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Local artist, Val Jacobson spends a day tying items up before applying dye at the Western Institute in St. Joseph recently

In a large industrial kitchen at the Western Institute in St. Joseph, Valerie Jacobson looks like a cross between an artist and a mad scientist.

“You should always have a white area,” Ms. Jacobson says, wearing purple latex gloves, a blue-and-pink tie-dyed shirt and a long white apron splattered with all colors of the rainbow. The “white area” stands out easily among the counters filled with boxes, bottles, buckets and containers of colored dyes and fabrics. With a large yellow mop bucket at her side, Ms. Jacobson pulls a knotted orange-and-brown fabric out of a plastic bag, then rinses it in the sink with an industrial-size sprayer until the water turns from a muddy brown to clear. Then she cuts the twine that ties the knots, revealing a burst of color and a pattern like a fall sunset. She smiles with surprise.

“It’s like unwrapping presents,” she laughs. “Sometimes you don’t remember what you’ve got, especially if you’ve done it in a group.”

Ms. Jacobson is practicing the ancient art of tie dye, something she will be teaching to others at Western Institute this month (call 271-4106 for information). According to the Dharma Trading Company, tie dye was known as Shibori, a Japanese term that encompasses a wide variety of resist-dyeing techniques, which have been utilized by different cultures for more than 6,000 years. In the United States, long before tie-dye became associated with the hippie movement of the early ‘70s, women decorated the home with tie-dyed curtains and throw pillows during the 1920s. And during the Depression, girls cut up cotton flour sacks, tie dyed them, and then sewed them into clothing, curtains and tablecloths, according to Harmonytie-dyes.com.

Ms. Jacobson learned to do it at a party.

“About four years ago, I was invited to a tie dye party in Troy, Kan.,” she remembers. “They had a big potluck and you just went and tie dyed. I loved it and have been doing it ever since.”

It is a great way to add life to an old T-shirt or pair of socks, she says, but you can also revitalize your grandmother’s worn linen tablecloth, tea towels or bedding and turn them into new family heirlooms or one-of-a-kind gifts.

“It’s boutique tie dye,” she says.“It’s not about hippies and rainbows anymore.”

The materials have improved since the hippie days, as well. As legend has it, the customary practice was to fill a big five-gallon paint bucket for pre-treating the material with urine, she says. Today, you get urea from a lab. They both break down the fiber of the material, which is important for the dyes to work effectively, unless you have an old shirt that’s been washed to death, she says.

If you are a beginner, you can buy a tie-dye kit, but there are really just a few simple steps:

Soak the item in the urea mixture for about 15 minutes and rinse well. Ms. Jacobson uses an industrial mop bucket to wring out the extra moisture. It’s very helpful if you are doing a lot of tie dye, she says, because you will be very sore at the end of the day if you are trying to wring everything out by hand. Blot out most of the excess water.

Tie with rubber bands or twine and dye as desired, then put in plastic bags to “cure” for one or two days.

Rinse with warm then cold water until the water runs clear.

Ms. Jacobson says the biggest surprise most people have when tie dying for the first time is discovering how messy it can be. So make sure to cover everything and use towels you don’t mind staining. She says that’s why group tie dying in classes or parties is a good idea. The mess and work can be shared by all — a big plus, especially when it’s not at your house.

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com