Ice Dyeing for the 4th of July

My girls and I wanted to create some jumpsuits this year for the 4th of July, and I saw a fun technique on Pinterest that I have been wanting to try.

It's called Ice Dyeing. I've included a video of the process, but here are the steps to take if you want to try it out for yourself, along with links of where I purchased my items:

1. Soak your fabric in Soda Ash and water for 20 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. I used a twin sheet from Wal-Mart and it worked great.

2. Fold and twist your fabric and arrange it on a rack in a bin.

3. Cover the fabric completely with ice.

4. Using gloves and wearing a mask, sprinkle one or multiple colors of Procion Dye over the ice. I used Cobalt Blue, Aquamarine and Bright Blue for mine.

5. Cover with plastic and let sit for 24 hours. As the ice melts, it carries the dye through the fabric.

6. After 24 hours, rinse the fabric until the color runs clear and then put it through the washing machine.

7. It creates a cool fun effect!

I ended up making the jumpsuits using McCall's 7917. It is a quick and simple sew, perfect for beginners! I made both jumpsuits out of one twin sheet, it was tight, but I made it work! I made View C for my younger daughter which has the cute ties on the legs, and View D for my older daughter.

This was such a fun and inexpensive project, that would be fun to do with kids... with the proper supervision. I can't wait to dye more things using this technique!

Let me know if you try it out!