Take your tie dying to a next level with this fun ice tie dye technique that is mess free and needs no liquid dye bottles!
Make sure you start with my How to Tie Dye shirts and make a party of it! post where I share how to choose your shirts, dyes, and set the dyed colors after the party. There are a lot of tips in that post that will help you to Ice Tie Dye as well.
How to Ice Tie Dye (Step-by-Step)
- Step 1+ 2: Prep the fabric: Prep your T shirt for the dye. I’ve used a spiral design fold and then bound it tightly using rubber bands.
- Step 3: Place on a Rack: Set garment in a container or tray that is large enough to hold your fabric and can collect the melting ice.
- Step 4: Sprinkle Dye Powder: Wear gloves for this step. Sprinkle various colors of powdered dye onto the fabric of the t shirt. Make sure to use just the dye powder itself directly. Do no dilute with water in the bottle as the instruction says
We used this I Love to Create Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit, Large, Luau. ! You can use multiple colors to create a vibrant and unique design
- Steps 5 and 6: Add Ice: Pile your ice cubes or crushed ice over the entire surface of the fabric
- Step 7: Let the Ice Melt: Be patient. As the ice melts, the dye dissolves and moves into your fabric. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on your setup and weather. Let the ice melt and do it’s magic and don’t move things.
- Step 8 : Set the dye: Once the ice has completely melted, remove the fabric from the container and place into a plastic bag to prevent the fabric from drying out for at least 8 hours.
Ice Tie Dye VIDEO
Watch the video! Ice Tie Dyeing Tutorial VIDEO
It is so much fun to watch the ice melt and dye the fabric: https://youtu.be/6MxsC8xpDMU
Tips For ice tie dye:
- Make sure the fabric is in direct contact with the ice and dye mixture. I got best results while sprinkling the dye powder directly onto a dry T shirt and placing the ice on top. You can alternately place the ice onto the T shirt first and then sprinkle the dye powders on top and experiment.
- When Tie Dyeing With Ice, you can choose to allow the melted ice + dye mixture to drip away from the fabric. For this set up a wire rack, place your fabric on top and add the ice onto it. Make sure to place the wire rack in a large enough container to catch all of the melting ice.
- You can also purchase this Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit Ice Dye, intended for ice tie dye projects and comes with an ice-dye grate included.
Can you use a hair dryer for ice tie dye?
You want to allow the ice to melt completely, which can take 30 minutes or several hours depending on the climate where you live. If you wish to speed up the melting a Hair Dryer would work, but you need to make sure that you are using the dryer to quickly melt the ice only- and not dry out the fabric. If the fabric dries out, the dye will not set properly.
Can you use snow for ice dye?
I am pretty sure the melting snow would make for some awesome tie dye techniques. Living in Minnesota means I will have endless access to snow come winter, and I cannot wait to try!
More Crafts to try with your Kids
- Easy Scrape Painting Tutorial that kids can enjoy too
- Easy Magazine Craft Wall Art Tutorial
- How to Paper Mache
- How to Make a Zine: Fold a Sheet of Paper into an Easy Book!
- Rock Painting with Kids!
- How to Make Hot Chocolate Bombs
Conclusion:
Tie Dyeing With Ice is such a fascinating experiment with color and movement. As the ice melts, the dye will continue to spread and create beautiful patterns and colors. The path the ice takes will drag different colors in different ways that is so unique!
Hi I’m Smitha! I live in Minnesota with my husband and two daughters. You’ll always find me painting florals in my sketchbook. And I love the sheer joy of making something with just my hands! But my bigger love is capturing it all on camera Read more.
Thanks for stopping by today! If you learnt something from this tutorial, do share this post with a friend or on social media! Tag me @smithakatti #smithakatti I’d love to see what you create!
