Michelle Barnes

My name is Michelle Barnes and I am an artist living in Northern California. While I have several outlets for my art ( Painting, photography, clay/wood sculptures), I especially enjoy tie dying. I have been doing it for over 25 years now and I specialize in ice dying. I would love to share my process with you.

I start with quality dyes and dyables from Dharma Trading. Getting my supplies in the mail is like a mini Christmas celebration for me. Here is what you will need to ice dye your garment.

-CRUSHED ice (don't use whole cubes or it will be too much water running through the material and give it a washed out look)
-Cardboard and clips or tape (to hold ice in place)
-rubber bands and/or Signew String
-Rubber gloves
-face mask
-Plastic tub
-wire grate (so melting ice can run away from material)
-Soda Ash (to pre soak item and to sprinkle on during dying process)
-Dharma Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes ( I use 7-14 different colors on one item)
-small spoon for sprinkling dye on project

Instuctions:

soak item ( in my case sarongs and shirts from Dharma Trading) in soda ash solution for 15 mins, wring out excess water wearing gloves.

Fold and tie desired designs. ( look on You Tube for folding instructional videos)

Encircle the item with cardboard and fasten together ( see picture) This is so the ice doesn't just fall right off the garment when it starts to melt.

Add a layer of crushed ice, not too thick, but enough to cover the item completely.

Sprinkle the dye in it's powder form over the ice. I use many colors ( sometimes up to 20) Using small amounts at a time. Try to remember to use colors that mix nicely together, otherwise you could end up with a muddy looking mess.

after ice melts (about 3 hours or so ) flip the item over so the bottom is now the top ( the bottom should still have white showing at this point, not soaked all the way thru with dye)

sprinkle it with soda ash (powder form) because a lot of water has run through and rinsed most of it away.

Cover with crushed ice again.

Sprinkle the dye in it's powder form again. I tend to use dark colors on one side and light or bright colors on the opposite side because it gives nice contrast.

after the ice melts on this side, remove cardboard border and cover item with plastic, letting it sit for 24 hours.

Rinse in cold, then hot water as you unfold item. Rinse until water runs clear. Then wash in washing machine, in hot water, using Dharma Professional Textile Detergent. This detergent works to remove free floating dye particles, making the garment ready to wear without the "bleeding" problems presented by some tie dyes.

Enjoy your wearable art.