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DIY: Tie Dye Time

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Dominique Melton Student Contributor, Towson University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Towson chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Everyone loves Tie Dye! Follow these steps for the perfect spring tie dyed top!

 

Materials:

  • A Sunny Day (so you can dye outdoors)
  • Rubber Bands
  • Tie Dye Kit ($9.99 from Michael’s)
  • Water
  • Rubber/Plastic Gloves
  • Saran Wrap

Step One: Plain White T’s

  • Choose a plain, white t-shirt and lay it on a flat surface. The flat surface can be a table, driveway, grass, etc. In this tutorial, the flat surface is a table.

Step Two: Swirly Temple

  • Use two fingers, starting in the middle of the shirt, to twist the shirt into a swirl.

Step Three: Bandz

  • Tie 5 rubber bands around the swirl. Make sure they all intersect at the center of the swirl. The rubber bands should look similar to a star design.

Step Four: Little Mix

  • Pour water up to the fill line into the dye powder. Shake until all of the powder is dissolved. Continue process for all of your bottles of dye.

Step Five: Color Me Purple

  • Pour the dye onto each triangle of the swirled shirt. Alternate between colors and try to leave no white spots! This part is a bit messy so gloves are imperative if you don’t want muli-colored fingers for a week!

Step Six: Flip, Flop

  • Flip the t-shirt over and do the exact same to this side. Make sure to dye the blank triangles the same color as the colored triangles on the opposite side!

 

  • Repeat this process if you’re dyeing multiple shirts. Your shirt(s) should look like this once it’s done:

Step Seven: Wrap it Up

  • Once dyed, wrap your shirt in saran wrap. It should look like a ball of plastic afterwards (if you’re doing multiple shirts at one time, wrap each t-shirt in saran wrap individually).
  • Make sure you use enough saran wrap to cover the t-shirt. More than enough is always better than less than enough! Let the T-shirts sit in the saran wrap for 6-8 hours!

Step Eight: Rinse it Out

  • Carefully remove the saran wrap and rubber bands from the t-shirt. Rinse the shirt out in a sink or tub until the water runs clear.

Step Nine: Wash N’ Go

  • Place your t-shirt in the washing machine. Use a small amount of detergent (I count to 3 when pouring the detergent!) and let your t-shirt wash on warm/cold with a medium spin!
  • Your shirt should look like this once it’s done washing: 
  • Throw your t-shirt in the dryer and then your done!

 

VoilĂ !

(VIDEO TUTORIAL)

Enjoy your tie dyed shirts and be sure to tag @HerCampusTowson on Twitter to show us your cool designs!— Side Note: Practice makes perfect. If your shirt doesn’t turn out how you like, keep trying until you find yourself proud to wear your own tie dye shirt. Good luck, Tigers!{{Video tutorial & all photos in the tutorial provided by: TutorialsByA on YouTube! Subscribe to her for many more DIYs! I know I am!}}




"Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it." - Kevyn Aucoin â™ˇ

 


 



Dominique Melton

Dominique Melton is a student at Towson University studying Mass Communication with a track in Public Relations with a minor in Business Administration. She dreams to work in the fashion industry once she graduates, as she has not only a passion for writing but fashion as well. 

Speaking of her passions she also loves:

• live music

• photography

• singing

• shopping

• health/fitness 

 Fun facts about her include:

• She's been to 151 concerts and listens to everything from rock to r&b, edm to alternative, indie to hip-hop, and blues to pop

• She's a girl who can code!

• She loves to learn which makes for great conversation

• She is a massive One Direction fan and knows everything about them...literally everything

• She learned how to play the piano and guitar by ear

• She has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

 

You can follow her on Twitter here and Instagram here!