Summer Inspired Tie Dye Pillowcases

Or Misgav
by Or Misgav
7 Materials
$40
1 Day
Easy

I love summer time. Sun, sand, watermelon, summer flowers... Everything is so warm and fun. Except my sheets.

I have a relatively large bed, where sheets are either hard to find or too expensive. I had the same sheets for the past couple of years and after so many washes in the washing machine it turned greyish. It still feels soft, I just don’t like the color of it. It goes well with my blue winter set, but with my orange-red summer set it just looks awful.

My aunt suggested to tie dye them in order to give them a nice summer touch. I’ve always enjoyed doing stuff with my aunt because she’s so creative, so I gladly accepted her kind offer.

The finished producticon

We started by spreading the pillow cases on the kitchen table. We drew two lines 1 inch apart with a washable marker.

We folded the pillow case perfectly in a hand fan exactly over the drawn lines. It had to be perfectly symmetric in order to see a straight line on the finished product. We tired a plastic rubber band over the fold.

Then, we wrinkled the ends randomly and tied it with another rubber band.

After washing it in room-temperature water and tying the rubber band as tight as possible, we set it in an aluminium foil and mixed the colors we wanted.

We used Tulip one-step Tie Dye. It comes in a powder that needs to be mixed with room-temperature water.

We poured red color around the edges and in the middle, between the lines, we poured some yellow. We dropped a few red drops here and there on the yellow in order to create a cool gradient effect.

Then we set it aside covered with a plastic bag for 9 hours. Meanwhile we had some aunt-niece catching up with good coffee and homemade cookies. Yum!

After long 9 hours (when it comes to arts and crafts I'm such an impatient person) I filled a bucket with 4 gallons of hot water (at least 140 Fahrenheit) and added 4 spoons of Rit Color Stay Fixative. 

I sunk the pillow cases in the hot water and left it there for 25 minutes.

After that I emptied the bucket to the stool. The colors were so strong that every drop had to be wiped away immediately or it would leave a stain permanently.

I held the pillowcases under running tap water for another 10 minutes and then I unfolded it, cutting the rubber bands open.

I set it to rest for the night outside on the east side of the house - so by the time I will wake up, the sun will have it completely dried out. 

I put the pillowcases alone in the washing machine for 30 minutes in a 60 degrees to clean it completely. 

Ready to be used!

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  3 questions
  • Sheiba Sheiba on Jun 28, 2019

    Where do you buy that tulip dye ?


  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Jun 29, 2019

    Did you know there's a cheaper, more effective way to set your colors?

    I've found the best way to set colors is using salt and vinegar.


    Here's what to do. Use a large mixing bowl or cleaning bucket, and then fill it with one gallon of water. Add one-fourth cup table salt and one cup vinegar. The vinegar and salt work together to naturally lock the color into the fabric.

  • Lin Lin on Jul 13, 2019

    What do you mean, "you emptied the bucket to the stool" ? I don't understand that one line. Do you mean you emptied the bucket into the toilet?

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