From Mystery to Masterpieces, My Ice Dyeing Adventure!

Fiber & Textile Completed Projects
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I recently noticed some strange blue splotches that showed up on two of my favorite pieces of clothing, a white cardigan and a yellow linen shirt. The stains appeared around the shoulders and I have absolutely no idea how they got there! Rather than toss them or let them sit in the back of my closet, I decided to try ice dyeing.

I prepped the fabric with soda ash to help lock in the colors then sprinkled regular tye dye powder and extra soda ash on top. I figured, why not lean into the chaos and see what happens?

Here are the results:

15C319A5-AD1B-49E3-8BEA-B4027AF5CB6E
15C319A5-AD1B-49E3-8BEA-B4027AF5CB6E1512×2016 1.32 MB

006591D1-1ABA-4569-8A7D-8BBF0934E376
006591D1-1ABA-4569-8A7D-8BBF0934E3761512×2016 1.22 MB

383017B4-11DB-4937-86DB-43459AD8778D
383017B4-11DB-4937-86DB-43459AD8778D1512×2016 1.28 MB

I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. What started as a frustrating mystery ended up being a super satisfying experiment. Has anyone else tried ice dyeing before? I’d love to hear your tips or see your projects!

Mystery splotches:

BCD5959F-9B7C-47F6-A622-9B98552F4114_1_105_c
BCD5959F-9B7C-47F6-A622-9B98552F4114_1_105_c768×1024 279 KB

Prepped and ready to go:
88D6053D-1275-4941-9162-3885477650A3_1_105_c
88D6053D-1275-4941-9162-3885477650A3_1_105_c769×1024 426 KB

Covered with ice, then powdered dye and soda ash.
71E4065B-32B2-4794-B825-E7A8B94C064B_1_105_c
71E4065B-32B2-4794-B825-E7A8B94C064B_1_105_c768×1024 216 KB

As a bonus, I dyed some old grody hand towels in the leftover dye juice! Win win!

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They turned out awesome!! I have a tshirt that picked up some pesky stains, that I was thinking of doing the same with :slight_smile: I hope I get as good results as you!

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I’m sure you will! I used fiber-reactive dye and LOTS of soda ash and the colors really remained super bright in my pieces.

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How fun is this?! Ice dyeing is perfect for summer. Your results are fantastic! I have tried it but my end pieces were definitely not as spectacular as these. :star_struck:

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I love that you turned a negative into a fun experiment. I’ve wanted to try ice dying for ages.

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Those turned out cool. Its looks more free than traditional tie dye. I really like how the shirt turned out.

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What a great save! The only ice dying I have heard of before this was with snow in winter. This is a lot easier to plan!

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These are so cool. I really like how the original yellow color of the one shirt influences the look of the dyed colors.

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Thanks @Abbeeroad @gozer @TheMistressT @megwell! It’s so much fun to have a mystery project because you never know how it’s going to turn out!

@Tapestry You should give it a try! It’s super fun!

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:sun_behind_small_cloud: Here comes the sun! :sun_behind_small_cloud: This bright and shining project is featured this week! :sparkles:

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