The Wonders Of Tie Dye

Do you remember the 1960s? The antiwar protesters? The sexual revolution? The civil rights movement? The birth of counterculture and the growing generation gap? The 1960s was an unforgettable era. If you remember the mid-century USA, you remember bell-bottoms, Beatlemania, miniskirts, peace signs, and lava lamps. And, you also remember the birth of tye-dye.

The History of Tie-Dye

Tie-dye, is an ancient art that began in China in the 5th century A.D. Tie-dye came to America at the beginning of the 20th century. At first, it was a way to re-use old clothes by giving them a bright new look.

Although tie-dye has been around since the beginning of the 20th century, it was in the 1960s and early 1970’s when this art form gained its popularity. It was worn by hippies as a sign of the free-spirited and as a symbol of defiance to authority. Tye-dye has remained a popular fashion since the mid-century and has always been a symbolic representation of counter-culture,

What is Tie-Dye?

Tie-die is the art of folding fabric, tying it in place with string or rubber bands, and either dipping it into bright bold colors of die or squirting the die onto the fabric with squeeze bottles. By using this technique, popular psychedelic designs are created.

It’s true, tie-die has been used since the mid-century USA, and this unique art form has made a comeback in current-day America. However, today tie-die has evolved into a more spectacular and specialized art form.

Modern Day Tie-Dye Artists

A few of the popular tie-dye artists of the present day are Zak Syroka whose popular designs are featured in Vogue Magazine. Siroka features a more orderly look of tie-dye as opposed to the haphazard designs normally associated with tie-dye fashion.

Hugo Pineda is one of the nation’s most renowned modern-day tie-dye artists. His intricate designs on t-shirts and tapestries are spectacular. Pineda has been creating tye-die fashions since he was a teenager in the 1960s. Pineda eventually developed techniques modeled after the ancient Japanese art of origami. They boast tying “more knots than anyone on the planet”.

Another famous artist is a woman named Mary Patricia Deprez. Originally from Rochester, New York, Deprez now lives in Tennessee and goes by the name of Tie-Dye Mary. She has been creating and perfecting her unique designs since the 1970s. Mary became famous when a band by the name of African Dreamland asked her to produce backdrops for their concerts. She not only designs classic fabric tie-dye but has developed techniques for tie-dying items such as ornaments and stationary.

Courtenay Pollack can be found on Amazon. Pollack developed a tie-dye technique known as Geometriart. This technique, like Pineda’s, is also fashioned after the Japanese form of paper folding known as origami. Pollack became famous when he was commissioned by the band, The Grateful Dead”, to make t-shirts, speaker fronts, and backdrops for their performances. Pollack’s tie-dye is still sought after today and has evolved into what is now considered a “fine art” form.

Tie-Dye Techniques

The most famous forms of tie-dye are done with fabric. Artists make creative folds in the fabric. Then the fabric is tied up with string or rubber bands. Next, the fabric is either dipped in dye, or the dye is squirted on the fabric with squeeze bottles.

The type of fabric that should be used for tye-dye is either cotton or linen because it is more easily able to soak up the colors of the dye. The dye that is used should be fiber reactive.

The most popular online store for tie dye clothing with the largest selection is www.Buycoolshirts.com. They carry hundreds of different items!

Some of the techniques that are used include spiral, crumple, bullseye, sunburst, horizontal stripes, diagonal stripes, vertical stripes, and box folds.

One of the most popular techniques which creates some of the most recognizable tye-dye fashions is the crumple technique. This technique is done by first, laying the fabric down flat. Then, small sections of the fabric are scrunched together in little bunches. Each bunch is tied up. Next, the entire fabric is tied up into a cylinder shape. Finally, the individual bunches of fabric are either dipped in dye or the dye is squirted on the bunches from individual squeeze bottles.