Shibori Tie Dye Linen Towels

Is anyone else obsessed with staining and dyeing fabrics right now? I always love experimenting with new techniques. A couple of years ago I used fabric paint to paint onto linen towels. And I’ve always wanted to do something else with fabric that was with dyeing or painting. When I saw this shibori dye kit that Rit had available through Joann’s, I knew I wanted to try some new fabric techniques. This also ended up being a fun project to do with the kids as they could help choose the design and help with the DIY process. And it helped get them out from in front of the TV all day!

Four different Shibori tie dyed linen towels hanging on a clothesline

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Shibori Tie Dye Materials Needed

Shibori Tie Dye Kit
Two large pots or tubs (stainless steel or plastic)
String or rope
Linen towels
Salt
Optional: Wood dowel (this is used for one of the designs if you choose)

A Shibori tie dye kit laid out on a table, including gloves and a pile of rubberbands

A pile of linen napkins on a white table

This kit comes with everything you’ll need except for the fabric of your choosing. I had bought in a pack of these linen towels previously so I had some left from the project I previously did.

We had four towels total so they each chose two of their favorite designs to try. I took two large stock pots that we had and did this project on our back deck so if there was spilling it wouldn’t stain in the house. The instructions came with traditional Shibori folding techniques which were pretty easy to follow.

A boy standing with a linen napkin with a bucket to the left and trees in the background

Four white linen napkins wound up in different designs with rubberbands

The fabric you use will need to be wet before you begin dyeing and one pot will need to have warm water and the other cold. The instructions do say that if you have salt you should add about 1 cup to your dye as this will help the stain set, which we did as you can see below.

A young blonde girl pouring salt into a large stock pot

Once we had all the pieces tied we placed them into the pot for 20 minutes as instructed. Since one of the patterns involved using a dowel (or stick) to wrap the towel I flipped this one at the 10 minute mark so that it could get the dye evenly distributed. After this has processed you add the color saver and let it sit for 20 minutes as well to set the color.

A boy torso and hands with gloves shown pouring dye into a metal stock pot

A silver stockpot on a white table with a boys hands in gloves placing wrapped linen napkins in the stock pot

A close up of a blue stock pot with rubberband wrapped linen napkins

After the 20 minutes is complete, the instructions tell you to add the ColorStay Dye Fixative to the second pot of water. Then you let them sit in this solution for another 20 minutes.

A young blonde girl pouring a color stay additive into water

A metal tub with water and dyed Shibori napkins wrapped and dyed blue

Then comes the fun part! Rinse the fabric in cold water and remove the rubber bands and rope and wash with light detergent. I then hung them on our clothesline to dry.

1905 Farmhouse

Shibori Tie Dye Linen Towels

Shibori Tie Dye Materials Needed

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