Tie dye is a little bit chaotic, and you can’t really tell it what to do. You can get the right tools and use the right methods, but in the end, the dye will go where it wants and do what it wants! The great part is, tie dye is tough to mess up if you do it with an open mind, mixing and pouring colors with the expectation that there is beauty in the uncontrollable. Plus, it is impossible to create two tie dye pieces that are exactly the same, so when you create with tie dye, the results are always uniquely yours! Any variation in color, pattern, or any unexpected result are all just part of the swirly, crumply, gorgeous mess that is tie dye, or any kind of making and creating.
Before Bleach Tie Dyeing, Remember To Learn Tie-dye Step by Step
Top 10 reverse tie dye ideas and inspiration
1. Spiral
The iconic spiral! This swirly design is well-loved from music festivals to summer camps, and we're going to show you how to spin it!
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Pinch where you'd like the center to be for the spiral pattern. Twist the fabric around the pinched area until the fabric is in a spiral bundle.
2 | Using 3 rubber bands, bind the spiral bundle, crossing the rubber bands over each other to create wedge shapes between the bands.
3 | Saturate every other wedge of the bundle (front and back) with dye.
2. Bunch
There's nothing easier than the bunch method, but the results look advanced! Just bunch, bind, and bask in the satisfying swirls you're sure to create!
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Bunch the fabric into a mound. Bunch the fabric tightly or loosely for varying patterns.
2 | For a more defined pattern, secure the bunched fabric with rubber bands.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
3. Cluster
This method is achieved by pinching clusters of fabric together and binding them with rubber bands. The result is a cool circular pattern wherever you pinched!
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Pinch a section of the shirt, and bind it with a rubber band.
2 | Repeat pinching and binding sections until the fabric is covered with bound clusters.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
4. Stripes
Stripes are a style classic, and creating them with tie dye takes them to the next level.
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Fold lengthwise, accordion style, until you have created a narrow rectangle.
2 | Use rubber bands to bind your pleated fabric top to bottom, evenly spacing them on the folded fabric. Add as many or as few rubber bands as you'd like to create more or fewer stripes!
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
5. Bullseye
We love the way this binding method creates a design that has both circular and striped elements, resulting in a pattern that is so unique, you'll always hit your mark!
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Pinch at the center of where your bullseye pattern will start. Wrap a rubber band around the pinched area.
2 | Working your way from the first rubber band, bind the fabric with additional rubber bands, evenly spaced, until it is bound from end to end.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
6. Chevron
The chevron binding method creates a V shape that can be layered to create a single V or multiples, depending on the way it is bound. Then, it can be dipped in various colors for a blocked effect, or in one color for a highly graphic result!
HOW TO
1 | Fold damp fabric in half lengthwise. Use a washable marker to draw a diagonal line from the fold up to the outer edge where you want the V pattern to be.
2 | Gather the fabric along the drawn line. Then use a rubber band to bind around the line. Add additional rubber bands for additional V patterns, if desired.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
7. Grid
This gorgeous method is inspired by the Japanese manual resist dyeing technique, which involves binding the fabric in very close sections to create patterns on fabric. The results are stunning and no two are the same!
HOW TO
1 | Fold damp fabric lengthwise, accordion style until you have created a narrow rectangle. Starting at the top of one end of the folded rectangle, fold the top down to create a square; then repeat, going the other direction, folding accordion style again until you have created a square of folded fabric.
2 | Place the folded square between 2 pieces of cardboard. Wrap the bundle of folded fabric and cardboard with 6-8 rubber bands.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye or dip in a dye bath.
8. Heart
It's no surprise that this design has us feeling the love. This heart binding method has to be the sweetest of them all, and once you get the hang of it, you'll be wearing your heart on more than just your sleeve!
HOW TO
1 | Fold damp fabric in half lengthwise. Use a washable marker to draw half a heart shape at the fold where you want the heart pattern to be.
2 | Gather the fabric along the drawn line. Then use a rubber band to bind around the line. Add additional rubber bands for additional heart patterns.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
9. Roll
For this method you'll roll your fabric around a piece of rope, resulting in a gorgeous gradient!
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Cut a piece of rope longer than the width of your fabric.
2 | Lay the rope on the fabric, and roll the fabric up around the rope. NOTE: The area you initially roll around the rope will have the most white.
3 | Tie the ends of the rope together, pulling tightly and scrunching the fabric as much as you can. Knot the rope.
4 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
10. Sunflare
The organic, stripey pattern of the sunflare technique looks like it is radiating flares of light and we think it's one of the best binding methods under the sun.
HOW TO
1 | Lay damp fabric flat on your work surface. Use a washable marker to draw a curve from one side of the fabric, over and down to the opposite bottom corner.
2 | Gather the fabric along the drawn line. Then use a rubber band to bind around the line. Bind the fabric with additional rubber bands, evenly spaced, until it is bound from end to end.
3 | Saturate the entire bundle with dye.
We hope you’ll use this Techniques to brighten your closet, turn something bland into something bold, and give yourself permission to create with color and chaos; embracing the result, whether it’s just what you envisioned or nothing like you expected. You are the tie dyed sheep now, and that means you get to be you: colorful, unruly, wild, and beautiful.
