The Easy Way to Tie Dye

Tie-dyeing is a fun activity that spearheads creativity and allows you to experiment with fashion. Tie-dyeing is a straightforward process that simply involves blank garments, dye, and some rubber bands!

First, make sure you have a high quality blank t-shirt that will absorb fabric well and last a long time. SpectraUSA Cotton Perfection Tee is an ideal garment for dyeing. Made of 100% cotton with seamless sides, the pre-shrunk Cotton Perfection Tee makes a perfect canvas for tie dye fun. Once you have your Spectra Tee in hand, gather the other materials to begin!

Materials Needed:

100% cotton blank T-shirt (The Cotton Perfection Tee)
Several colors of fabric dye
Rubber bands
Rubber gloves
Squirt Bottles
Zip-lock bags
Water
Paper towels or throw away rags for cleaning!

Prep for Dyeing:

Wash and dry your new T-shirt. Don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets so there is no residue on the shirt.
Cover your workspace with plastic or make sure you dye outside.
Prepare your dye and put inks in the squirt bottles.
Dampen your t-shirt with the water. You can use a spray bottle or wring it dry.
Choose your pattern! There are numerous tie dye patterns such as: the classic swirl, splotched, striped, circle.
Apply the ink using the squirt bottles. Depending on what pattern you choose, this will be different. Essentially, you will apply the colored ink to the section of shirt where you don’t want white.
Once the dyeing process is completed, place the shirts in separate zip-lock bags- keep the shirts in the bag for 24 hours. This allows the ink to set and strengthens the colors’ vibrancy.
After the 24 hours is up, use rubber gloves and remove the shirt from the zip-lock bag. Rinse with cold water (just as is) until the water runs clear. Remove the rubber bands and rinse again. Place the shirts in the washing machine and dry on the hottest setting. Make sure you don’t combine the dyed shirts with any other garments to prevent any dye bleeding.
Once dry, your tie-dye shirts and ready to wear and enjoy!