How To Use The Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Dye Set | Review

The Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Dye Set by Mookie Toys is designed to enable kids to enjoy creative tie-dying in a mess-free environment! But is it easy to work, are the results good and how good id the dye? These are some of the questions we’ll to answer in this review

advert: Product gifted

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

If you like this then you may also be interested in our review of the Paper FX Dream Weaver, Shaky Pop Nail Studio and the range of Gemex resin Craft Kits For Kids.

What is the Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Die Set?

The Tybo XL is currently the largest of Mookie Toys Tie Dye sets. The others products in the range being

• Tybo Tie Dye Design Studio,
• Tie Dye Mixing Orb
• The Tybo Print Studio that uses stencils
• Tybo Tie-Dye Refill Pack.

What’s in The Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Dye Set?

The Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Dye Set contains

• Tybo Xl chamber
• Removeable paddle
• Removeable Tybo Xl chamber handle
• 6x squeazy bottles with lids
• 18 x dye powder sachets (3 of each colour; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
• Colour stickers
• DIY Paper funnel
• Clear plastic protective gloves
• 10x elastic bands
• measuring spoon (for mixing own dye colours)
• paper funnel
• 2x technique booklets
• Instruction leaflet

You will also need

• Plain white cotton items to dye. 100% cotton is best.
• Protective plastic sheeting (waterproof part tablecloths are perfect)
• Old clothes or a protective apron (just incase)
• Paper towel to dap and wipe splashes (or spills!)
• a small amount of tape to secure a diy paper funnel
• scissors to open the dye packets
• water

How To Use The Tybo Xl Ultimate Tie Dye Set

The Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Dye set is impressively easy to use. The basic concept is that a white cotton piece of apparel (must be washed first to remove any traces of chemical/starch that may prevent the dye from infiltrating the fibres) is twisted, scrunched or wrapped before placing it inside the chamber and the lid is secured in place. Because the chamber is large you can fit trainers, single duvets, t-shirts, trousers, hoodies etc inside it!

The coloured bottles of dye are then inserted into small self-sealing valves in the lid. The dye is then squeezed into the chamber and onto the item that is being dyed. You can manoeuvre the bottle a little to control the direction and placement of the dye.

To make up the dye, you empty one of the sachets into a bottle and fill it up with warm water.

When finished the dyed item needs to be left for 6 hours. This can either be inside the chamber or by placing it inside a plastic bag.

Any remnant dye left in the chamber is easily drained via a release cap in the bottom of the container. And to clean it you flush through with water.

After 6 hours unwrap the dyed item and let it dry!

It sounds simple… it is!

There are two main types of technique

Using the paddle

The chamber can be used with or without a removable paddle. When using the paddle items are first filled or twisted into a long rod shape and secured using elastic bands. They are then wrapped around the paddle and held in place with an elastic band at the top and the bottom of the paddle using an elastic band.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ro And Ra (@love_ro_ra)

This can be fiddly with larger items, as the paddle is collapsable until secured to the lid. the paddle can also pop out of the base when clipped in place, so younger kids may need some help attaching items to this. And the bigger the item the more fiddly it is to clip the paddle onto the base. It is doable though don’t let that put you off!

You can adjust the changer by pushing down or pulling up which also helps with directing the dye. A smaller item sits close to the paddle, so by closing the chamber down you can push the clothing (t-shirts for example) out a little. But you can also tilt the nozzle of the dye bottle inwards as well to help aim.

Use the handle to spin the paddle proud to help move the dye down the item and to position it to get more dye. You can’t move the handle much with the dye bottle in place though!

We used this method for dying our t-shirts.

Shake The Chamber

The shake method is great for larger items as the paddle is removed and apparel placed in the bottom of the chamber.

You can either scrunch the item up to get a more random blobby texture or carefully swirl the fabric to create a swirl pattern in the tie dye. Either way, you need to secure with elastic bands to stop the item from unravelling!

Scrunching works well with large items which is what we did with a white cotton hoodie, although we found we had to undo the lid and flip it over to make sure the underside had enough colour.

Swirling works well but with larger items (single duvet) we had to squish it into an oval and only managed to get it in at an angle (the pillowcase was much easier!). And we ended up dropping some dye in without the lid which still worked and kept the dye contained.

In hindsight, scrunching the duvet would have been the better option!

Once your item is in the chamber you add the lid and squeeze your dye in the same way as when using the paddle. Once the dye has been added you shake the chamber up and down to help move the dye into the fabric and also get some on the underside.

Again we found that flipping each item over meant we had good coverage on both sides.

One thing to look out for is little pools of dye in the lid injection points. This can sometimes happen when you pull the squeezy bottle out. They are easily removed with some paper towel but if you don’t remove them they will pray everywhere when you shake your chamber!!!

Cleaning The Tybo XL

The Tybo XL has been designed to make cleaning it easy. Excess dye is tipped out into a sink, with or without clothing being in the chamber, by undoing a valve towards the base. Once the chamber is empty of dye and clothing, it can then easily be rinsed by running water through it ready for the next creation.

Don’t worry about drying the chamber thoroughly, as a little water residue will not hinder the dying techniques. And, in fact, a little water sometimes helps the dye permeate the fabric!

Top Tips For Using The Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Die Chamber

• Be generous with your dye squirts.
• To get a good bleed of colour more pastel/light shades try dampeing the fabric lightly first.
• Think about the shape of the chamber when squishing fabric into shape to fit.
• Think about how the dye will run down and into the fabric particularly when twisted round the paddle
• Take your dyed material out and have a look at it and turn it over if neccessary (DON’T TAKE OFF THE ELASIC BANDS!)
• Take the handle out to twist the paddle without having to remove the dye bottles.
• Buy extra gloves!
• Use water proof party tablecloths to protect your work area
• Use tweezers to grip the center of material when creating a swirl
• Have fun!

What Did We Think Of The Tie Dye Set?

I really loved this kit. It has its limitations and sometimes we had to improvise (put an item in diagonally because it was too large or add extra dye without the lid on) but this was normally when we were using a rather large item!

As mentioned the Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Dye set is impressively easy to use, and although not totally mess-free it does contain the majority of the dye in a safe-to-use space.

We found the results of our trial were fabulous, as long as you pay attention to their colour mixing guide… certain colours mixed together can result in a muddy brown colour.

Tie-dying results are random. And we sometimes needed to add a little extra colour once the lid had been taken off, and we could see areas the dye hadn’t reached. But again adding dye into the chamber without the lid still contains the mess and because the base has suction pads it makes it difficult to knock it over!

Younger kids may need help twisting, scrunching and securing everything in place with the elastic bands. Especially larger items! But the mechanics of putting in the dye and squeezing the bottle is really simple and they should even be able to clean it out afterwards!

Kids will love being able to make their own tie-dye clothing and accessories. It’s magical unrolling your creation to see results that are different every time! Just be prepared to have to buy lots of white cotton blanks. It’s a very addictive craft!

Win Your Own Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Die Set by filling in the rafflecopter form below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 – This giveaway is open to residents of the UK only.
– ONE winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter.
– The winner will be contacted by e-mail within 3 days of the competition end, if they do not respond within 28 days another winner may be chosen.
– Your details will not be passed onto any other third parties, apart from Mookie Toys Pr representatives, by TheToyScoop.
– The winner will be sent a copy of Tybo XL Ultimate Tie Die directly from Mookie Toys Pr.
– Delivery is not the responsibility of TheToyScoop and may take some time to arrive.
– Any damage or problems with the prize is not the responsibility of TheToyScoop and all queries should be directed to Mookie Toys.
– Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.
– There is no cash alternative.
– Competition starts on 05/10/2021  – 08/10/2021 midnight