Tie Dye Rubber Banding Techniques

Rings are just one of several tie-dye patterns.

Tie-dying is a great way to decorate clothing that is old or new, as well as bags, purses, curtains or table linens. Tie-dying techniques vary depending on the desired outcome. Rubber banding is an excellent tie-dying technique for creating interesting designs and patterns. The rubber banding tie-dye technique can be utilized to create a bouquet of flowers, spirals, lines, or pulsating circle-patterns.

Flowers

To create a bouquet of flowers using the rubber banding technique on a t-shirt, bundle a portion of the t-shirt a few inches below the neckline and wrap a rubber band around it. The easiest way to create this protrusion is to push up on the shirt from beneath it with one finger and wrap the rubber band around the fabric. Create five rubber banded protrusions in the same fashion in a circle on the front of the t-shirt. This will create one of the flowers of the bouquet. Repeat the process for each flower desired. The center of each flower is made up of the fabric protruding from each rubber band. Use yellow paint to color the fabric held by the rubber bands. This creates the center of each flower. Tie-dye in a spray bottle creates the flower pedals. The tie-dye is sprayed in a circle around each bundle of fabric. To prevent the dye from spreading, use a hair dryer to dry it. After the shirt dries, remove the rubber bands.

Spirals

Spirals are used frequently in tie-dying. Spirals are created by twisting the middle of the fabric until the t-shirt becomes a ball of twisted fabric. If done correctly, the t-shirt will resemble a cinnamon roll in design. Stretch several rubber bands across the t-shirt to hold the bundle in place. Once rubber banded, spray the desired tie-dye onto the t-shirt. Alternately, the t-shirt can be submersed in dye to create a darker effect. Either process will produce a spiral on the entire t-shirt.

Lines

Lines are created by rolling the t-shirt up from the bottom and then wrapping several rubber bands along the rolled-up t-shirt. The t-shirt can be immersed in a container of dye, or the dye can be sprayed from a bottle onto the t-shirt.

Circles

Circle patterns are perhaps the easiest of the rubber banding tie-dye techniques. To quickly create a circle, gather up the intended center of the circle and wrap a rubber band around it. Continue rubber banding, sectioning off the fabric periodically to create the tie-dye effect. After several rubber bands have been placed along the t-shirt, the fabric can be sprayed or submersed into the dye.

References

• Pro Chemical: Learn Folding Techniques for Tie-Dye
• How Stuff Works: Tie-Dye Bouquet T-Shirt