Ideas for Tye-Dye Shirts
The beauty of tie-dyeing your plain old white T-shirts is that it’s cheap and simple, but nearly always gives fantastic results. The bulk of the process takes only about 30 minutes or so. You start off by folding, scrunching, and tying up your shirt with some string or rubber bands, and then leaving it to soak in some soda ash fixer for five to 15 minutes before wringing it out and squirting on your dyes. Setting time for the dyes is usually overnight, after which the shirt can be washed, dried and worn. The only limits in designing your tie-dye depend on your creativity and skill.
-
Spider Pattern
-
Begin by laying your shirt flat on a surface. Fold it in half, sleeve to sleeve, and then pinch the fold line at the point around which you want your spider to be centered — ideally about three-fourths of the way up the shirt. Holding the point firmly, spin the fabric into as tight a spiral as possible. Keep going until you have a T-shirt “pancake.” Tie it up securely and soak it in your fixer. After soaking, use a syringe to apply a thin spiral of dark-colored dye around the center of your pancake. This will define your spider. Next, squirt on some brighter colors around the center until the whole pancake is covered. Do the same on the flip side.
Heart Shape
-
Almost any simple symmetrical pattern can be tie-dyed easily onto fabric. To make your heart, fold your shirt sleeve to sleeve and lay it flat. Use a washable marker to draw half a heart onto your shirt as a temporary folding guide. Starting from the tip of the heart and going along the line, gather up your fabric into a series of tight accordion folds. Tie a rubber band around the pinched guideline. Secure the rest of the shirt with more rubber bands until you have a fabric sausage, and soak. Fill in the heart design with a vivid color and outline it by squirting a line of dark, contrasting dye along the tied-up guideline. Use other colors for the rest of the shirt.
-
Smiley Face
-
Again, fold your shirt lengthwise and draw half of a large smiley face using a washable marker. Pinch the eye of your smiley and tie it up into a small bunch using a rubber band. Using the same technique as that used for the heart, gather the shirt up into accordion folds along the perimeter of the smiley face. After soaking, apply your dark dye on the guidelines — remember to cover the eyes, mouth and perimeter thoroughly. Fill in the outline with yellow dye, and squirt other colors onto the rest of the shirt. Note that the dye on the guidelines will spread quite a bit, so you need to squirt it on with extra care.
Peace Sign
-
A peace sign is a circle with a vertical line down its middle and two “legs” or branches resembling an upside down "Y." With your shirt folded lengthwise, draw half of the outline for the peace sign. Line up the edge of the center fold with the leg — you’ll only see one — of the peace sign. Next, fold along that same leg so that you have a pizza slice shape. Start gathering up the outline in an accordion fold, beginning from the leg and then going around the perimeter. Secure the outline with some string, and tie up the shirt into a sausage. Use a different dye for the outline and for the peace sign’s fill and background.
-
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
