Tie-Dye started to become a thing back in the 1960s and quickly grew in popularity. The colorful fun of tie-dye is great for all generations, from the young to the old, and many people enjoy the fact that you can tie-dye at home. The most obvious and popular thing to tie-dye is a t-shirt, but towels, shoes, bags, and more are also great options. If it’s a fabric that can be tied with string or a rubber band, it can probably be tie-dyed.
Tie-Dye 101
First, it is essential to understand the basics of tie-dye. The basics of tie-dye will be the same, no matter the craft that you are doing. For starters, you should prepare your ink, which is easy if you purchase a kit to help you. If you want to make your own color, you’ll simply need vinegar, a water bottle, and food coloring.
Make Your Own Tie-Dye Color
To prepare your item for dye, you will need to soak it in a 1/2 cup of white vinegar and 1/2 cup of water mixture for 30 minutes. A gallon baggie works well for this. After 30 minutes, wring out the fabric and prepare the dye. You will fill a water bottle or spray bottle with 1/2 cup of water and eight drops of the food coloring. Shake it up well and you have your dye.
Begin Tie-Dyeing At Home
After you have prepared your dye (or bought your dye kit!) then get the item that you want to tie-dye and twist it into the pattern you want. T Then you use rubber bands to hold the item in place. Then you add your color, and when you are done, put the item in a bag for 24 hours so the colors can set. Finally, with rubber gloves on, rinse the item in cold water until all the excess dye is gone. Then take the rubber bands out and rinse again. After that, you machine wash the item and dry the shirt on the highest setting. After all of that, your item is tie-dyed.
Things To Try To Tie-Dye
Clothes
Clothes are a traditional item that can get Tie-dyed. However, this can be a great beginner item because you can do them on any white piece of clothing. You can even tie-dye socks and have fun socks to show off.
Lunch bags/ tote bags
Lunch bags and tote bags provide the opportunity to rock the tie-dye, without having the commit to wearing it everywhere you go.
Bedding
Bedding can be a fun way to add color to your room. Tie-dyeing bedding is a similar process to doing the clothes.
Beach Towel
Beach towels can be an exciting item to tie-dye and could potentially pair well with a tie-dye swimsuit.
Shoes
You can even tie-dye white shoes. The most common just white shoes are converse, and these can be a great option to try a more advanced form of tie-dye.
There is really an endless number of items that can be tie-dyed, which can be a fun way to bring some color into the dreary world.
