Before You Get Started
1. Soak 'em up
If you want to make bright tie-dye, you'll want to soak your clothes in warm water with soda ash before you begin. Make sure you wear your gloves for this part. Fill up a bucket with warm water. Pour in soda ash and stir until it dissolves. Let your clothes soak for 10 to 20 minutes. If you don't have soda ash, at least soak the fabric in hot water before beginning.
2. Pick your colors
Before you go color crazy, make sure you have a good color combination picked out. Colors will blend together, so pick ones that go well together. If you want rainbow colors, I suggest using Rit's fuchsia, goldenrod yellow and teal.
3. Clear the area
Lay down trash bags or newspaper in the area you will be tie-dyeing.
4. Prepare the dye
Fill up your buckets with warm water. Slowly pour in the dye, stopping when the color looks as rich as you want it to be. For each bucket, you'll only need about a half packet of dye. If you want more pastel colors, use less dye.