iLoveToCreate: A Variety of Tie Dye Techniques

Last weekend my sister and I decided to have a quick tie dye afternoon.  I wanted to dye some swim covers for the girls and had a few other things that were a little stained and ready to be revamped.  I had a tie dye kit and a few extra bottles of Tulip Tie Dye sitting in my cabinet and was itching to use them!

We gathered our supplies (most of which aren't shown here... )

The kit includes: dye in bottles (just add water and shake!), plastic gloves and rubber bands.

You will also need to grab some plastic (I used large garbage bags) to cover the table or workspace, Ziploc bags to hold the completed projects overnight, and paper towels.  I specifically needed a spray bottle for one of the techniques I was planning.

I also made sure it was a nice day and we were able to work outside. 

I looked up some different techniques online.  A good resource is the iLoveToCreate website.  Just look under projects and search for tie dye.

This is an old shirt - rubber band style

• Tie two rubber bands to a dampened shirt, basically dividing it into thirds. 

• Generously douse each end with dye and roll it up into a garbage bag being careful to not have the red and blue ends touch. 

• After 24 hours, rinse each end of the shirt until the water runs clear
• Wash it with a little detergent, and dry in the dryer.

The next project was the swimsuit covers - graduated dye style

*Note the type of material when dyeing clothing.  The dye doesn't take to polyester very well so make sure it is blended with natural fibers like cotton.  These were 85% Cotton and 15% Polyester, found at Target.*

•  Lay the damp swim cover on a garbage bag and mix the dye 
• Generously douse the fabric with the bottled dye, but only on the bottom... do the front and back of the swim cover
• Pour out half the dye and add the remaining to a spray bottle, filling the rest with water (basically diluting the dye)
• Spray the middle of the swim cover generously, front and back
• Pour out more and dilute the dye even more, then spray the top generously on the front and back.
• Roll into a large garbage bag and let set 24 hours
• Rinse, wash, and dry

While this was the proper technique, I didn't dilute the dye enough for the top so the middle and top look very similar here.  Never the less, I am happy with them and might even add another tie dye design another time. 

Next, I did a plain old t-shirt - swirly style

• Pinch the damp shirt near the middle or off to one side and spin until it forms a nice little roll like the one shown below
• Tie a rubberband across the middle and then another going the other direction across the middle creating 'pie' pieces
• Dye every other 'slice of the pie' a different color using the given dye bottles.  In my case, I went red, blue, red, blue.
• Make sure to douse GENEROUSLY getting the bottle nozzle down into the folds of the shirt.
• Put in a Ziplog bag and let set 24 hours
• Remove rubber bands, rinse, wash and dry 

The final project was a kids cami - scrunched style

• Lay the dampened shirt on a paper towel (on top of some plastic) and scrunch... see the photo on the left
• Add the bottled dye all over the shirt, dousing generously
• Move to a Ziploc bag for 24 hours
• Rinse, wash, and dry

*The photo on the left was my sister's project, similar to the first technique shown above, however I thought I would point out her gloves.  She was smart and wore them.  I, on the other hand, did NOT and ended up with very red hands for a few days.* 

Many fun projects

Save your bottles! You never know when you will need them.

The final results!  All in an afternoons work :-)