How to Dye My Shoes Rainbow

Canvas sneakers are easy and fun to dye in a variety of patterns and colors. Canvas shoes work well for rainbow color dying as the canvas can soak up the water and dye to create the look you want. Shoe dyeing is a long process, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

Things You'll Need

• Canvas or natural fiber shoes
• Soda ash
• Fabric dye in several colors
• Large plastic bucket
• Plastic cups or plastic bowls
• Foam craft brushes (one for each color)
• Twine
• Clothing dryer

Instructions

1. Mix soda ash with water in a large plastic bucket. Most Soda ash suggests 1 cup per gallon of water. You will need enough water to submerge the shoes.

2. Place the shoes in the water/soda ash mixture and allow them to soak for a half an hour. Remove the shoes from the water and set them aside for the day to dry.

3. Once the shoes are dry, take your twine and cut several pieces long enough to wrap around the shoe. You can tie them off at the bottom or use tape to hold them in place. How far apart the twine is depends on how many colors you will be using, so use your judgment.

4. Set the tied-up shoes aside and mix each dye in its own cup or bowl. Each dye will have different instructions regarding how to mix it, so read carefully.

5. Take the foam brushes and dip them in the dye, then spread it in the area where you want the color to be. You can place the colors in a traditional rainbow pattern or randomly, whichever you see fit. Be careful not to put dark colors next to light colors as the dye may bleed a bit and create an odd color you will not like.

6. Follow Step 5 for each color. Place the shoes into a plastic bag and set them aside for the evening to dry in a warm place. If the heat is on in your home, placing them in the bathroom with the door closed is a nice option.

7. Let the shoes dry for 12 to 24 hours, then remove the string. Using a plastic bucket, rinse the shoes out with cold water. After the cold water rinse, place them into an empty bucket and rinse them with hot water. You may use a bathtub for this, but be careful as the dye may stain the tub surface.

8. Place the sneakers in the dryer on a cool setting and allow them to run a cycle of 60 minutes. They will still be damp, so you can just set them aside to dry completely in a warm location.

9. Once they are dry, you will have a rainbow sneaker with white sections where your strings were placed.

Tips & Warnings

• You should only attempt to dye white shoes in this manner, as any other color will not react properly with the dyes you are using and you will not get the colors you want. Buy shoes half a size bigger than you normally wear as the sneakers will shrink during the dyeing process.