Tie & Dye Knotting Basics

Tie-Dying is the process of dyeing a fabric in various patterns by masking certain areas before they come into contact with the dyes. Tying off the areas to be masked is the best way to achieve the effect. Through the use of various knots and tying techniques, the final pattern can be conceived and designed. Here is a guide to some of the basic knots used in the technique of Tie-Dying.

Picking up fabric from the center and tying at regular intervals gives you a spider’s web effect.

Randomly knotting in pieces of cork or stones/marbles etc. at the center and then gathering up the corners gives this effect:

In the above knotting style, substituting the stones for rice grains, mustard seeds or any other granular objects will give the center a dotted effect.

Scrunching up the fabric in a random, tight ball gives an all-over pattern.

Pleating the fabric across its width and then knotting at regular intervals gives a regular pattern like this: