Tie-Dye Your Old T-shirts

Usually with white or light colored t-shirts, we sometimes always manage to stain them. I have been a lifeguard for the last ten years and for me, sunscreen always stains my t-shirts. Instead of throwing them away and buying brand new ones, why not give them a makeover? Tie-dyeing is fun, easy, and will extend the life of your shirts. It will allow you the opportunity to be creative and the fun part is you never know what the shirt will look like until it is dry. The design options are limitless as you can use a variety of colors, techniques, and drying options. The unique thing about tie-dye is that no two designs are alike.

The materials you needs are:
     T-shirt
     Dye (S.E.I Tumble Dye works well and is quick)
     Rubber Bands (optional)
     A Hard surface that can easily get dirty
     Gloves (if worried about staining your hands)
     Old Clothes (in case you get messy)

1) Wash the shirt you want to use prior to coloring. You want to dampen your shirt before you start placing the color.  Lay the shirt on a hard surface and decide the design you want to do.

2) I started with a spiral design, but I couldn't get the whole t-shirt wrapped up. I decided to mix some different designs, so I did a small spiral in one area and did the "scrunch method" in other areas. The "scrunch method" is where take the fabric and scrunch it up loosely, creating "hills" or "mountains". Spray the dye in the desired areas and un-scrunch it.

The "Scrunch" Method

                                                           

3) After you are done adding color, you will want to hang your shirt to dry. I learned that to make the colors run, you want to hang your shirt up to dry, but if you want your designs to stay the same, lay the shirt flat to dry. I really enjoyed how it turned out.
4) After the shirt is completely dry, seal the color by placing it in the dryer. Now your shirt is ready to wear!

The Finished Product before drying