SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
• White Turkish 100% Cotton Beach Towel
• Rit All-Purpose Dye: Denim Blue & Navy
• 0.6 meter (2-foot length) of PVC pipe
• Rubber bands
• 15.5 Litres (4-Gallon) plastic tub or bucket
• Measuring cup
• Plastic or metal stirring spoon
• Salt
• Liquid dish detergent
• Rubber gloves
• Paper towels
• Plastic table cover
• Mild detergent
• Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative (recommended)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cover table with plastic. Gather supplies.
2. Pre-wash beach towel with detergent, rinse and leave wet.
3. To create a traditional arashi pattern, accordion fold or “fan fold” the length of the towel in 3” to 4” wide folds. This will form a long rectangle. To get more pattern variations, vary the size and width of the folds.
4. After the towel is folded into a long rectangle, secure one end of the fabric rectangle to the PVC pipe with a rubber band.
5. Then, wrap the fabric rectangle tightly around the PVC pipe without overlapping it.
Arashi is the Japanese term for “storm.” It’s also known as the pole-wrapping technique because it involves wrapping fabric around a pole (or PVC pipe). The results are beautiful, often resembling water waves.
6. After the towel has been wrapped all the way down the pipe, secure the other end with a rubber band.
7. Scrunch all the fabric very tightly back up to the top of the pole.
8. Set aside wrapped towel to prepare the dyebath.
9. To prepare dyebath: Fill large dye container with 11.4 litres (3 gallons) very hot tap water (60ºC or 140F). If water is not hot enough, heat some water in a cook pot or teapot. Shake dye bottles before pouring. Wearing rubber gloves, add ½ cup Denim Blue dye and approximately 2 tablespoons Navy dye to hot water.
10. For cotton fabrics, add 1 cup of salt to dyebath. This helps to intensify the colour. Then add a squirt of liquid dish detergent. Stir well.
11. Test dye colour by dipping a paper towel into the dyebath. If colour is too light, add more dye (add more Navy for a darker blue); if colour is too dark, add more water.
12. Immerse wrapped towel into the dyebath. If the PVC pipe is too long to fit in the dyebath, use a measuring cup to pour dye over the towel. For a high contrast pattern, keep the wrapped towel in the dye for about 3 to 5 minutes to keep the wrapped part dye-free. For more colour and less white areas, let the wrapped towel set in the dyebath for 10 to 20 minutes.
13. When desired colour is achieved, remove wrapped towel from the dyebath. Squeeze off excess dye. Do not remove towel from pipe.
14. Recommended: To enhance the colour and reduce color bleeding, use Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative immediately after dyeing and before washing, following package instructions. Let wrapped towel set in fixative for 20 minutes.
15. Carefully unwrap towel from PVC pipe and unfold.
16. Rinse beach towel in cool water until rinse water begins to run clear.
17. Then wash beach towel in warm water with mild detergent by hand or in washing machine with an old towel, rinse and dry.
18. Hit the pool or beach and enjoy!