Hey friends! Wanted to share a quick quarantine family activity that might help brighten your days at home! Easy at home tie dye!

I wanted a light and neutral tie dye so we used a medium gray dye. Come to find out, you dye cotton and synthetic materials with different dyes…but I am a risk taker so I figured the worst that could happen was I’d donate some inexpensive Amazon clothes that I ruined. You can find the dye specific to cotton fabrics here. Note – the dye instructions are different for synthetics vs. cotton fabrics and there is a dye fixative you can use, but I did not.

Here is the quick and easy, step by step way we tie dyed our matching sweatshirts at home.

Wash The Clothes and Leave Wet

If you’re using old clothes from your closet you don’t have to rewash them, but you want them wet and well rung out before you dye them. With new items you’ll want to wash them first anyway, and I find my washing machine does a great job of ringing out the excess water for me.

Twist Up The Clothes and Wrap With Rubber Bands

If you’re looking for a specific pattern there are fancy ways you can tie your tie dye, but I didn’t want a certain pattern. You can actually find some simple video tutorials if you scroll down on the dye product page.

I just twisted mine in various ways and secured it with a rubber band every few inches. These were rubber bands I had on hand, but if you don’t have any, you can purchase some here.

Add The Dye to Boiling Water

For this particular dye you want very hot water. The directions say to add salt and a bit of dish detergent, but I forgot to do this the second time I dyed and I didn’t notice a difference.

Submerge Your Garments In the Hot Water

Let them sit for several minutes. I didn’t want my dye to get too dark so I only left each item in for about 4 minutes, but some directions suggested closer to one hour. So for more color saturation keep your garments submerged longer.

I flipped my pieces half way through.

Remove Your Garment From the Dye

Let the water and dye drip out if you’re planning to dye additional pieces.

Rinse In Warm, then Cold Water

Rinse your dyed items in warm water and when the water runs clear then rinse with cold water.

Wash Your Clothes

Washing your items, I used a cold water, quick wash. Dry in the dryer on regular heat.

Someone on Facebook mentioned their dye mostly washed out in the washing machine. Ours did not but you can throw your items still tied up into your washing machine and wait a day or two to wash them if you’re concerned this may happen. Different fabrics accept the dye faster than others.

ENJOY!

SHOP THE SUPPLIES I USED