Supplies Needed
You don’t need much to tie-dye! You’ll want to use squeeze bottles (more on this below). If you don’t have any, there probably is something else in your house you could use like an empty dish soap or hot sauce bottle. You could even use an empty bottle of water and poke a hole in the cap. You’ll also need a baking rack so that the dye doesn’t puddle under the fabric when you apply it. And of course you’ll need dye and rubber bands! For a complete list of supplies, check out our full tie-dye tutorial here.
Tie Your Fabric
After pre-washing the fabric (to remove any finishes), it’s time to tie the fabric. You can’t really go wrong here. We’re really into the scrunch method right now, where you scrunch random sections of the fabric and hold them together with rubber bands. You could also go old school with the swirl, where you would pinch the center of the fabric and twist in a spiral direction until you can’t anymore. For more on folding techniques, check out our more in depth tie-dye tutorial here.
Techniques Demoed In Video
Which Dye Should I Use?
As long as the item you are dyeing contains less than 40% polyester, you can use our All-Purpose Dye. If the item has more than 40% polyester, then use our dye for synthetics, Rit DyeMore. However, the process is different. You can find more on that here; just make sure to select Rit DyeMore in the drop down.
Pick a Color
We have many many colors to choose from. You can also use one of our thousand color formulas. After you pick a color, select any item in the small category and cut the recipe in half.
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How Should I Apply the Dye?
After you tie up your fabric, apply the dye either with a squeeze bottle or putting it in a dye bath. We are going to focus on the squeeze bottle method here because it gives you the most control when applying the dye and is needed when dyeing with multiple colors. If you are looking for directions on using a dye bath, you can find them here.
Prepare Your Squeeze Bottle(s)
Mix two cups of water with two tablespoons of dye and pour into a squeeze bottle. If you are using one of our thousand color formulas, after you pick a color, select any item in the small category and cut the recipe in half.
Set the Dye with Your Microwave
No need to wait 24 hours for the reveal anymore. By microwaving your item for two minutes, you can set the dye so that it can be revealed in a matter of minutes. The heat from the microwave opens up the fibers in the fabric to absorb the dye, ensuring that you get long lasting and vibrant color. If the item has any metal parts on it, then this cannot be done. Instead, leave the fabric out in the sun for a couple of hours.
Rinse and Reveal!
After the item has cooled down, rinse it for a good amount of time to get rid of any unabsorbed dye. If you are trying to keep some part of the fabric undyed, rinse it flat so that the unabsorbed dye doesn’t bleed into the white areas. Once rinsed, undo the rubber bands and reveal your tie-dyed creation!
Some Inspiration
Find Us Now!
Rit products are available at most major retailers. Or, you can buy them online.
