Tie-Dye Baby Clothes
Tie-Dye Baby Clothes the Quick and Easy Way
There is just something so special about baby clothes. I will be honest with you, dressing Cassie has to be one of my favourite parts about being a mum to a little girl.
The options are endless and they are oh so cute. You can get away with anything at this age. Socks and sandals are socially acceptable when you are stumbling around for the first time. Tule skirts on swimmers are the norm and look just adorable when your little one is splashing about in the pool. The long socks with animal faces, the ruffle bottom nappy covers, headbands that have crowns on them, bows bigger than her head and bibs that are far too pretty to get food on them.
Now that Cassie is old enough, she loves to join in too, and it appears I have created a fashion monster. I can’t make her wear anything she doesn’t want to anymore. I get met with the squeals of “No, no, no” as she runs to her wardrobe to find another option. Thankfully, she is a girly girl at heart, so her choices often include a tulle skirt or tutu and are 100% approved by her mum. How proud I am! Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a bow in her hair, and Cassie runs to her door each morning (where her clips are stored) and picks out which one she wants to wear.
Tie dye clothes are just as fun and can be paired with anything at this age. There really is no such thing as too much colour (and certainly not too much pink), so we decided to give it a go. Not only is this a cheap option, but I feel like we have a whole new wardrobe to choose from now, and some excellent clothes that are perfect for daycare days as well, where a few more paint marks will likely go unnoticed.
Get together a group of mum friends, or have a go by yourself on the weekend. If you are daring, you can even get your little one to join in the fun – you just have to be willing to let go of the control so they can create their own patterns (yes, this part really is hard for me).
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Materials:
- White or light-coloured clothes (you need items that will show up the dye)
- Bucket
- Rubber bands
- Fabric dye and bottles (you can buy these from Spotlight)
- Gloves
- Plastic bag
Submerge the items of clothing in a bucket of cold water to give them a rinse. Some dye packets you buy actually come with a soda ash soak that can be added to the water if you choose, but if not, the clingy nature of water molecules is enough to help disperse dye.
Take the clothing from the bucket and one by one wring it out with your hands (yes, this is manual labour but you can do it!). Now this is the fun part: start knotting them together with rubber bands. You can google tutorials online, or just go with your own gut instinct for patterns you think will work. The options are endless, and each item will be even more unique than the last.
Prepare the dye according to packet instructions.
Using gloves, apply dye to the clothes in any way you like! Once again, have fun and experiment with different patterns and colours.
Similar to hair dye, fabric dye needs time to develop. Once you have finished creating, place the item of clothing in a plastic bag, tie it up and leave them to sit for six to eight hours. Place each item of clothing into a different plastic bag so the dye doesn’t run.
Remove and dispose of rubber bands then rinse under cold water. When the water runs fairly clear, put into a quick cycle wash with whatever clothing detergent you have on hand.
Optional - you can also soak the item in salted water – the salt can help set the dye. Use caution every time you wash, always washing with like colours.
Hang out to dry – and there you have it! Your own tie-dyed clothing.
Felicity Frankish
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