You can make your own tie dye if you’re feeling especially crafty, or use Kool Aid if you prefer. Shirts that are 100% cotton will work best. You can dye synthetic materials if you’d like, but the result will be kind of washed out. You can purchase everything you’ll need separately if you really want, but the dye kits make this a lot easier.
Don’t touch your hair or scratch your head while you’re doing this. You may accidentally end up dyeing your hair if you do!
You can use any number of colors to dye a shirt, but 2-4 colors tends to be the most popular option. You can use colors that are close to another on the color wheel, like blue, purple and green, for a more uniform look. Alternatively, you could pick radically different colors, like red, yellow, and blue, for a brighter, more vibrant look.
If your dye kit doesn’t contain soda ash but it mentions “dye fixer,” you’re all good—they’re the same thing. The soda ash raises the pH level of the shirt, making it less acidic. This makes it easier for the dye to bind to the shirt’s fabric.
Your shirt should be damp, but not soaking wet and dripping with water.
The more rubber bands you use, the whiter the shirt will be.
Straighten out any wrinkles or messy portions of the fabric as you’re twisting the shirt to keep it flat against the table underneath.
This will create horizontal stripes. If you want vertical stripes, fold the shirt starting from the bottom and work up to the neck. The number of rubber bands you use will determine the number of stripes on the shirt.
The dye should be soaked all the way through the T-shirt on both sides. For the crumpled look, apply the dye as randomly as you possibly can if you want a cleaner look. With the spirals, you may want to apply 3 colors in alternating sections to give the spirals a vibrant style. If you’re doing stripes, you can go for the random dye application or use different colors for each section.
It may take a minute to wring out all of the excess dye, so don’t rush it! Don’t freak out if you see super colorful water. It’s extra dye—you aren’t actually removing anything from the shirt.
If you wash your shirt with other clothes, they may accidentally change colors. Launder your T-shirt separately for the first 3-5 washes just to make sure that you don’t ruin any of your other clothes.
