Tye Dye Towels

1. I purchased plain white flour sack towels from Wal-Mart. They came in packs of 5 for around $5. They are very thin and quite long and wide.

2. Next I washed them to remove any starch or residue from the factory.

3. Then I tied them very tightly with rubber bands. This takes some experimenting. You really can't go wrong because the very nature of tye dye is kind of haphazard.

4. I used plastic mustard-type bottles for the dye. I like the kind that's already mixed much better than the powder. I squirted purple, red and pink randomly onto the twisted towels. Then I placed each one in a large zip lock baggie to set for 24 hours.

5. When the 24 hours was up I got that giddy school-girl feeling. I couldn't wait to unwrap the "presents". Then I hung the damp tye dyed towels over hangers to dry. After they were dry I threw them in the dryer for about 30 minutes so the dye would set. Then I washed them in cold water to remove any excess dye and dried again. To add one last finishing touch since I was making these for Valentine's Day, I took a bleach pen and drew hearts and x's and o's. On some of the towels I did a kind of reverse tye dye process. After the the last dry I tied and twisted them again and dipped in a solution of bleach and water. Then I rinsed right away, washed and dried. You can see these towels are the whiter ones in the picture.

6. Next I pressed each towel with an iron on the steam setting. I kept a spray bottle filled with water and a little cinnamon and vanilla essential oil to make the fabric smell nice. I folded the tye dye towels and pressed them into shape.

Tye dye towels are an inexpensive gift to give and the bright colors always make people smile!