Ice Tie Dye

Ice Tie Dye is pretty easy. Sprinkle ice over folded fabric, then powdered dye over the ice. Let it sit overnight. Next morning rinse, wash and dry. Beautiful.

Ice tie dye is popular today because Fiber Reactive Dyes are readily available in so many colors. This is Bella Mal in wearing our 2019 Amethyst Ice Tie DyeIce Tie Dye Shirt

Ice Tie Dye Technique

Like tie dye, you start by folding fabric to control how dye color will flow through it. Then you lay ice pieces on top to control how dye color will flow to it. Then you sprinkle powdered dye on top to control where dye color flows start.

The Final Product is the combined effect of how you folded the fabric, the pattern of the ice pieces, and how much and where you sprinkled the dye.

How to Ice Tie Dye

Ice dye vs tie dye. There are many places that sell dyes and tie dye kits where you can learn how to ice dye or tie dye with ice. Make your own ice tie dye shirt.

How long does ice dyeing take? Let them sit overnight. Fiber Reactive dye has an ideal reaction temperature near 70°F (20°C). After the ice melts and the fabric returns to near 70°F (20°C) the dye needs 8 to 24 hours to set. 

Experiment until you get it right. Learn more about hand dyeing anything at Paula Burch's site All About Hand Dyeing It's an older site, but an amazing resource.

Ice Tie Dye basics

  1. Powdered dyes let the ice control how dyes flow.
  2. Ice pieces control how dyes flow to the fabric.
  3. Dyes flow in random patterns as the ice melts
  4. Fabric folds control how dyes flow through it.

Ice Tie Dye Color basics

  1. Dyes flow after they are applied
  2. Separate dye colors change color when they flow together
  3. White space (no dye) is okay.