Tuesday Tips: Mess Free Tie-Dye
Let’s jump back to the 1960’s when bright colors and TIE-DYE were all the rage! Today I’m going to teach you how to do a mess free tie-dye! You didn’t think “mess free” and “tie-dye” could be in the same sentence did you? 😉
To get started, you will need the following supplies:
-White t-shirt, white-fabric, or whatever you wish to tie-dye
-Old cookie sheet
-Sharpies
-Dropper
-91% rubbing alcohol *The 91% is important as we found this concentration works the best*
Slide the cookie sheet in between your t-shirt or under whatever you are tie-dying. This is to make sure the rubbing alcohol doesn’t soak through to the surface you’re working on.
Draw designs on your t-shirt. I found that making a dot with lines, dots or circles around the center dot worked best. I tried a heart and that was a big fail (picture later in the blog post). Here was a pattern that worked well.
With the dropper full of rubbing alcohol begin dropping a few drops on the very center circle. The alcohol will spread causing the colors to run in an outward circular motion. The more dots of alcohol you drop, the more your design will spread.
Here is an example of a finished shirt.
I must admit that my very talented and crafty sister-in-law made this one. Amazing. Once your shirt has dried, iron it to seal the colors. Now for the big reveal of the t-shirt I made.
Because we all know you would rather your t-shirt look like my sister-in-laws rather than mine, here are a few tips we learned:
– Try out designs on a scrap piece of fabric first!
-A small dot in the center with lines, circles or other dots around it work best.
-The center color should be your lightest color with darker colors around it.
-Only drop the alcohol in the center, not all around your design.
I am dying to tie-dye a piece of fabric and make it into an outfit! How cool would that be?!
Share your tie-dye creations over at our SLPco Fan Group on Facebook and on Instagram at slpco.
Happy tie-dying!
Kimberlee
