There are plenty of different ways to tie-dye, but the most popular are with individual dyes or with a tie-dye kit. RIT dye is a very well-known and reliable source to get individual dyes, and they also include tie-dye instructions on their Web site . I, however, used a kit that I found on sale at a local craft store. They can be found fairly easily at stores like Michael's or the craft section of Wal-Mart.
I think a kit is best for beginners because it takes out a lot of the guess work of tie-dyeing. The kit I used included pre-measured dye bottles, soda ash to help set the dye in the T-shirts, rubber bands and one pair of gloves. Although the kit was a good starting point, there are still things you have to supply yourself as well as additional materials that help the process go much smoother.
These are the items I used when I tie-dyed:
- cotton T-shirts- I got a variety of sizes from the men's department. It is important that the T-shirts are 100% cotton, otherwise the dye will not adhere as well.
- extra gloves- There was only one pair in the kit I bought, and the dye gets all over the place. Pick up a few extra pairs if you plan on having more than one person participate.
- extra rubber bands- This probably was not absolutely necessary, but it was nice to have some variation in size for the rubber bands to create different patterns
- plastic table cloth/garbage bag- Again, the dye goes everywhere
- mop bucket- This came in handy when soaking the T-shirts and also when rinsing them out.