I don’t know about you, but I am LOVING seeing tie-dye pop up in my Instagram feed right now and I’m SO excited that tie-dye is finally having its moment again! This trend brings back so much nostalgia for me… I loved to tie-dye in all sorts of crazy colors and patterns in high school when I was going through my vintage clothing phase.
Now that I’m much older, I still love a good tie-dye, but I find that many of the tie-dyed clothing online is super junior-focused and crazy colorful. I made this guide because I wanted to create a more subdued and “sophisticated” tie-dye that was less about the splash of rainbow colors and more about a subtle monochrome tie-dye.
Since I’m spending a lot more time at home now, I chose to tie-dye comfy clothes like sweats, biker shorts and t-shirts that can be mixed and matched and dressed up or down. My tie-dye tutorial is super easy & absolutely fail-proof because there are no crazy patterns or colors involved, which means you can be as lazy or as creative as you want with it! I will also show you how to dye using a custom blush tone that I’m OBSESSED with, but you can choose whatever colors you like for your own tie-dye.
Looking for other fun activities to do at home? Check out some of my other how-to’s
WHAT YOU NEED TO TIE-DYE
- Plastic Gloves
- Dyes
- Salt
- Rubber Bands
- Plastic Dye bottles
- Plastic containers for mixing dye (needs to hold at least 4 cups of water)
- Large plastic container to hold a dye bath (needs to hold at least 8 cups of water)
STEP ONE: PURCHASE YOUR GARMENTS
This step is the most important! Why? Because tie-dye works best when you are using cotton fabrics. If you choose a synthetic-based fabric, your garment will not capture the color as well. When you’re picking out pieces to tie dye, make sure they are at least 90% cotton to ensure a consistent dye. Before you begin tie dyeing, make sure you wash your garments with laundry detergent and leave them damp for the dyeing process.
Check out my tie-dye picks below (from left to right): Cropped Tank Top | High-Rise Biker Shorts | Joggers | Crewneck Pullover | Boxy Cropped T-Shirt | Over-sized Drop Sleeve T-shirt | 3-Inch Biker Shorts
STEP TWO: PREPARE YOUR DYES
You can choose any color under the rainbow for your tie-dye, just make sure you follow the instructions on the dye package and dilute it accordingly! I highly recommend using Rit Dye because the dyes are much more powerful and quick to absorb than those from your standard tie-dye kits, plus they have so much more color variety!
If you are wanting to do a monochrome tie-dye, you will work with the same color with different dilutions, this means adding more water or more dye to your solution to create a variation in shades for your tie-dye. Also, don’t be afraid to play around and mix together different dye colors to achieve the color you want! Rit Dye has a great resource on their website for dye combinations and tons of helpful tips for the dying process!
I created a peachy blush tone for my garments, so I mixed together two different dyes to achieve this color. I used a combination of Tan and Wine, but you can also use Sandstone, Camel, Tangerine and Rose Quartz for a similar effect. Make sure to read the instructions on the package and add salt to your dye mixture accordingly.
Check out my tie-dye formulas below (from left to right):
- Blush 1 (neutral tan tone): 4 cups water, 2 tbsp Tan, 1/4 tsp Wine
- Blush 2 (balanced base tone): 4 cups water, 1 tbsp Tan, 1/4 tsp Wine
- Blush 3 (rosy pink tone): 4 cups water, 1 tbsp Tan, 1/2 tsp Wine
- Blush 4 (peachy blush tone): 4 cups water, 2 tbsp Tan, 1 tsp Wine
I created a dye bath to dip your garments into after the tie dye has set in order to achieve a monochromatic tie dye effect, but we will get to this step later!
STEP THREE: TWIST & TIE-DYE
Be as creative as you want with the process and create cool tie-dye patterns or do a simple, random tie dye like I did. I used a simple twist or bunched together random parts of the garment and tie it off.
Once you have twisted the fabric, tie a rubber band tightly around the fabric to secure the twist. Make sure you are grabbing both the top and bottom layers of the garment in your twist.
Repeat this randomly until your entire garment has been bunched, twisted and tied off as pictured below on the left.
STEP FOUR: TIE DYE TIME!
Now, for the fun part! Grab your different dye mixtures and transfer them to small dye bottles so that you can easily squirt them out onto your garment. Then, start adding the color randomly to your tied up garment.
You can be methodical about the placement of your dyes or squirt the dye bottles randomly like I did. If you are doing a monochrome tie dye like the blush example I have provided you, you will not be able to tell much variation in the colors when you are placing them randomly. Don’t worry, this is normal!
Tip: Aim for saturated patches of color order for a true tie-dye effect.
STEP FIVE: SET THE TIE DYE
Let the dye set for 1-2 hours before untying it and rinsing it with cold water in the sink. Rinse until the water runs clear.
STEP SIX: DYE BATH
This step is completely optional, but necessary if you are wanting a monochrome tie-dye with no white showing. You will notice that your garment might have some patches of white left where the dye did not reach when it was tied. To make it monochrome, you will need to make a very diluted dye bath to soak the entire garment in. This helps the white parts of the garment capture a slight color and evens-out the tone of the entire garment for that true monochrome look.
You can play around with the intensity of your dye bath, but note that it is heavy on the ratio of water to dye and the color should be very faint.
Check out my dye bath ratio below. I doubled the volume of water, but kept the same amount of dye as I used in the tie-dyes. This creates the dilution and provides enough water to soak the entire garment in.
- Pale blush dye bath: 8 cups water, 1 tbsp tan, 1/4 tsp wine
Once your dye bath is prepared, place your garment in the bath and leave for 5-10 minutes. Afterwards, rinse with cold water until the water runs clear.
STEP SEVEN: WASH & DRY YOUR TIE DYE
Wash your garment by hand with warm water and detergent or on a gentle cycle in the washing machine. Wash it by itself as the dye will bleed and transfer to anything other items that are washed with it. Once it is washed, hang up your garment to dry.
I’m not going to lie, I surprised myself with how good the results came out. I am absolutely IN LOVE with this blush color that I created. It’s a perfect peachy, neutral tone and will look super cute paired with other pieces in my wardrobe. I played with the amount of neutral tan/ pink tones and the amount of ties to get a variation in the effect and color palette. I can’t wait to mix and match these comfy pieces!
7 Simple steps & your super-chic Tie-Dye is Complete! Now, how easy was that?!
