How to Make a Tie Dye Shirt

Not just a fashion trend from the era of free love, tie dying is both an art form and an enjoyable hobby. Using natural fibers, the right dye and fixing agents and a creative application of tie-dye techniques leads to clothes that are not only fun but also inspired. Below are detailed instructions on creating a concentric circle pattern in tie-dye.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Fabric
• Rubber bands
• Gloves
• Bucket or sink
• Dye
• Salt
• Tongs
• Hanger
• Towel
• Iron

Preparing the fabric

1. Lay chosen item of clothing on a flat surface and smooth out any wrinkles. Large creases and wrinkles will affect the final look of the dyed garment.
2. Place a rubber band or some other marker everywhere that you would like circles to show up on the final design. It is much easier to bind your pattern if you have a visual idea of spacing.
3. Start binding the concentric circle pattern by pinching and pulling up on the fabric below the most central marker or rubber band using your least dominant hand. It is best to start at center of the garment and work your way out when it comes to binding. The amount of fabric pinched is up to you but remember, the circle will be the size of the same amount of fabric flattened out.
4. Use your dominant hand to place a rubber band around the fabric pinched in step 3. Continue to bind the fabric using the rubber band, by twisting and re-looping, until it is impossible to do any more. Tightness is key to the final look of the item.
5. Repeat step 4 until you have tightly bound as many circles as you want on your final garment and place it to one side.
6. Prepare to dye the fabric by boiling some water or filling the sink with hot water. Use only a very clean sink or bucket for dying clothes.

Dye the fabric

7. Mix the dye, salt and hot water together following the directions on the back of the dye packaging. It is best to use a fiber reactive dye on natural fabrics.
8. Stir the dye mixture with a long mixing spoon for a few minutes to ensure that the dye bath is ready. Un-dissolved powdered dye will show up on the final fabric.
9. Dip the fabric with rubber bands still attached into the dye bath for at least ten minutes. Use tongs to submerge the fabric to ensure even dye coverage.
10. Remove the garment from the hot water using tongs and rinse off using cold water until the water runs clear. The longer fabric sits in dye the more intense the final color will be.
11. Hang the garment on a coat hanger to drip dry. If inside, it may be a good idea to place an old bath towel on the floor below the garment.
12. Iron the dyed garment on a high temperature setting to help fix the dye to the fabric.
13. Wear or give as gift your concentric circle pattern tie-dye design.

Tips & Warnings

• More than one rubber band for each circle will alter the width of the final pattern.