Dye It, Wear It, Share It

Do you ever feel like your clothes are boring and bland? Do you ever feel like you need a pop color in your life? If you answered yes to either of those questions then tie-dye is for you.


Tie-dye is a fun and creative way to spruce up your wardrobe and add a little creativity and imagination to your life.


So, I went to the book store, and searching through piles of books about origami and pottery, I found a book that I knew was meant for me. Tie Dye by Shabd Simon-Alexander. I have always been drawn to color, even from a  young age, and now at the ripe age of 16, I have blue hair following an array of colors previously. Once I got the t-shirts and dye you can imagine that I would be very excited.


When I got home I immediately broke out the dye and t-shirts and got to work. I first started with mixing the dye. "Spoon the powder into the bottle through a dry funnel, add a small amount of water, replace the lid, and shake vigorously" (Simon-Alexander, 56). After I had the dye mixed I picked my design. The spiral one seemed to be calling out to me so I decided to give that one a whirl, and I began reading the instructions. first you start by laying the t-shirt flat, and then you grab the middle and begin twisting the shirt. eventually the shirt is tied in a knot type form.


Now, rubber band time. Rubber bands are an essential part of tie-dye as they are what holds the shirts form during the dying process. When you put rubber bands on you should follow the directions and always ensure that they have a tight hold. "Use 3 rubber bands to hold it together" (Simon-Alexander, 98).


Next is the messiest, and my second favorite part (the revealing being my favorite). There are 4 different options for applying the color in the book. I am personally a fan of the random, both on the shirt and in general. the directions state that you should take the bottles of dye and "squirt" them in random spots that you choose. is says to be extra sure that the shirt is saturated in color. This is in order to get the best coverage, and to have the shirt look optimal in the end.

The directions say that you should place your shirt in a bad and let it sit for 6-8 hours, so I decided to let it sit over night.

The picture to the left if what my shirt looked like during the dying the process.

At the last step you are supposed to remove the rubber bands, and wash the shirt. However, another step is to rinse some of the dye off with hot water. I then proceeded to wash the shirt. I must say that I was quite excited to see the final result of my t-shirt. I was very curious to see how the "random" effect will end up looking.


Overall tie-dye is a great experience, and a very fun thing to do if you want a little color in your life, or just a fun activity to do with your friends. This book has certainly helped me with the process. for example, I wasn't away of how to do the spiral effect, but now I would consider myself to be pretty good at this skill.


However, I would change a few things in the end. the way I chose to do mine was on a towel, and i got dye everywhere. I would do it at a table, with some type of cover so that the dye doesn't get everywhere. Lastly, I would attempt to saturate the shirt more, because there is big white splotches left on my t-shirt. Overall though I like the way that my t-shirt came out. it is very colorful, and the random effect worked great in my opinion.