craftgrrl | tie-dying or batiking?

Sorry everyone, this is a text-only question post.

I'm planning on dying some good quality cotton. I want to dye it so that there are circles of plain white (some "threading" of the color I'll dye it is okay, but I want the circles to be largely white.) The only way I know to tie-dye something is to pinch the fabric and wrap a rubber band around it, but then there will be a colored spot in the middle, and I want a full circle, not a doughnut. I tried wrapping the rubber band all the way to the tip, but it always slips off the end.

Can I use tape or something like that, instead? I have some waterproof medical tape.

Should I consider batiking? Can I use candle wax for batiking? Maybe I could just batik the tips of the wrapped cones of fabric I've made.

Any other suggestions?