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How to Tie-Dye T-Shirts 3 easy ways!

Summer time is here ya’ll! Who else loves it when the weather get warm, the pools open up, and the schools shut down? I know I do! Nothing says summer wardrobe to me like a classic tie-dye t-shirt! They are bright, fun, and actually pretty easy to make yourself. We went to a craft store last weekend and they had tie-dye kits on sale and I knew we just had to grab some and try them out. I thought I would share with you guys How to tie-dye t-shirts 3 easy ways so you can add some of the groovy shirts to your own summer wardrobe. Let’s check them out!

Here is what you will need to start your tie-dye fun:

Something to cover your work surface. (We used a plastic table cloth)
gloves (trust me on this one. I am typing as we speak with very color hands right now.)
freezer bags
white preshrunk t-shirts
dye (we used the Tulip one step colors)
rubber bands

Let’s start with my daughters favorite style, and the one she did all by herself, the Bullseye Technique:

Step 1: First, you will want to pick your colors and mix them according to package instructions.

Step 2: Soak your shirt in water and ring excess water out. Lay your shirt flat against your work surface.

Step 3: Pick the place you want your bullseye to start. Pinch your fabric where you want your bullseye to start and pull up.

Step 4: Using your rubber bands, secure the middle of your bullseye about 2 inches down. Continuing down the fabric, secure a rubber band about an inch and a half to two inches apart.

Step 5: Lay your now sectioned off shirt down and start to color. You can get whatever color combo you want, but if you want to use more than two colors, make sure to leave some white so the colors don’t blend together and get too muddy.

Step 6: Place your shirt in a large ziploc bag and let sit for 6-8 hours. Wash on a cold cycle by itself and dry as normal. (*Note, the longer you leave the shirt in the bag, the darker the colors will be. If you want a lighter look as we did, 6 hours is the perfect amount of time. If you want it darker I would leave it in the bag over night.)

Ta-Da! You now have a super cute Bullseye Tie-Dye T-shirt!

Next up we have the Mini Bullseye Tie-Dye technique. This is similar to the bullseye above but instead on having one, you have several mini ones!

Step 1: First, you will want to pick your colors and mix them according to package instructions.

Step 2: Soak your shirt in water and ring excess water out. Lay your shirt flat against your work surface.

Step 3: Much like the main bullseye technique you will then pick where you want your bullseyes to be. You will pinch the fabric and bring it up about half and inch and secure with rubber bands. You can do as many or as few bullseyes as you would like.

Step 4: Lay your now sectioned off shirt down and start to color. Because you have a lot of surface area to cover in this style you can get as crazy as you want with your colors. I always start with the color I want my bullseyes to be, and then fill in the gaps from there. Don’t forget to leave a little white so the colors really pop!

Step 5: Place your shirt in a large ziploc bag and let sit for 6-8 hours. Wash on a cold cycle by itself and dry as normal. (*Note, the longer you leave the shirt in the bag, the darker the colors will be. If you want a lighter look as we did, 6 hours is the perfect amount of time. If you want it darker I would leave it in the bag over night.)

How fun is this style!?

Last but certainly not least is the most popular style, the Tie-Dye Spiral Technique. This classic style is what most people think of when they hear the word Tie-Dye. It’s easier than you might think to achieve as well.

Step 1: First, you will want to pick your colors and mix them according to package instructions.

Step 2: Soak your shirt in water and ring excess water out. Lay your shirt flat against your work surface.

Step 3: Pick where you want your spiral to start. Pinch your fabric together and twist clockwise slowly, gathering more fabric as you go. Once your shirt is in a spiral circle form you will want to use your rubber bands to secure your shirt. You will use 4 rubber bands total. 2 up and down, and 2 diagonal. You will see 8 sections that look like pie slices when you are done.

Step 4: Lay your now sectioned off shirt down and start to color. Each wedge will be a different color. We used 3 colors for ours. green, black, and purple. I would stick to 2 or 3 colors for this technique. Any more and it will look too busy and muddy.