How toTie Dye Shirts With No Mess!

Tie Dyed t-shirts were once all the rage and are still a fun project for kids to do. They are, however, very messy, require a large source of water, including very hot water, and are time consuming. I have a way to tie dye shirts that will alleviate all of the above problems but will still produce beautifully tie dyed t-shirts or any other garment you may wish to decorate!

First, let me mention that you can tie dye almost anything. T-shirts are popular but pants, socks and even tote bags are easily tie dyed as well. This is especially good on light colored fabrics and fabrics made of cotton or cotton/polyester blends. If you have a pair of pants that you kid wore and sat in mud, for example, tie dying is a great way to revive the pants into a wear-able garment again! Once you wash the mud out as well as possible (there will still be a stain), you can tie dye them and never notice the discoloration from the mud stain!

So, you are wondering how I dye garments without a mess? Here is the process:

Find an appropriate garment to dye. As I said, it can be a t-shirt or a pair of socks or anything else you wish to dye. Just remember that this process is as permanent as the traditional tie dying so make sure you are willing to change the appearance of this item before doing so.

Next, collect permanent markers in various colors. I recently purchased a set of 12 Sharpie markers all in different colors so there is a large variety available. I found the set at the local office supply store so if you are having trouble finding them, you may want ot check the office supply stores in your area (i.e. Staples, Office Depot, Office Max, etc)

You will need some rubberbands as well. Take the rubberbands and wind them around sections of fabric. You can experiment with several projects to see how you like the look of different patterns of wrapping. One suggestion that I really like is to grab the center of a shirt, like where the belly would be and wrap a band around there and then grab a bigger section (which includes the already wrapped section) and wrap another band, until the whole shirt is wound. This tends to make the traditional "bull's eye" pattern seen on many tie dyed shirts. Another way is to just gather the top of the shirt and put on a band and work you way to the bottom of the shirt. This method turns out like horizontal stripes.

Next you want to take the permanent markers and color the different sections of the shirt with different colors. You can color each section as fully or as lightly as you choose. You can color right up to the rubberband or not quite. It doesn't matter too much. Use a variety of colors but not too many in any one project or it will wind up looking too busy (unless, of course, that's the look you are going for!). You can make a pattern of the colors of just experiment with different variations.

Once you have finished coloring your shirt, you will need an ordinary spray bottle. You should fill it with rubbing alcohol. Now find a place to work that won't be messed up by running colors. A table covered with an old art project tablecloth would work or you could do this part of the project outside in the grass if the weather cooperates with you. An old bucket might be another suggestion. Spray the whole shirt with rubbing alcohol and watch the colors run together! It's pretty neat to watch!

Allow the shirt to dry and then remove the rubberbands from the garment. I always heat treat garments before laundering. You can do this by laying it in the hot sun for a few hours or you can put it in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes. You can now launder the garment as you would have ordinarily laundered it except beware that he first few washes, the colors may run just a bit so washing separately is a good idea until you are sure that the colors are fast. I have washed garments many times and although they may fade just a bit, the colors are still bright and vibrant. This is more than I can say about traditionally tie dyed garments which always seem to fade rather quickly.Have fun wearing your new tie dyed wardrobe!!!