I love the look of these Ombre Dyed Tea Towels. Ombre dipped designs are easy to do with a few steps and simple supplies.
Make sure to follow all the tips to get the brightest and smoothest results.
Gather your supplies. Besides the tea towels, you’ll be able to find everything you need at your local big box or store.
Supplies
- 3 – 6 tea towels (prewashed to remove any residues from manufacturing)
- tub
- 1 cup salt
- gloves
- Rit powder dye (We used teal, but you can use your favorite color.)
Directions
Add a gallon of very hot water to the tub.
Stir in the salt until it’s all dissolved.
Add the tea towels to the water and allow them to become thoroughly wet. This step is crucial to the smooth color in the final product. Remove the towels from the water and allow them to drip back into the tub.
Put on your gloves and do not remove them until the towels come out of the dye bath in the final step. This is very important because the dye is not meant to come into contact with your skin. It can cause irritation and staining if it comes into contact with unprotected skin.
Carefully stir together the dye packet with 1 1/2 cups of hot water. Stir carefully to dissolve all the particles. Pour about HALF of the dye into the tub. Reserve the remaining dye mixture for a later step. Stir the tub of water to combine the dye mixture into the salt water.
Lower the bottom 2/3 of the length of the tea towel into the dye bath. Set a timer for 2 minutes. After the timer stops, remove about an inch of the fabric from the bath. You’ll probably want to clamp the towels onto the side of the tub to keep them secure. Repeat the 2 minutes and one inch removal pattern until about 1/3 of the towel remains in the dye bath.
Carefully stir in the remainder of the dye mixture. Make sure not to let it splash onto the towels.
The color will now be ultra concentrated. Repeat with 2 minutes and 1 inch removal until 1 inch of towel remains in the dye bath. Leave the final inch of fabric in the bath for 10 more minutes to soak up the most color. This will create a greater contrast from the top of the towel.
Remove the towels from the dye bath. Rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear. This can take quite some time so be patient and keep rinsing.
Allow the towels to air dry completely. After 24 hours, wash with detergent and dry for use.
