{"id":8404,"date":"2021-09-13T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T08:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/?p=8404"},"modified":"2026-04-02T10:40:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:40:04","slug":"how-to-make-tie-dye-t-shirts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/how-to-make-tie-dye-t-shirts\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make tie dye t-shirts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Groovy, baby! Okay, okay, so tie dye t shirts are no longer a relic of the swingin\u2019 Sixties, but we couldn\u2019t resist. The sight of a swirly rainbow tie-dyed t-shirt might make you think of the psychedelic counterculture of the \u201860s, or maybe the vintage throwback vibes of the 90s \u2013 but frankly tie-dye is having a moment. And the good news is, if you like the look of tie dye designs, then it\u2019s surprisingly easy to get create your own at home \u2013 read on to learn how to tie dye t-shirts for an effortlessly casual vintage look.<\/p>\n<h2>What is tie dye?<\/h2>\n<p>Tie dye is exactly what it sounds like \u2013 you tie fabric into tight bundles, and then dye that fabric. That\u2019s obviously a simplification, but it\u2019s the simplicity of the method that\u2019s helped keep it alive for literally thousands of years.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s right \u2013 the humble tie-dye has in fact been around since the 5th century, where it has been seen in Sui dynasty China, though not in the super-saturated rainbow swirls you\u2019re probably most familiar with. In Japan, the ancient method of <em>Shibori <\/em>is an intricate version of tie dye which has been regularly practiced since the 8th century. In fact, forms of tie dye have been commonplace in lots of countries as a traditional fabric dying method. In Indonesia, it\u2019s often combined with <em>batik, <\/em>which involves applying dye-resistant wax to fabric to make detailed patterns.<\/p>\n<p>Tie-dye got big in the \u201860s in America as part of the counterculture movement. It was an inexpensive way to customise t-shirts and clothing into a more psychedelic statement of style \u2013 and it\u2019s persisted ever since. If you\u2019re making a shirt for someone who\u2019s into everything 60s, then far out, man \u2013 make sure you check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/cards\/60s\">60s themed cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Tie dye materials<\/h2>\n<p>Want to try your own tie dye? Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Plain white t-shirts, ideally made of cotton or mostly cotton \u2013 natural fibres are the winner here<\/li>\n<li>Dyes \u2013 Dylon dyes are available at most large supermarkets, or you could pick up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbycraft.co.uk\/tulip-one-step-tie-dye-kit-classic-3-pack\/592501-1000\">tie-dye kit from Hobbycraft<\/a>,<\/li>\n<li>A squeeze bottle \u2013 a tie-dye kit will come with this, but an old mustard or ketchup bottle will work fine.<\/li>\n<li>Rubber bands<\/li>\n<li>A tub or bucket of water<\/li>\n<li>Large resealable plastic bags<\/li>\n<li>Bin bags or plastic sheeting to cover surfaces<\/li>\n<li>Rubber gloves<\/li>\n<li>Apron<\/li>\n<li>(Optional) Soda ash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>thortful top tip<\/strong>: If you bought new t-shirts to tie-dye, make sure you wash them first to get rid of any stiffness or residue left over from being manufactured, or you might end up with a streaky effect \u2013 and no-one wants that.<\/p>\n<h2>How to tie dye<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Prepare your dying area<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>First, lay down bin bags or plastic sheeting to avoid getting dye on your kitchen table or surfaces! Alternatively, you can work outside on the grass if you\u2019ve got a garden. You\u2019ll be working with dye which will, obviously, dye the things it comes into contact with, so wear old clothes and cover up with rubber gloves and an apron.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Soak your t-shirt <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Soak your t-shirts first \u2013 the tie-dye experts recommend soaking your shirts in a mix of soda ash and warm water for about 10-20 minutes to help the dye permeate, but you can just use warm water if you don\u2019t have soda ash.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using soda, follow the instructions on the packet, but make sure the soda ash is fully dissolved and cover your hands as you\u2019re soaking the fabric \u2013 soda ash is slightly caustic so it can sting. Once your shirts are soaked, wring them out as much as you can, or throw them in the spin cycle of your washing machine for a few minutes.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Tie-dye your shirt!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>As it sounds \u2013 it\u2019s time to tie and dye those t-shirts! Check out our tie dye pattern ideas below for some inspiration.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Let the dye set<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve finished applying your dye, then comes the hard part \u2013 waiting for the dye to prove. Ideally you want to leave your tie dye t shirts to settle for at least 24 hours, but not more than 36 hours.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong>Rinse <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Wearing gloves again, unwrap your tie dye design carefully near a sink and run it under the cold water tap. You can either take the bands off now, or start rinsing out the shirt and remove the bands as you go. There\u2019ll be a <em>lot <\/em>of dye released, but don\u2019t panic \u2013 just keep rinsing until the water runs clear, which might take a while. Eventually, you\u2019ll be able to see your tie dye t shirt in all its (hopefully) stylish glory. We\u2019d recommend running your shirt through the cold cycle on your washing machine as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>thortful top tip:<\/strong> While you can wash your tie dye t-shirts in the washing machine as normal once these steps are done, you might want to wash anything tie dyed once or twice on their own, just in case you didn\u2019t get all of the excess dye out while rinsing.<\/p>\n<h2>Tie dye techniques<\/h2>\n<p>There are plenty of different tie dye techniques you can try when learning how to tie dye t-shirts, each of which will give you different tie dye designs. Here are a couple of our favourites.<\/p>\n<h3>The Scrunch<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Scrunch your t-shirt into a rough ball, and wrap the whole thing with rubber bands. Use enough to hold the ball shape<\/li>\n<li>Apply one colour of your chosen dye to the shirt with a squeeze bottle, until it\u2019s well coloured but not dripping wet.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The Spiral<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Lay your t-shirt out flat.<\/li>\n<li>Starting at the middle of the t-shirt, use either your finger or the end of a wooden spoon to start twisting the fabric clockwise around the centre point. You want to make a flat spiral shape \u2013 try to keep it flat, and don\u2019t let the fabric creep up to make a point.<\/li>\n<li>Once you\u2019ve achieved the perfect squidgy spiral, carefully slip rubber bands across the spiral \u2013 we\u2019d recommend three bands, so you can segment the t-shirt like a pizza. Keep the spiral as flat as you can while you\u2019re slipping the rubber bands on!<\/li>\n<li>Dye each section a different colour, keeping within the lines as much as you can. It should be thoroughly coloured but not dripping wet.<\/li>\n<li>Flip over, and repeat on the other side.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The Polka Dot<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Lay your t-shirt flat.<\/li>\n<li>Decide where you want your polka dots to be on the shirt. You can use small bouncy balls, large beads or beans to create polka dot shapes.<\/li>\n<li>Place your bead in between the two layers of the shirt, and pinch the top of the shirt around the bead, then secure with a rubber band.<\/li>\n<li>Apply dye all over the t-shirt, everywhere apart from the dots secured with rubber bands \u2013 you\u2019ll get a pleasing white polka dot effect from this method.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Learning how to tie dye t shirts at home is a great craft to enjoy with kids or even as a fun party idea \u2013 if you find you\u2019re getting good at it, then you could create special tie-dye shirts as a cute birthday gift. Just pair with a thortful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/cards\/birthday\">birthday card<\/a> and maybe a little something extra from our range of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/gifts\">gifting options<\/a>, and you\u2019re good to go!<\/p>\n<p>Looking for more DIY inspiration? Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/\">how to guides<\/a> for sweet crafting inspo, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/how-to-make-soap-at-home\/\">making your own soap<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/how-to-press-flowers\/\">pressing flowers<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Groovy, baby! Okay, okay, so tie dye t shirts are no longer a relic of the swingin\u2019 Sixties, but we couldn\u2019t resist. The sight of a swirly rainbow tie-dyed t-shirt might make you think of the psychedelic counterculture of the \u201860s, or maybe the vintage throwback vibes of the 90s \u2013 but frankly tie-dye is&hellip;<\/p>\n<a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\" https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/how-to-make-tie-dye-t-shirts\/ \">Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":8405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[469],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Make Tie Dye T Shirts | Tie Dye Designs | thortful<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Perfect for casual vintage vibes, the classic tie-dye t-shirt is a trend that&#039;s here to stay. Read our 5-step guide and learn to make your own tie dye t-shirts!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/how-to-make-tie-dye-t-shirts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Make Tie Dye T Shirts | Tie Dye Designs | thortful\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Perfect for casual vintage vibes, the classic tie-dye t-shirt is a trend that&#039;s here to stay. 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