Ice Dyed Fabric
 

We were discussing snow dyed fabric on another thread and some folks were sad because they didn't have snow. Well, that's no problem. I use ice from my refrigerator all the time with great results. Here's a quick tutorial.

I use professional fiber-reactive dyes. some asked about using Rit from the grocery store and I do not know whether it will work with this process. You can try it and report back, but professional dyes are inexpensive and surprisingly easy to use. I get mine from Dharma Trading and Pro Chemicals and they are fantastic to work with. Be sure to get the fiber reactive because these vendors have many many different dyes that are for a number of uses.

Materials needed:
Fiber reactive dyes
A rack or grate (I use a vinyl covered wire shelf extender that you can get in any big box store...you get 3 different sizes for about $5)
Soda ash (a little goes a long way and you can get it from either of these vendors)
Cotton material that has been washed. I use Kona Cotton bolt ends that Hancocks of Paducah sells at a discount.

Dissolve about 2 tablespoons of soda ash in a container of warm water (2 quarts) and soak your fabric for about 5 minutes. You can save this afterwards or soak more fabric and let it dry. It doesn't go bad and the fabric that you soaked and dried t use later just needs to be dampened when you're ready to use it. Roll your fabric in a towel to get most of the drippiness wicked away. Scrunch it up on your rack. I did this over my sink, but you can put it in a pan to catch the drips too.

Pour ice from your refrigerator over the fabric. You don't have to pile it up.

Choose your colors and sprinkle the dry dye over the ice and fabric. I never use more than 3 colors and sometimes just 2. I used dark purple, turquoise and berry on this fabric.

Walk away and let the ice melt. This will take several hours. I usually ice dye in the evening and let it sit all night. The dye bonds with the fabric and continues to work as long as the fabric is damp. You can even lay a piece of plastic wrap over it if your house is very warm, but I never do...leave it at least 6 hours.

Here;s what it looks like once the ice is melted...pretty messy and not very pretty...right?

But....rinse it and the magic happens! (I run my fabric through a full wash cycle on hot wash 3 times) Add a few drops of blue Dawn dishwash to the second wash...it works just like Synthrapol and costs alot less.

And there you have it...ice dyed fabric. You can use snow too, but it makes a more muted design.

Wow Melody, thanks for the tute! Looks like a really fun way to make beautiful one-of-a-kind fabric. OK, now off to find the supplies..... :)

Thank you so much. I just have to do that, can't wait to get to the store for some dye.

thanks for the tut

That is awesome going to have to try this!

What's the largest piece of fabric that you've dyed this way?

That looks like fun -- will have to try this with my granddaughter some weekend!

I've done a couple of yards outdoors using a piece of vinyl 'closet maid' shelving. Outdoors works really good when the temps are hovering just above freezing.

Looks like fun , thanks.

Thanks, I think I will try it.

I love this tute, I can't wait to try this.

Wonderful!!! That might be a fun project on a quilting retreat. Hhhhmmmmm. . . . .

Thanks -

If you ice dye outdoors and the temps are warm, just slip a garbage bag over your rack when the ice is almost melted. It keeps the moisture in for the fiber-reactive dyes to keep working. Here's some ice dyed silk scarves that I do so you can see that it works on many types of fabric...makes a fantastic tee shirt too.

Ice dyed upcycled denim from old white or tan jeans makes great fabric for Kindle covers. I made these for my cousin's kids when they went nuts for the one on my own Kindle.

Very pretty and you make it looks so fun and easy! Thank you for posting.

Looks great. I will have to try this on some T's real soon.

gracias por el tuto

Oh my gosh!! Thank you! Love it!

I noticed you did this over your sink. Does it stain it? If so how to you get it out? Thanks I really want to try it.

That's really cool. I've never seen this done before. Thanks for sharing.

looks like fun, I think I have just what I need right now!

That is a great tutorial. How do you set the colors or is that necessary?

Awesome!! I dare not to let grandaughters know.....they'll be doing a storm of these! Lol

Fabulous tute. How do I save it?

Wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing!

It doesn't stain my stainless sink, rinses right out, although my white counter tops sometimes get some on them, but Clorox takes it right off. It will stain your hands too, so either wear gloves or use the clorox on yourself. This fiber reactive dye works on natural fibers but not synthetic. (cotton, silk and rayon do best. If you want to dye wool, use acid dyes. They're best for wool or silk too) I have a couple of $1 tubs from the Dollar Store that I use when I don't want to tie up my sink and you can save the dye drippings for other uses like tee shirts.

This is a professional permanent dye that doesn't have to be 'set' when you rinse it , it's done. I do iron my fabric with a hot iron, but it isn't vital to the colorfastness of the dye...fiber reactive dyes bond with the fibers.

Thanks for the information about the staining. I have a large stainless steel sink in the basement that would be perfect to use. I was also wondering if it had to be heat set and you answered that too. Great tutorial. Thanks for posting it.

When I have my niece over to help (she's 22) I tape garbage bags to the wall behind my counters and then cover the counters with garbage bags too. She's pretty careful, but when more than one person is working with dye, things happen. Designate special tools for dye use (spoons, containers, racks) it is toxic. Not deadly unless ingested in significant amounts, but there's no sense in using the same spoon to stir your coffee.

Thanx Melody for a great tute. I am going to try to dye fabrics this summer so I have bookmarked this one. Can't wait

WOW, what gorgeous fabric. Thanks for sharing the directions for "ice dyeing."

Oh sure, just one more thing I have to try. :) Thanks for the tutorial. The fabrics and scarves are gorgeous. I checked around locally and soda ash is sold at pool supply stores. Too bad the smallest package is 1 kg (2.2pounds) That's going to go a LONG way.

looks good, how about dying your ice?

I have been ice dying for 3 years. I mainly dye silk but cotton is great also. I have been told to let it sit 24 hrs. This is called batching. You never know what it's going to look like. It's always a surprise. Love it. Now I am selling my scarves practically off my neck. Next I am going to try doing T-shirts and cotton fabric. I actually get a group together and we have a dye party. In less than 30 min., your done. The ice does the rest so we have a pot luck lunch. I have dyed with the commercial dyes from the grocery store. The cold dye ones and they worked. Happy dying !

I buy it in big bags from the farm store but it never goes bad and you always have it on hand that way.

I love your fabric the colors are awesome.