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The Year of the Tie Dye

Have you jumped on the tie-dye trend yet? I’m over here in the deep end, ha! I find myself wearing it almost every single day. I think it’s because I gravitate towards tees and sweatshirts, and the tie dye adds a little bit of pop to an ordinary outfit.

Today I’m going to share some of my favorite tie-dye purchases, as well as a little DIY!

My Favorite Tie Dye Purchases

The thing about tie-dye… it seems to sell out in MINUTES! So I typically press that ADD TO CART button as quick as possible!

ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR (sold out at Target but here is the pattern)/ FIVE / SIX / SEVEN

How to Reverse Tie Dye

If you can’t get your hands on the tie-dye tops that you want, you might consider making your own! Joelle and I started doing this in the spring, and we cannot get enough. We have basically reverse tie-dyed all of our plain tees! It’s a very simple and affordable way to get the look.

What You Need

Here’s what you need: a plain tee, squirt bottle, rubber bands, fork, and bleach. THIS is the shirt that I used. I love those tees from Aerie. They are oversized so I size down to a small. It is still nice and roomy.

First up, fill a squirt bottle with half bleach/half water. We had a random squirt bottle from a past project laying around, so that’s what we used. It does not take a lot at all!

Prepping the Shirt

Now it’s time to prep your shirt. Flip it over so that you see the back of the shirt. Grab a fork. Find the center. Poke the fork in the center of the tee.

Now it is time to start twirling the fork. Move in one direction so that the shirt swirls around the fork. Continue doing this until you have a rosette-ish shape.

Swirl and Section

Remove the fork and keep your shirt tight in the swirly-shape.

Now it’s time to place your rubber bands. We used three rubber bands. We made a pie-type shape with them. You can do as many sections as you like. They really serve as more of a guide and to hold the swirls in place!

Pour and Rest

Once you have your sections, move your shirt to the bathtub or sink. Since you are using bleach, be careful where you work! You might also want to protect your hands with gloves.

Begin pouring the bleach on one piece of the pie section. You can do every other section or whatever you prefer. It’s okay if it spills over into another section. That just makes the pattern more unique and random.

Flip it over and do the back in the same way as you did the front. Make sure to get the sides as well.

Once I finish pouring on the bleach, I let it sit for 10-20 minutes. The time will depend on what type of shirt and color you use. I just check on it randomly to make sure the color is turning out okay. Leaving it on too long can cause holes, so just be aware of that. Using darker fabric may require a little more time.

Rinse and Wash

After you have achieved the desired color, take the rubber bands off and rinse with cold water. I bunch and squeeze as I am rinsing.

Throw it in the washing machine and go through the wash/dry process. It may smell a little like bleach for a couple of washes, but it eventually goes away.