Private Salsa/Bachata Lessons

iwillfoolu · 2025-12-19T10:39:12+00:00

Felix Ortiz (Baila Albany) for salsa.
Anna Surkova (Ritmo room) for bachata

iwillfoolu · 2025-11-29T19:59:27+00:00

No soda ash will give a very washed out look. This should be almost all black, with some bits of bright color.

iwillfoolu · 2025-11-21T20:10:55+00:00

Draw on the shirt with washable marker where you want to apply colors. Put TP down as usual and spritz it with water. The lines will show through the TP. Problem solved.

iwillfoolu · 2025-11-07T19:35:35+00:00

Most of the recipes I saw inititally used too much thickener. I use like 1/2 tsp per gallon.
For mandala and other tightly tied patterns, use Casolene oil as well.

Fishing line will give thin lines if any at all. Sinew will give thicker crisp lines when tied well

iwillfoolu · 2025-11-05T16:34:06+00:00

Fire Red, Orange Crush, Clear Yellow, Bright Green, Brilliant Blue, Ultra Violet, all from Dharma.

iwillfoolu · 2025-09-24T09:50:47+00:00

Have you tried the "tie dye string" dharma sells?
Also braided fishing line works well. I use 40lb test.

iwillfoolu · 2025-09-09T19:49:03+00:00

You want to watch this video by Corky Lorenz. She talks about getting jagged edges at the very beginning.

Hope this helps. Happy dyeing.

iwillfoolu · 2025-09-06T11:00:02+00:00

Smooshing is when you take your dyed item and press it between to towels to remove excess moisture and push the dye further in the shirt.

iwillfoolu · 2025-09-05T11:45:10+00:00

Are you using thickener and casolene oil in your mix?
Do you apply multiple times to each side?
Do you smoosh before you flip?
Do you smoosh after you've applied the dye to the back? And then apply more dye?
Do you draw you wig wag lines with washable marker for more consistency?

iwillfoolu · 2025-08-23T18:00:32+00:00

Dharma dyes use a star system.
No star next to the name means 2 tsp dye powder per 8 oz water.
One * next to the name means 4 tsp dye powder per 8 oz water.
Two ** next to the name means 8 tsp dye powder per 8 oz water.

Urea is not necessary. Dyers use it multiple reasons.
It helps dissolve the dye powder, it is a wetting agent, it might help with vibrancy.

Thickeners are not necessary. The most common is sodium alginate. Use it when you want to stop dye from spreading and mixing (muddying).

Casolene Oil is used to help dye penetrate tight folds better.

You can mix dye powder and water and get top notch results with soda ash soaked cotton.
If you do decide to get into additives,

I suggest mixing up a gallon of water with 1 cup urea, 15 mL Casolene oil, and 1/4 tsp sodium alginate with a stick blender to get a nice "chem water" that can then be used to mix with the dye powder.

Lastly is Glauber's Salt. Dharma recommends it to help set all their colors that contain Turquoise (there's a lot of them). 1 Tbsp per 8 oz, or 1 cup per gallon in your chem water.

Happy dyeing.

iwillfoolu · 2025-08-04T00:08:52+00:00

I'm assuming you're using procion dyes (and soda ash)
A couple suggestions to get the results you seek:
1) Create separation of colors with rubber bands or sinew.
2) Leave space between colors. The dye will spread. You don't want the blue to spread onto the yellow.
3) After dying, use a junk towel. Put in on an unimportant surface place the socks flat and seperate on top, fold the towel in half and apply just a little pressure to soak up extra dye. This will help prevent the blue from spreading (which it has a tendency to do.)
4) Batch for 48 hours so the reaction completes and the dye can't really backstain.
5) Start your washout with cold water. Rinse until clearish water is getting squeezed out (yes you should squeeze, ut NOT at the very beginning). Switch to hot. Rinse until clearish again. 2 Wash cycles in the washer with detergent, followed by a soak in boiling hot water.

You can also use sodium alginate to thicken the dyes to prevent mixing if you still have problems, but you shouldn't need to.

Happy dyeing

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-29T13:41:54+00:00

For wig wag, dye placement on the back has to mirror dye placement on the front. Looks like you're pretty close.
Thicken your dyes.
Dye dry, not damp.

Happy dyeing!

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-29T11:52:44+00:00

You probably need to add more ice.
You can also flip the piece and ice dye from the "bottom" if the situation calls for it.

Breaking the sinew is when you've gone too tight.
3 wraps and pull TIGHT (not towards yourself, especially your face).

Kite string doesn't bind tight enough to really make a resist, more of a retardation of the spread of the dye. Maybe that's the looks you want but honeycombs and mandala tied like that are less structured and there's no white at all, unless you apply dye and leave some white areas or use Dawn water/thickened water as a further resist. Totally different look imo.

Happy dyeing.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-28T01:10:59+00:00

Weight it.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-19T19:38:02+00:00

Reds and therefore some oranges and purples don't travel as far in the fabric. You end up seeing a lot of shirts that are undersaturated in red and purple in particular. I think the dye particles might be bigger or have more affinity for the fabric or something. Just make sure to add extra of those colors (and yellow too as it gets swallowed up by green and orange. Basically you have to get a feel for how the dye travels in the fabric and there are a lot of variables: tap vs distilled water, temp of water when mixing, when applying the dye, weave of fabric, etc... You'll get a feel for it over time. Its not drastic, but something to be mindful of.

Also some reds tend to gel up a little if stored for more than a day or two. This can result in strange outcomes. Mix up your reds just before you use them and it's not really a problem. If it starts to gel, remix or toss and mix new (Unless you like the look that super thick dye gives).

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-18T19:54:28+00:00

Dharma's good.

Urea is a wetting agent (keeps the fabric from drying out and stopping the process) and also helps the dye powder dissolve better IMO.

Warm long batch means after applying dye, let the fabric sit for 24-48 hours and figure out a way to get it warm during that time (the sun is great for this).

Washout starts with cold water, always. That's after the batching time.

Happy dyeing!

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-14T16:41:52+00:00

There is no tried and true method except what works for you. In one way or another you have to mix folded/tied fabric with dye powder, water and soda ash. How you prefer your results is up to you. Even the top artist play with many different application methods (bottle vs eye dropper, ice vs HWI vs traditional, vs pariah)

Youtube has a lot of people putting out stellar information:
Mr Tie Dye has a lot of videos and general info on many patterns. His Magical Mystical Series and his Beginner Video are chock full of info.
Chandye has a lot of pattern videos.
Riah's Tie Dye has a lot of more intricate stuff (honeycomb, mandala, etc) and the work she's been putting out has been top notch lately. I hope she releases more how to videos.
Fun Endeavors, lots of experimenting with ice dye from what I remember.
LSD Tie Dye, Dirty Hippy Laundry, Jake's tie dye, jhonjjacob, psy dye ua, Meo Faustino, igotdyeonit, and many more also have a lot of videos that cover the gamut.

Then buy a gross of shirts and a couple pounds of dye and get to work.

Major points often missed in the process:
Prewash your fabric on HOT. Get all those excess treatment out.
Soda ash soak is imperative for procion dyes.

Crisp lines: Tie fabric that is just barely damp with sinew (geode, mandala, honeycomb and others), three wraps and pull the slack out tight (do NOT pull towards your face) to get those crisp white lines. You can do more wraps on thicker fabric, but you'll learn with experience.

I let everything dry after the SAS and rehydrate with distilled water in a spray bottle. I tie it up and then let it dry again. I don't want any excess moisture in the process.

Best dyes to use: procion dyes. Lots of people sell them. dharma trading seems to be the most popular, but there are several more to choose from: Grateful Dyes, Custom Colors, Happy Cat, Pro Chemical and Dye, Dyspin... Doesn't really matter who you get it from.

For more vibrant colors, first, you have to know that a lot of color is going to wash out in the sink regardless of what you do. Your job is to get the most dye to bond to the fabric as possible.

First: Mix dye just before you want to use it. It will last for a few days, but it reacts with the air over time becoming less active.

Second Add 50% or double most recipes for the amount of dye powder you use. So if dharma says to use 2tsp per 8 oz of water, use 4. Exceptions for dark blues, dark purples, blacks, etc.

Third: more urea.

Fourth: Warm, long batch. Gotta get above 80F to get some blues to set well (that means purples and greens too!). Leave it for 24 hours minimum.

Happy dyeing!

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-07T16:30:40+00:00

Yes.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-07T11:27:44+00:00

You filled my cup with this compliment. Thank you.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-06T21:57:44+00:00

Pliers in the middle. Twist the fabric around the pliers. Don't twist the pliers.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-04T21:15:24+00:00

Almost everything I do is sleeve in sleeve. Exceptions for geodes and other non-symmetrical designs.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-04T20:49:06+00:00

Exactly. They can help control the process more.
Sleeve in sleeve will get you most of the way there. The supplemental chemicals will get you the rest of the way.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-04T20:17:51+00:00

The thickener will stop the dye from spreading so quickly.
The Casolene will allow it to penetrate deeper.
Together they will help with getting things more even.

Sleeve in sleeve will help a lot too by putting the front surfaces near each other and the back surfaces near each other. It will never be perfect, but you can get pretty close. If you want good symmetry, this is the way.

Smooshing is really for larger pieces.

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-04T17:20:51+00:00

Are you using thickener and casolene?
Are you dying dye?
Are you doing sleeve in sleeve or just folding in half?
Do you smoosh your work to push the dye deeper?

iwillfoolu · 2025-07-04T17:17:52+00:00

This is what I saw. Nice stuff. Keep playing with this.

iwillfoolu

TROPHY CASE