber bands to hold those sections in place (they’re shaped like triangles). First, I wet the fabric. I’ll use one to three dyes and saturate each fabric section. To make it more interesting, I’ll add ice cubes on top and then place the wet, dyed garment on a drying rack over a baking sheet. Then, I turn the garment over and use ice again. The ice helps create a watercolor effect and is optional. Hoodies take a lot of dye. The baking soda I mix in (about 3T) helps hold the dye in place. If you have any questions, you can reach me at: kristin_nuzzo@comcast.net.