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by Carley Lake |
Last Updated: June 24, 2021 
Patsy Mull of Mamas Mad Dyes just wants to make others happy. She found a super fun and creative way to do that— tie-dye designs.
Patsy creates ice-dyed, kaleidoscope-patterned tapestries, leggings, dresses, shirts, and more, and helps others learn techniques, trade items, and connect with fellow tie-dye experts (and newbies too!) in the Facebook group “Tie-Dyeing”.
“There’s so much good history with tie-dye. It represents love instead of war and it brings good vibes and positive feelings when everything can feel so down with COVID. Tie-dye is one constant. Joy is tie-dye. And because of that, it transcends time for sure.”
Learn more about Patsy, her tie-dye designs, and the close knit online tie-dye communities below.
How did tie-dye become a large part of your life?
I am a homemaker and a mom and do all the great things that go along with that—from the after-school activities to the flurry of playing outside with my kids. But I considered myself a hippie back in the day so when I started to go back into the music festival scene when my kids got a little bit bigger and we could take them camping, I loved the tie-dye yoga pants I was seeing. I had bought a couple of pairs through a friend of mine who was selling them for somebody else. The price doubled when I went to get another pair. I bought them and I bought my friend the pair and I was like, this is ridiculous. I’m gonna just make my own so I started playing with tie-dye and it was a lot of fun. I started getting really into making yoga pants and so many of my friends loved them and said I should sell them. I absolutely love it. It mixes my love of fashion and creativity. It’s not really about following trends but making it my own and I enjoy that.
Did you teach yourself tie-dye? How did you learn your dyeing techniques?
In our Facebook group, we have a lot of helpful files. The other administrators really keep the wheels greased and they have a wealth of knowledge that they’re willing to share. So a lot of it was files and really reading people’s comments because even though you’re looking at instructions there are so many things that can go into it and that can change your results. I really had to pay attention to what people were saying. So just looking at all of that and then playing with different ideas was really the best teacher. You learn by doing.
Why do you think so many people are into the art form?
I think that tie-dye holds a lot of memories for people. People love it because it’s unique. It’s also supposed to make you happy. If you don’t like the outcome of a piece I made, you cannot be sad, so we’ll make you another. I want to make sure you get that happy feeling.
For the dyer, it also makes you so happy. When it is time to rinse and untie it’s like opening up a Christmas present. Because no matter what you think you’ve got. It’s always a little surprise. I love that.
There’s also so much good history with tie-dye. It represents love instead of war and it brings good vibes and positive feelings when everything can feel so down with COVID. Tie-dye is one constant. Joy is tie-dye. And because of that, it transcends time for sure.
What are the tie-dye online communities like?
I belong to several types of groups and we really are a close community. I have made so many friends in the tie-dye communities and we really do rally around one another. We also have times when we support one another outside of tie-dye, say when someone’s refrigerator is broken. Everybody bands together. We donate items, do raffles, so we can raise money and give back to each other.
Everybody is willing to pitch in like if somebody says, oh my gosh, what color can I use to make a Baltimore Ravens team shirt, and then you’ll have like hundreds, literally hundreds of people saying what it is and they’ll show pictures of their examples. It’s really a very supportive community.
Do people buy, sell, and trade tie-dye in your community?
We trade, buy, sell, we do it all. There’s another group for just selling your supplies. There are groups for different dyeing methods like a reverse dyeing group, hot water, liquid, and ice dyeing. For our group, if it’s tie-dye, it goes.
What has been one of your favorite trades you have done in your group?
It was my first trade! I made a few reverse leggings six years ago. This sweet lady Pascale Dubois (we are still friends today!) was like, I have to have a pair, would you like to trade? I looked at her business Pixies Pebbles and her jewelry, and I also like oh my gosh, they’re so beautiful. She then had custom made this necklace for me for a pair of leggings that I had made that she wanted.
Do you meet up with people in your online tie-dye communities?
I have friends, local friends, and I literally was just hanging out with another dyer this weekend at a music festival in West Virginia. I admire her work so much so it’s really nice to get on another level with her like we’re face to face and we’re just hanging out with our kids. It was a lot of fun. And then I ran into another person at Walmart which was funny. There are a couple of meetups every year too with members of the group.
A lot of the dyers that I’m friends with, we start our friendships just through different posts and have little side chats, comments, threads together. I would say at least 30% of my friends are from tie-dyeing! It’s just a great group of people, really.
Are you all wearing tie-dye during these runs so it’s kind of easy to spot everyone?
Totally. I do wear it a lot. So much so when I’m not wearing it my kids are like, you’re not wearing tie-dye mom!
What are some of the favorite items you have seen others creating and sharing in the Facebook group?
Tapestries are always blowing my mind. I also love making them myself but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t look at something online, by another artist, that I’m not completely blown away. The artists in the groups are just amazing, really, because even though we’re all learning to kind of feed off each other everybody has their own creativity. You really get to see that the possibilities are so endless in tie-dye.
What are your favorite items to create?
I love women’s fashion. I’m passionate about making dresses, skirts, bell-bottoms, yoga pants and leggings. I really enjoy playing to the female figure and trying to accentuate it in a way that maybe a woman, she’s like, you know she doesn’t feel so great about herself when she puts it on, she’s like, I feel amazing! I’ve always had a lot of fun playing with clothes. So the design factor for me is everything. I also didn’t like doing t-shirts but now I find myself in love with them and they’re becoming my bread and butter. It’s crazy.
And when creating, I make sure all items are ethically made. I work hard to make sure the starting pieces I acquire are ethically made and that the companies that I’m buying them from care about the environment, are reusing water in their manufacturing, are fair trade, are paying fair wages to workers, and not using sweatshops.
What are some of the next tie-dye designs you are making?
I’m currently working on a huge t-shirt order for a store that’s in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. It is a second-order because my first order is selling out which is really exciting. So I’m working on t-shirts but for the most part, I am also working on everything because I am a vendor at a music festival coming up so I don’t want to come out empty-handed.
I am also working on a huge tapestry for a festival —10 feet by 30 feet! I’m a little intimidated. I actually presented the last five tapestries to my online community and said you know, have I lost my magic sauce like you know what’s going on, I’m feeling intimidated to make this huge one and everybody just rallied and was like, you know, put your glasses on! What’s wrong?! These are beautiful! It really made me feel better and encouraged me to keep going.
Where do you see your tie-dye taking you in the future?
My dream is to have a storefront, with a workshop in the back to teach, and of course, continue selling online. I actually found a great place not far from here— a house that is actually attached to the store, and it’s, it’s huge space. It’s perfectly located and it’s a well-traveled area. That’s what my dream is now.
Check out Paty’s tie-dye designs for purchase on Etsy and Instagram.
Thank you, Patsy!
