Dying with Tissue Paper DIY
If you follow me on Instagram at all, you've seen that I have been dying textiles A LOT over quarantine. Like, a lot a lot. It's been such a fun hobby to plan around with and try out different methods and styles. But THIS concept was just too good not to share. It's dying with... tissue paper. Yes, you read that right. The result is like a dreamy watercolor effect that reminds me of a mermaid.
So here is what you need: a cotton or linen item (could literally be anything - pillow case, dress, tshirt) I did a linen dress and cotton face masks. // Bleeding Tissue Paper (I used Hygloss) // vinegar
Step 1: Make sure your item has been washed. Then, soak your garment in vinegar & water. One cup vinegar for each gallon of water. Soak for 1 hour.
Step 2: Lay the garment flat. I put it on a tarp outside in my backyard. And then rip the tissue paper and place on top of the item. I didn't really have a pattern or plan - I just ripped and placed. I found that this is the best method because once the paper bleeds and blends with other colors... you don't really have a whole lot of control of the outcome haha
Step 3: Almost forgot - you'll probably want to wear gloves during this project - when the tissue paper bleeds... it's bleeds on EVERYTHING haha but I didn't and it washed out later that day so not a huge biggie. Anyways, you'll want to spritz the whole thing with water and if any areas dry out - spritz it some more. Adding water helps the bleeding process. I let sit out for a few hours - once all the color had drained from the paper.
Step 4: take all the paper off and toss. And soak the garment in water and rinse out gently. The longer you soak - the more ink will come out.
Step 5: Hang dry garment and then iron the entire piece to lock in the color. I also tried putting a few things (like the masks) in the dryer and then also ironed.
Besides the wrinkles (yikes!) I am totally obsessed with how these turned out! So perfect for summer and channeling all those mermaid vibes. And to be honest - SO EASY! Arguably easier than tie dye in my opinion. And the face masks turned out so rad! All I did for these was just rip up smaller pieces of tissue paper and followed the same process.
