Choose a big project or a small one, but all you need are some basic supplies for big tie dyeing fun!
We like to have lots of fun with tie dye in this household, and we recently came across a new way to tie dye without buying any new dye kits.
All you need is a set of Sharpie permanent markers, some rubbing alcohol (91% is best) and a medicine dropper. A bit of creative flair will turn something from simple white to super fun colors!
Go big with a set of white canvas sneakers – or simply color the laces. You can design a custom t-shirt or pillowcase. The options are pretty much endless.
Start by coloring a design on your white item. Fill in outlines with plenty of color.
When the design is ready, use a medicine dropper to drip alcohol on the colors and watch them bleed into each other!
And once the fabric dries, it’s ready! No extra washing needed – the Sharpie inks will dry colorfast.
(Note: if you’re coloring a t-shirt, put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so the marker doesn’t bleed through to the back. And if you’re coloring shoelaces, make sure to color both sides and really saturate the fabric for bold colors.
Ironically, if you get some Sharpie on your clothing while doing this project, you can use the same alcohol to remove it! Soak a paper towel with alcohol and dab the stain. Keep doing this with a fresh paper towel and you’ll see less and less of the color transferring to the paper towel. You might not get all of it, but we managed to get it to be unnoticeable.
For more ideas of what you can tie dye, check out this post.
ch says
Adorable idea!
dinah says
This is really super cute and easy. I did it for round robin camp night for my daughter. BUT – the alcohol smell was horrible! We did try it before but when you have 8 girls doing this in a room, it’s really a lot. I opened the windows once I realized, but the small was so strong. So tip #1 if doing with a group – go outside. Next, prepare somewhere to hang up the wet items. Lingerie hangers are great for this, over the bathrub. And put plastic on the floor and edge of tub to catch drips (although they come off pretty easily with more alcohol).
The one thing that didnt work was keeping the colour. The post says it’s permanent, but it really wasn’t, disappointingly. Cold wash and dryer, and the colours faded. I did some research, and then tried putting a newly decorated pair of socks on high in the dryer for 15 minutes, then washing on cold, no dryer. They were better, but still faded somewhat. Is there any way to prevent this and keep the colours vivid?