DIY Ice Dyeing

Ice dyeing. I'm officially obsessed. This unique method of tie dying has been on my to-do list for years - I'm actually surprised it's taken me this long to finally have experimented with it! Zappos, who recently just launched a denim shop this fall, was actually the catalyst for this long overdue DIY. Did you know that ice dyeing was first conceived by quilters who were looking for a resourceful way to dye fabric during winter months? They used snow and dyes to achieve that mottled watercolor look that we've come to love and recognize as ice dyeing. If you haven't dyed clothing before, do not fear! The process is fairly simple and honestly, extremely fool proof. Truth be told, not much is in your control besides the selection of colors. As the ice slowly melts, it spreads and deposits dye into the fabric at varying rates. The ice does all the magic here and the dye surprises you in ways you wouldn't have never imagined! I'm absolutely loving ice dyed denim for fall. I had so much fun playing around with earthy tones with pops of bright colors, it was hard to stop at just one pair of jeans.

I love our DIY community, especially when you guys share your own versions, of the various HonestlyWTF projects, on social media. So I've partnered with Zappos to give one lucky winner a $500 Zappos gift card! All you need to do is post a photo of your ice dyeing project to Instagram with #ZapposDenimDIY and tags @Zappos and @HonestlyWTF. A winner will be picked on October 25th. Good luck and happy ice dyeing!

You'll Need:

Prepping your fabric is one of the most important steps to dyeing. First, pre-wash your denim with the textile detergent or Synthrapol, using a hot water setting, to remove any fabric softeners, oils or anything that might have been added to the fabric during the manufacturing process. Then, mix 2 cups of soda ash to one gallon of warm water.

Stir the mixture until the all the soda ash has dissolved. Because soda ash is mildly caustic, you'll need to wear gloves while working with it. Add your pre-washed denim to the soda ash solution and let soak for at least 15 minutes. Treating your fabric with soda ash will help your dye adhere to the fabric without bleeding or fading. Squeeze out any excess solution from the denim and save the solution for more dyeing later.

 

 

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Before we go on, let's talk about dyes. The reason I love ice dyeing is the element of surprise that you wouldn't otherwise experience during traditional tie dyeing. So even after spending the time to carefully choose your dyes, the ice can very well split certain colors into their component colors. For example, "wasabi" is meant to be a light green but because of the rate at which the ice melts deposits the dye at different rates, the color will most likely split. So green might turn into spots of turquoise blue, burnt yellow and dark green. I will say, I've never been unhappy with the results. Surprised but pleased!

*** NOTE: When ice dyeing, use good quality fiber reactive dyes. They're colorfast and work best with cold water. Liquid dyes will not work!

 

 

Once you've picked out your dyes, bring all of your supplies outdoors. I recommend working over grass or a patch of dirt - basically, anything you wouldn't mind having some dye drip onto. Set your metal rack over an empty dish pan. If you don't have a metal rack, you can loosely ball up some foil and cover the bottom of the dish pan with it. Place your wet denim on top of the metal rack or foil. Scrunch it up. Place ice over the denim, making sure every bit of it is covered. If ice falls off the edges. just cover them with smaller, more crushed pieces of ice. Remember that anywhere your piece isn't covered with ice will be white.

With a spoon, starting sprinkling your first color onto the ice. I like to sprinkle in sections.

 

 

 

 

Then add your second color. See how this "wasabi" dye isn't actually green in powder form? Once it hits the ice, it immediately looks like a caramel brown color but them turns green. Amazing, right? This is an example of the unpredictable outcome of working with powder dyes while ice dyeing.

Add your third color. I recommend not adding more than 3-4 colors. You want enough color distribution and distinction! I even like leaving some patches without any dye at all. I like seeing some of the white denim popping through.

Once all your dye is sprinkled, leave the whole thing alone for several hours and allow the ice to melt and do its magic! The sunnier the day, the speedier the process.

Resist the temptation to pull the denim before all the ice has melted. Even though you don't see the dye on the surface, the ice is continuing to melt and deposit dye throughout the denim.

Almost there!

Voila! Once all the ice has melted, rinse the denim under water until the water runs clear. Let it go one cycle through the washing machine with the textile detergent to help lock in the color even more.

Tumble in the dryer normally and wear!

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Tutorial by HonestlyWTF; photography & video by Andrea Posadas; this post was created in partnership with Zappos. All opinions are my own.

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65 Comments

  1. Jeannie wrote:

    WOW WOW WOW. I love your interpretation of ice dyeing. And for FALL! Trying this, thank you.

    10.2.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      Thank you!! Make sure to share on Instagram. We’d love to see what you made!

      10.3.19
  2. Carrie wrote:

    This is awesome! I have some white overalls that I’ve been wanting to dye. What other colors did you use in the tutorial?

    10.2.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      Fab!! Colors I used were: Bronze, Shitake Mushroom, Orchid, Burgundy, Wasabi, Indigo, Coral Pink, Bazooka Pink & Marigold!

      10.2.19
    • Analyn wrote:

      Wow these are beautiful!!! Can I ask what brand tshirt and hoodie that you used? Thank you

      5.25.20
  3. Kate wrote:

    What colors did you use in the first photo?

    10.3.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      I used Bronze, Bazooka Pink and Shitake Mushroom!

      10.3.19
  4. Dana Rodriguez wrote:

    I don’t use Instagram. I do really love how those jeans turned out. I am going to try this!

    10.15.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      Yay! Please do!!

      10.16.19
    • Rachel wrote:

      Hi Erica!
      Thank you so much for this tutorial, it’s got me so excited to try ice dyeing!!! I was wondering if you could share which dye colors besides the wasabi you used for the tutorial jeans. I love how all the colors are so unpredictable in their application. Can’t wait to experiment!
      Thank you!

      7.29.20
  5. I first did ice-dying this summer. It is so fun! I love not knowing exactly what you’ll get.

    xoKaelen | https://darlingmarcelle.com

    10.15.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      Totally, love the unexpected element 🙂

      10.16.19
  6. Miranda wrote:

    Finally got my supplies to do this, thanks for this and many other inspirational posts!

    10.17.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      YAY! Please share your version when you’re done! Happy dyeing!

      10.17.19
  7. Sayra wrote:

    Cute! Now the serious stuff: You need a respirator mask, and safety glasses. Dye powders, are inhaled unfortunately with any handling. Gloves yes! Safety first

    10.22.19
    Reply
    • Emily Zukowski wrote:

      Agreed! Super important. Love the tutorial!

      6.21.20
  8. Monique wrote:

    Hi! What colors did you use in the first t-shirt posted and the hoodie? Any suggestions on how to get that pattern in the t-shirt? Can’t wait to try this! 🙂

    10.26.19
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      For the t-shirt, I used Bronze, Bubblegum Pink, Marigold and Plum Blossom. I pinched the lower section of the shirt and then twisted until the shirt became folded into a spiral. Then, I lay the ice on top. For the hoodie, I used Indigo and Orchid with very little Bronze and Coral Pink.

      10.29.19
  9. SoAlane wrote:

    So very lovely…starting to hunt for white denim now !

    3.14.20
    Reply
  10. Eva wrote:

    This is so so beautiful!! Amazing!
    Would you mind sharing what brand of powder dyes you used?

    5.11.20
    Reply
  11. Kyle wrote:

    Do you have pics of sweatshirt dying process? I’d love to see pattern – great color combo…

    5.25.20
    Reply
  12. Marie wrote:

    Hi! I’m going to try this on a hoodie, and I was wondering if the dye reaches the back of the hoodie as well as it does the front? When the ice melts, does the ice and dye make it all the way to the back? I know when I tie dye the traditional way, Using squeeze bottles of liquid dye, I have to apply dye to the back as well of the front of my scrunched up shirts. You should start up a store with your creations!

    6.9.20
    Reply
    • Meredith wrote:

      I found that it did transfer thru the whole item! I was wondering the same but the ice transfers it throughout as it melts

      6.14.20
  13. Meredith wrote:

    I did this w/ a silk/poly slip dress and initially I really loved it…the colors were bold and beautiful! But then I rinsed it and the dye rinsed out for the most part….I had let it set for 3 hours and the ice had totally melted. The tie dye effect is gone and it’s just this watercolor faded colors. What did I do wrong?! Any advice would be appreciated!
    Thank you!!

    6.14.20
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      Hi Meredith! I’m so sorry that happened to you! Poly blends can be really tricky – especially if it’s not mainly silk. Natural fibers like pure cotton, linen and silk hold dye the best. I would say just make sure that you pre-washed the fabric and pre-treated it soda ash. You can even try a white vinegar pre-soak? Also, you can try setting the color with an iron after it has dried. If it still doesn’t work, I’m afraid it’s because of the polyester in the fabric/dress. Good luck!

      6.16.20
    • Andrea wrote:

      Also I have learned that allowing it to dry for over 24-48 hours will help set the dye deeper. Then as suggested set with a iron ( place a cloth over as to not melt or overheat the fabric blend) and then wash out the dye. It will be richer in color.

      6.20.20
    • Emma wrote:

      I just wanted to let you know- you must set the dye with a soda ash bath after it’s been thoroughly rinsed. If you don’t, you will lose your colors. The soda ash bath has the high alkalinity needed to set the pigment permanently. I hope that helps, I speak only from experience!

      9.2.20
  14. Stacie S wrote:

    Great tutorial! Gathering supplies to try this. Question ~ how long can I keep the soda ash water for? If I store it in a rinsed out milk jug for a month -/+ , will it stay good to use?

    7.2.20
    Reply
    • Jess wrote:

      Stacie- You can keep your SA soaking solution indefinitely! It keeps even longer if you store it in a lidded container away from the sun/heat, and If you make sure you prewash anything you put in there!

      2.15.21
  15. Natasha wrote:

    Hi!

    Thanks so much for this tutorial, your work came out beautifully! I have a quick question, does it matter what temperature water you rinse with? Somehow when I went to rinse it seemed like it lifted out most of the color and I went from having some really beautiful coloration to left a pretty sad looking all over purple.

    Thanks for your help!

    7.7.20
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      The water temperature shouldn’t really matter although I always rinse with cold water first. If you have pre-soaked the clothing in the soda ash, the color shouldn’t run or fade. Hope that helps!

      7.9.20
  16. Rachel wrote:

    Hi Erica!
    Thank you so much for this tutorial, it’s got me so excited to try ice dyeing!!! I was wondering if you could share which dye colors besides the wasabi you used for the tutorial jeans. I love how all the colors are so unpredictable in their application. Can’t wait to experiment!
    Thank you!

    7.29.20
    Reply
  17. Benetrace Illbert wrote:

    Choose you’re colors carefully! Make sure you have enough ice and don’t use too much dye!
    Mine came out pretty subpar but I think I just didn’t do it right.

    8.20.20
    Reply
  18. Jonathan Mabalay wrote:

    Hi if I don’t find any shiitake mushroom, what other color shall i use instead?

    9.8.20
    Reply
  19. Wendy wrote:

    Where did you get the fact from: ice dyeing was first conceived by quilters who were looking for a resourceful way to dye fabric during winter months?

    1.25.21
    Reply
  20. Jenna wrote:

    Hi!

    What 2 other colors did you use with wasabi?

    2.8.21
    Reply
  21. Lisa wrote:

    My tip. Practice on a t-shirt. Watch videos for folding tying tips. Cut a strip of non paper bubble wrap material that is tall enough to hold ice in place. Let dye/ ice sit 24 hour not just 3-4 hours.

    2.27.21
    Reply
  22. Shannon Loveless wrote:

    This is the coolest! Thanks for all the great info and videos to help understand technique a bit more.

    3.24.21
    Reply
  23. RahAli wrote:

    Hello! Your work here is amazing! I am really impressed with it all. Which colors were used for the blue and white demin set? It’s worn in the picture with the women with the curly hair. I am intrigued that the colors didn’t split. It’s pretty consistent.

    3.25.21
    Reply
    • Erica wrote:

      I used Indigo!

      4.14.21
  24. I have white jeans here and I haven’t been able to decide what to do with them – after seeing these they’re DEFINITELY going to be ice dyed! The look fantastic.

    4.1.21
    Reply
  25. judy wrote:

    Wow!

    4.18.21
    Reply
  26. Donde esta wrote:

    Waooow. You look amaizing.
    Thanks

    6.10.21
    Reply
  27. Janelle wrote:

    Love this tutorial! Thank you. What brand of colors did you use? I’m looking for more earthen tones, and most dyes I find are too bright for my taste.

    8.5.21
    Reply
  28. Love it, Gorgeous dye colors…. I LOVE the python print shoes WOW

    10.11.21
    Reply
  29. Cat V. wrote:

    Hi! Love your color choices!! What are the three colors you used for the pants that have the wasabi?? I’d like to know the other two colors you used Thanks!

    2.2.22
    Reply
  30. jenny wrote:

    Is the bazooka pink the ultra bright pink??? or did that come from colors splitting?

    9.3.22
    Reply