Rainbow Zebra Dye Tutorial

Because normal black and white is boring.

Alright, so firstly, I know this looks kinda vague. I'm bad at explaining things but I'll try to go more in depth about how to do this as it's really simple.

Firstly, pick the dye you're going to use. I personally prefer Tulips Spray Permanent Fabric Dye, but it can get expensive so whatever works economically for you SHOULD work. Make sure you get fabric dye- not just regular or spray paint, because you may need to eventually wash whatever it is you're dying. You also need to make sure that whatever you get is marked as "Permanent" because non-permanent dye washes out and fades. And that's for the birds.

Secondly, the workspace and other tools needed. Do NOT try to do this in a cramped little desk unless whatever it is you're dying is really small. I use my kitchen table. Lots of room to spread out but small enough to cover well. You will need to cover your working area with a towel or two- this stuff is permanent, and does not come out, so make sure you are not working over something important (like your mommy's wooden table) without it being covered by something (towels, a plastic sheet, something). A paintbrush and water to wash it with (a medium sized brush should do, nothing fancy) is going to become your best friend. You will also need 3-4 old, used rags that, again, are nothing special and that you don't mind getting stained. I do not recommend using your mother's favorite dish towels for this.

The object to be dyed! For this tutorial I'm going to use a black and white zebra print halter, just because it's easier than dying saddle bags. While I've only used this on horse stuff, I'd imagine it can work on anything. I always buy white zebra print, never colored. With white you can get whatever pigment you want, whereas if you were to try this with say hot pink, you're not going to get very good results. I also always buy with the print already made and on the object, because I'm lazy and don't want to draw in stripes and spots. Make sure everything fits and is exactly what you want BEFORE removing all the tags, because once you dye it, you can't return it.

The painting process! Decide where your color is going to start and end before you spray any dye. Use a pencil, a certain stripe, whatever, just make sure you know where you're putting what color before you put it down. I always start with red. Spray a good sized blob (yes, a blob), and start working it around with the paint brush. I go back and forth and back and forth until the dye is no longer sinking in, before moving on to the next color. You basically just repeat this process until you're done with each section. Let it sit for a minute or so, and really make sure that the color blobs blend together.

Now it's time to create the gradient! Take one of your rags and wipe away the excess dye. Go from red to orange, orange to yellow, yellow to green, green to blue, and then blue to purple. NEVER just wipe right across! The idea is to create a smooth gradient between each color, not smear red into yellow and yellow into blue. Once you're done wiping the blobs away, make sure your colors are still bright and vibrant and that no spots were missed. If a color comes out less than what it should be (for example, I always have an issue with the blue fading), redo that one section until it looks comparable.

Do this for your entire project.

And that's about it. This can be applied to any gradient color scheme, not just rainbow.
Any questions? Ask.