PBL: A sophisticated yet astounding look on salt's specialty

Every grain counts; Salts

M. Zuhayr, 8th Silver

A deep dive into what makes Salts so significant in our lives

Part of what makes Salts so special is their ample variety of what can be done with them and whenever it can be done with them. They're used for chalk, they're used for medicines and neutralisers, they're used for toothpaste and of course tie-dye, the list goes on!

Now that you know just a few of the many uses of salts, let's take a closer look on what you're really here for from what the flamboyant title urges, Tie-dyes and colours, a LOT of them. Here's a step-by-step of just one of the many uses of using salt to make something completely new.

 

Part 1:
Tie-dying your socks

Say it's a hot and tiresome summer day, 2 p.m, so much so that you go out to get yourself lemonade on your cycle, you come back home and pour it into a glass. While you're drinking the frigid lemonade you look at your socks and realise; ''Hmm, these look kind of dull and lifeless'' and you start to deplore of the fact you bought those socks for an exorbitant price. So now you're in regret of what you bought just a few days ago, it could've been more colourful, right? Well, it can be more prismatic, here's how and what you need:

To put it into perspective:

• White cotton socks

• One packet of Dylon fabric dye

• Table salt

• Elastic bands

• Fabric dye fixative

• Warm water and a bucket

• Rubber gloves

  
  

  STEP 1

  Start with a bucket of water and some elastic bands

  FirstThoroughly wet your socks in the bucket, keep in mind it should be warm water. After that you wring dry them.

  
  

  STEP 2

  Wrap the socks in elastic bands

  How you use the elastic bands on the socks will shape the tie-dye effect, or the pattern you may say. One option I suggest is to twist the socks tightly into long strands, much like a rope, then wrap them up into shell-like coils before tying around them the elastic bands.

  
  

  STEP 3

  Add the dye, then wait

  Add the packet of Dylon-dye (You can find Nylon-dye easily at your nearest Art and crafts store) and a generous cup of table salt to the bucket of warm water. In fact, you can use almost any salt, table salt is by default since it is most likely what you have at home, I didn't lie when I said salts are so omnipresent in our life and can be used for about anything. Now, Submerge the socks in the bucket for at least two hours. The longer you leave them, the deeper the colour will be.

  
  

  

  STEP 4

  Rinse and wash the socks

  Remove the socks from the bucket after the given time. Remove the elastic band wraps and rinse the socks under cold water until it runs clear. Wash the socks on cold in the washing machine with a fabric fixative. Let them dry afterwards. 

  
  

  

  Part 2:
  How to Embroider
  Your Socks

  
  

  Your tool kit:

  • Embroidery thread

  • Sewing needle

  • Embroidery hoop (optional)

  • Pencil

  • Scissors

    
    

    STEP 1

    Outline your pattern with pencil

    This part is the more easier one compared to the tie-dye process considering you can ask someone who knows the basics of knitting and stitching to do this for you, though trying something out of the box or new for you wouldn't hurt.

    
    

    A chain stitch is where you pull the needle through the loop into the next stitch. Start with drawing out the name on one sock. Again you don't have to draw out your name, but it gives for a nice touch to the sock — the easiest place to stitch will be at the top above the ankle. Use a light pencil, like a 2B, so it doesn’t puncture the fabric and rubs off easily if you make a mistake. You can skip to step 4 if you know the length of the thread and what to do after this.

    
    

    STEP 2

    Thread your needle

    Carefully thread the needle with your embroidery thread. The length of the thread should not be any longer than the length to your elbow when it’s doubled. (This stops it from knotting up.) Snip it, then tie a little knot where the two loose bits of thread meet. Much like this sketch of the length required:

    
    

    
    

    
    

    STEP 3

    Start stitching

    An embroidery hoop can be useful to keep your material taut when stitching into it. When sewing, be sure to start from the back, not the front. Here's a sketch of what you can do when you write your name (which again, is optional):

    
    

    

    
    

    STEP 4, the final one

    Do a chain stitch

    Bring the needle up through the fabric at your starting point. Insert the needle again at the starting point and bring the tip up through the fabric a short distance away. Place the working thread behind the needle and pull the needle through the loop. Repeat. Just keep repeating this to the name you stitched and Viola! there you have it, you can say goodbye to those old spiritless socks since the salt you used will help the dye stick to the socks. By the time you're done with it, it would only have been evening considering you started at 2 p.m. Start a bit earlier and this would be done in no time!

    
    

    
    

    Highest commendations to teacher; Ma'am Asma Banaras (Main Topic Idea)