Tie Dye Made Simple

Tie dye has long been associated with the colorful prints of the 60's. That was an era of individuality and making statements.  Since every piece of clothing made was different and often showed the personality of the person doing the dying, tie dye was perfect. Over the past ten years the store shelves have been filling with this type of colorful clothing yet again.  They are fun and catchy but since they are mass produced in large factories (most likely in an Asian country), they lack that personal touch.

The art of tie dye is just that - an art.  There is no certain design that is the 'right' design. It is all wonderful.  The process is not easy and it is most definitely messy.  You tie your fabric in knots and hold in place with rubber bands.  The placement is important to make a desirable design. And then there is the actual dying.

 Like I said  -
it can be really messy !

Well, tie dye doesn't have to be all that messy any more.  In fact, even your little 2 year olds can design and make their own shirts.  With a little help from an adult of course.

Check this out -

All you need are colorful Sharpie pens, some isopropyl alcohol and your shirts.  That would be that basic rubbing alcohol.  It may help to have an eye dropper for the alcohol but a tiny spoon that you can apply the alcohol by the drop would work also.





This is how it works -

1. Smooth a section of the shirt over your plastic cup. You can secure it with a rubber band if you want.
2. Dot a Sharpie to form a circle in the center of the area formed by the cup. You are aiming for a dotted ring about 1" in diameter. You can use more than one color.
3. Drip rubbing alcohol on the blank center of the circle. I used the extremely low-tech method of dipping a pencil in the alcohol and dotting it on the shirt. After a few drops, you will see the alcohol spread outward from the center of the ring, taking the Sharpie ink with it.
4. Continue adding drops of alcohol until you are satisfied with the size of the pattern.
5. Allow a couple of minutes for the alcohol to evaporate before moving on to a clean section of the shirt.
6. It doesn't have to be a circle. You can make stars, triangles, squares, lines... be creative!
7. After your shirt is completely dry (alcohol is flammable, so don't use heat on a damp shirt), set the colors by tumbling the shirt in a hot clothes dryer for ~15 minutes.
8. You can wear and wash your new shirt like other clothes now.

How It Works

The ink in a Sharpie pen dissolves in alcohol but not in water. As the shirt absorbs the alcohol, the alcohol picks up the ink. You can get new colors when different colors of ink mix together. The wet ink will diffuse, or move from areas of higher concentration to lower concentration. When the alcohol evaporates, the ink dries. Sharpie pen ink doesn't dissolve in water, so the shirt can be washed.

Watch this video and you will see just how easy it can be.

We know how Martha Stewart can make everything look easy, this is no different with the exception that this really is a simple project.  Here's how Martha describes the project.

This is perfect for birthday party projects, the class room, or just for a fun kid project at home.  But don't leave out the adults.  Customize those Super Bowl party shirts or birthday party attire.  Nothing stopping you now.