What is Tie Dye?

Tie-dye is a dyeing technique that uses bright, bold colors and patterns. Plus, Tie-dye is easy to do, too! Tie dyeing is adding color to fabric that has usually been bound with rubber bands or string. Most people tie-dye fabric using a tie-dye kit bought from a local craft store.

You can also reverse tie-dye, which takes away color instead of adding to it like the traditional tie-dye technique mentioned above. The reverse tie dyeing technique can be done at home without a kit.

The best thing about tye dying is the cool patterns that can be created with the way the string or rubber bands are placed, as well as where the color is applied.

Beginner Tie Dye Information

If you are new or are a beginner tie dyer, then read over the materials and how to tie-dye steps below.

Materials Needed for Tie Dye

• Fabric or clothing item like socks, sweatshirts, bags and more that are in a lighter color. Most will use a white colored fabric when tie dyeing.
• Plastic squeeze bottles with tips that hold about 2 oz. (These can be found at local craft stores, or they are included in most tie-dye kits)
• Dye (powder or liquid)
• Rubber bands or string
• Gloves
• Plastic drop-cloth or garbage bags
• Wire rack (optional)
• Storage bag that can be resealed. 

How to Tie Dye

1. Pre-wash: Wash your fabric or clothing item before beginning the tie-dying process.
2. You should prepare your workspace and supplies. Drop-cloths or garbage bags can be used to cover any surfaces. If you have a tie-dye kit, follow the instructions to make the dyes. Use a wire wrack overtop of the garbage or cloth to prevent staining of the surface and pooling of the dye.
3. If you’re using a pattern, choose and fold it. (see below for pattern ideas and folding techniques). Before beginning the tie-dye process, decide on your pattern and the colors you want to use to ensure that you have all the necessary materials.
4. Tie your pattern together. Use rubber bands to hold your item together. It will take more dye to penetrate the tightly bound patterns, and the opposite is true for more loosely rubber-banded items.
5. Dye your item. Next, put on your gloves and start squeezing the dye onto the fabric of your item. Have fun with how much dye you add and the colors you pick! This part is what will make the tie-dye project unique to you. Continue applying the dye so that the same color goes over the edges and the back.
6. Let the project sit. Keeping the rubber bands on, place the project in a sealed bag, such as a gallon plastic bag. Your item should be kept damp, so the dye can fully penetrate it, which is about 6-8 hours.
7. You should rinse and wash the item. Remove the rubber bands by carefully cutting them off and rinse your item with cold water. When you are rinsing the item, make sure to be careful of staining. Then, wash and dry your items according to the instructions for your dye kit.

Cool Tie Dye Patterns

Here are some different patterns and shapes you can make when tie-dyeing, such as Halloween Tie Dye shapes, for example. Take a look at a few of them below and see what you can create with these cool tie-dye patterns.

Read on down to find even more amazing and unique patterns you can make with tie-dye!

Cool Tie Dye Patterns + Techniques

Take a look below at some of the best tie-dye patterns you can use to create unique tie-dye creations on tees, pants and more!

1

Easy Crumple Tie Dye Technique Pattern

Photo Credit: pineapplepaperco.com

Learn how to create a crumple tie dye pattern with these step-by-step photo tutorial, which is great for a beginner to start when learning how to tie dye.

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2

Tie-dye with Clips Pattern

Photo Credit: www.cchobby.com

Follow along with the instructions to learn how to fold and clip your way to a gorgeous tie-dye pattern.

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3

Mermaid Scales Tie Dye Shirt Pattern

Photo Credit: www.doodlecraftblog.com

You'll love creating this wonderful mermaids shirt using this fun tie dye pattern! Just follow along with the photo tutorials and instructions to be able to create your very own tie dyed mermaid tank!

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4

Spider Tie-Dye Shirt Pattern

Photo Credit: dyediy.com

Use this pattern to create a spider tie dye look using this free video tutorial. This pattern is easy to make and always turns out fun as well!

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5

How to Tie Dye a Swirl (Spiral Technique) Pattern

Photo Credit: www.chandye.com

Learn all about the spiral pattern or swirl pattern in tie-dying with these easy to follow instructions. You can follow along with the video tutorial as well as the detailed photo tutorials as well!

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6

Ombre Tie-Dye Technique

Photo Credit: www.tiedyeyoursummer.com

This fun ombre tee pattern is fun to make with tie-dye and easy as well!

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7

Reverse Tie Dye Crumple Pattern

Use just bleach to make these reverse tie dye pattern on a sweatshirt with this easy step by step tutorial.

Learn More

8

Tie Dye Rainbow Swirl Pattern

Photo Credit: craftychica.com

Learn how to make a rainbow spiral with these easy to follow tie dye pattern tutorial.

Learn More

9

How to Tie-dye with Ice Cubes (Ice-dye Technique)

Photo Credit: www.chandye.com

Learn how to tie dye with ice with these easy tutorial and pattern!

Learn More

10

Sunflower Tie-Dye Patterns

Follow along with these two video tutorials to create sunflower patterns with tie dye!

Learn More

11

Folding Tie-Dye Technique

Photo Credit: www.tiedyeyoursummer.com

Learn these easy technique of folding in tie dye to create unique and fun patterns!

Learn More

12

How to Tie Dye Heart Shape

Photo Credit: theneonteaparty.com

Learn how to create a heart shape pattern when tie dying using this easy to follow pattern!

Learn More

13

How to Tie Dye Square & Triangle Patterns

Photo Credit: theneonteaparty.com

Learn how to Tie Dye Shibori Square & Triangle (Itajime) Patterns by following along with a few simple steps!

Learn More

14

Easy Tie Dye Method: (Accordion Fold)

Photo Credit: www.fiberartsy.com

Use the accordion pattern technique when tie dyeing to create a fun one of a kind pair of pants!

Learn More

15

Galaxy Tie-Dye Technique Pattern

Photo Credit: www.tiedyeyoursummer.com

You'll love the way your tee looks when using the galaxy tie dye pattern! Get the full tutorial with photos and illustrations to help you along the way.

Learn More

The post 15 Cool Tie Dye Patterns And How to Make Them appeared first on Making A Space.

I’ll also go over reverse tie-dying and show you how to bleach a dyed sweatshirt with a step-by-step tutorial too!

What is Tie Dyeing?

Tie dyeing is adding color to fabric that has usually been bound with rubber bands or string. Most people tie-dye fabric using a tie-dye kit bought from a local craft store.

Unique tie dye patterns can be created with the way the string or rubber bands are placed, as well as where the color is applied.

You can also reverse tie-dye, which takes away color instead of adding to it like the traditional tie-dye technique mentioned above. Reverse Tie Dying is a technique that can be done at home without a kit.

How to Tie Dye Shirts (+ more!)

Follow the steps below to find out which materials you will need to tie-dye as well as the steps to follow to complete a tie-dye project.

Materials Needed for Tie Dye

• Fabric or clothing item like socks, sweatshirts, bags and more that are in a lighter color. Most will use a white colored fabric when tie dyeing.
• Plastic squeeze bottles with tips that hold about 2 oz. (These can be found at local craft stores, or they are included in most tie-dye kits)
• Dye (powder or liquid)
• Rubber bands or string
• Gloves
• Plastic drop-cloth or garbage bags
• Wire rack (optional)
• Storage bag that can be resealed. 

How to Tie Dye

1. Pre-wash: Wash your fabric or clothing item before beginning the tie-dying process.
2. You should prepare your workspace and supplies. Drop-cloths or garbage bags can be used to cover any surfaces. If you have a tie-dye kit, follow the instructions to make the dyes. Use a wire wrack overtop of the garbage or cloth to prevent staining of the surface and pooling of the dye.
3. If you’re using a pattern, choose and fold it. (see below for pattern ideas and folding techniques). Before beginning the tie-dye process, decide on your pattern and the colors you want to use to ensure that you have all the necessary materials.
4. Tie your pattern together. Use rubber bands to hold your item together. It will take more dye to penetrate the tightly bound patterns, and the opposite is true for more loosely rubber-banded items.
5. Dye your item. Next, put on your gloves and start squeezing the dye onto the fabric of your item. Have fun with how much dye you add and the colors you pick! This part is what will make the tie-dye project unique to you. Continue applying the dye so that the same color goes over the edges and the back.
6. Let the project sit. Keeping the rubber bands on, place the project in a sealed bag, such as a gallon plastic bag. Your item should be kept damp, so the dye can fully penetrate it, which is about 6-8 hours.
7. You should rinse and wash the item. Remove the rubber bands by carefully cutting them off and rinse your item with cold water. When you are rinsing the item, make sure to be careful of staining. Then, wash and dry your items according to the instructions for your dye kit.

How to Tie Dye Video Tutorial

How to Tie Dye With Bleach

Bleach tie-dyeing is a technique that takes the color out of an item instead of adding it like traditional tie-dying does. You use bleach to take the color out of dark-colored materials, which is the opposite of what a colorful tie-dyeing would be like, since you add color to a white piece of fabric.

Occasionally, you will hear this technique called reverse tie-dying, since it is technically taking the color out of an item instead of applying it.

Materials Needed for Bleach Tie Dye (aka reverse tie-dye)

To reverse tie-dye (take the color out) aka bleach dying, you’ll only need a few materials! Scroll on down to learn how to tie dye with bleach!

• Dark Colored Sweatshirt (dark t-shirt, sweatpants, or hoodie works too!)
  • I used an Amazon Essential Sweatshirt in Charcoal Heather.
  • You could use a Dark Grey, Black or even could try bleaching red sweatshirt too!
• Bleach + Water Mixture (I did 2 tablespoons of bleach per 1 quart of water)
  • You can do a stronger mixture of 1 to 1 if you wish, but I preferred the lesser quantity of bleach for mine.
• Rubber Gloves (these are important)
• Protective clothing such as an apron (to keep the bleach splashes away)
• Rubber bands
• Spray Bottle

If you’d like to try your hand at reverse tie-dyeing, then follow along with our easy bleached sweatshirt tutorial! How to Reverse Tie Dye a Sweatshirt.

I also have a collection of other reverse tie-dye projects and bleached denim projects as well that you may enjoy too.

How to Tie Dye With Bleach Video Tutorial

Tie Dye Patterns and Shapes

There are a variety of different patterns and shapes you can make when tie-dyeing, such as Halloween Tie Dye shapes, for example. Take a look at a few of them below and see what you can create.

• Spiral Tie Dying – To create the spiral tie-dying technique, pinch the fabric at the center and swirl until it looks like a pinwheel. Place rubber bands around the center, so it almost looks like a cut pizza pie.
• Accordion Tie Dyeing: Learn all about the accordion tie-dye technique from Tulip.
• Ice Dye. Ice dyeing is the process of putting ice cubes on top of fabric and sprinkling dye on top of the ice. The melting process will dictate how the dye splits and bleeds, and where it lands on the fabric.
• Reverse Tie Dye
• Crumple Tie Dying – crumple up your fabric evenly and secure with rubber bands. (This is the one I used!)
• Folding Tie Dying – use different folding techniques to create a unique piece. Learn more about the Folding Tie Dye Technique with this video, so you can create some fun stripe tie-dye designs.
• Clipping Tie Dying – use one or multiple clips or clothes pins to hold the fabric in place to create a fun design

The techniques listed above are the most common shapes to create when tie-dying, but you are welcome to get creative and try different methods.

What Can You Tie Dye?

You could try to tie dye about anything you’d like! Below are a few of the most common things to do tie dye.

• Wash Cloths
• Hats
• Dish Towels
• Beach Towel
• Pillow Cases
• Socks
• Bags
• Napkins
• Curtains
• Blanket
• Shoes
• Sweatshirt
• T-Shirts
• Scrunchie

What kind of fabric would you tie dye on?? I’d love to try something unique like a tie-dye dog bed or maybe something even bigger like a hammock!

What is the Best Dye to Use for Tie Dye?

There are two types of dyes that you can use when tie dying, so the best dye will depend on what you are tie-dying which I’ll explain below.

• Fiber Reactive Dyes: These are dyes that bind permanently to the fabric, which will give you long-lasting color. Tulip brand dyes are considered a fiber reactive dye.
• Staining Dyes: These are dyes that stain fabric by coating it and will fade. Brands like Rit are considered staining dyes.

The best dye to use would be fiber reactive dye when tie dyeing projects.

What Does Soda Ash Do for Tie Dye Shirts and Fabrics? (aka sodium carbonate)

When you use a soda ash solution for tie-dyeing it helps raise the PH levels of the dye bath and make the color soak into the fabric better. So basically, it helps the fabric soak in color to make your tie dyed item vibrant. Learn more about using Soda Ash for Tie Dying from Tulip.

How Do you Wash a Tie Dye Shirt or Item?

Here show to wash tie-dye for the first time:

1. Under cold running water, rinse out the excess dye.
2. Take off the rubber bands and rinse until the water runs clear.
3. The tie-dyed items should be washed with hot water and a gentle detergent.
4. For the first few wash cycles, wash tie-dyed items separately from other laundry items.

The post The Best How to Tie Dye for Beginners Guide appeared first on Making A Space.

You can make designs like spiderwebs, pumpkins, or anything else that fits the season. In this post, we’ll share some simple and fun Halloween tie-dye ideas to help you get started as well as some basic tips on how to tie dye. Grab your dye, and let’s make something spooky!

What is Tie Dyeing?

Tie dyeing is adding color to fabric that has usually been bound with rubber bands or string. Most people tie-dye fabric using a tie-dye kit bought from a local craft store. Unique tie-dye patterns can be created with the way the string or rubber bands are placed, as well as where the color is applied.

You can also reverse tie-dye, which takes away color instead of adding to it like the traditional tie-dye technique mentioned above. Reverse Tie Dying is a technique that can be done at home without a kit.

Materials Needed for Tie Dye

How to Tie Dye

The steps below will work when tie-dying in general as well as for Halloween Tie Dye projects as well.

1. Pre-wash: Wash your fabric or clothing item before beginning the tie-dying process.
2. You should prepare your workspace and supplies. Drop-cloths or garbage bags can be used to cover any surfaces. If you have a tie-dye kit, follow the instructions to make the dyes. Use a wire wrack overtop of the garbage or cloth to prevent staining of the surface and pooling of the dye.
3. If you’re using a pattern, choose and fold it. (see below for pattern ideas and folding techniques). Before beginning the tie-dye process, decide on your pattern and the colors you want to use to ensure that you have all the necessary materials.
4. Tie your pattern together. Use rubber bands to hold your item together. It will take more dye to penetrate the tightly bound patterns, and the opposite is true for more loosely rubber-banded items.
5. Dye your item. Next, put on your gloves and start squeezing the dye onto the fabric of your item. Have fun with how much dye you add and the colors you pick! This part is what will make the tie-dye project unique to you. Continue applying the dye so that the same color goes over the edges and the back.
6. Let the project sit. Keeping the rubber bands on, place the project in a sealed bag, such as a gallon plastic bag. Your item should be kept damp, so the dye can fully penetrate it, which is about 6-8 hours.
7. You should rinse and wash the item. Remove the rubber bands by carefully cutting them off and rinse your item with cold water. When you are rinsing the item, make sure to be careful of staining. Then, wash and dry your items according to the instructions for your dye kit.

Tie Dye Patterns and Shapes

• Spiral Tie Dying – Pinch the fabric at the center and swirl until it looks like a pinwheel. Place rubber bands around the center, so it almost looks like a cut pizza pie.
• Accordion Tie Dyeing: Learn all about the accordion tie-dye technique from Tulip.
• Ice Dye. Ice dyeing is the process of putting ice cubes on top of fabric and sprinkling dye on top of the ice. The melting process will dictate how the dye splits and bleeds, and where it lands on the fabric.
• Reverse Tie Dye
• Crumple Tie Dying – crumple up your fabric evenly and secure with rubber bands. (This is the one I used!)
• Folding Tie Dying – use different folding techniques to create a unique piece. Learn more about the Folding Tie Dye Technique with this video, so you can create some fun stripe tie-dye designs.
• Clipping Tie Dying – use one or multiple clips or clothes pins to hold the fabric in place to create a fun design

Halloween Tie Dye Projects

You can follow the tutorials below to create some spooky Halloween pattern tie dye creations as well a fun costumes too!

Tie Dye Halloween Projects To Make

We've rounded up the best tie-dye Halloween projects like socks, shirts and more below for you to make this year. Enjoy!

1

Halloween Tie Dye T-Shirts

Photo Credit: icecreamcastles.com

Make these adorable Halloween pumpkin face tie-dye tees with this free photo tutorial.

Read More

2

Halloween Spiral Tie Dye Shirt [Spooky Spiral #3]

Photo Credit: www.youtube.com

Follow along with this video tutorial to make a spooky spiral pattern as a Halloween Tee!

Read More

3

Halloween Tie Dye Socks

Photo Credit: madincrafts.com

Follow along with this tutorial to learn how to make tie - dye socks for your next Halloween party!

Read More

4

Tie-dye pattern : Jack-O'-Lantern (Halloween Tie Dye)

Photo Credit: www.youtube.com

Read More

5

Two-Minute Tie-Dye Family Hippie Halloween Costume

Photo Credit: craftboxgirls.com

Learn how to make a Halloween tie dye costume with this simple tutorial.

Read More

6

Halloween hair idea: Tie dye hair clips

Photo Credit: craftychica.com

Make your own hair clips for Halloween costumes by tie-dying your own!

Read More

7

Halloween Tie Dye - Patterns and Easy Instructions with Photos

Photo Credit: www.abcrafty.com

This tutorial will show you how to make 4 different Halloween tie-dye designs: Pumpkin Tie Dye Shirt, Candy Corn Tie Dye Shirt, Bat Tie-dye shirt as well as a ghost tie dye shirt too!

Read More

8

Spider Web Halloween Tie-Dye Shirt Tutorial & Boo Kit

Photo Credit: dianarambles.com

Learn how to make a Spider Web Halloween Tie-Dye shirt for Halloween. It's easy to make and the perfect go to project for all age levels.

Read More

9

Halloween Tie Dye Shirts Collection

Photo Credit: www.doodlecraftblog.com

Learn how to make a tie dye pumpkin shirt, eye shirt, skull shirt and more with this tutorial! Great for a Halloween tie dye party! Make one or all of these halloween tie dye shirts!

Read More

If you love everything tie dye, then you’ll enjoy this collection of Halloween tie dye projects! This list will work great if you’d like to have a tie dye Halloween party or even make a tie dye Halloween costume.

What Else Can I Tie Dye?

Make some spooky Halloween Tie Dye projects using the other fabric items below.

• Wash Cloths
• Dish Towels
• Pillow Cases
• Socks
• Bags

The post The Best Halloween Tie Dye Projects (9 Easy Ideas) appeared first on Making A Space.

Explore this collection of reverse tie-dye tutorials (bleach tie-dyeing) below that will teach you how to bleach dye denim in no time. After you take a look at this list, you may also enjoy checking out our reverse tie-dye sweatshirt tutorial too. Enjoy!

What is Bleach Tie-Dyeing?

Bleach tie-dyeing is a technique that takes the color out of an item instead of adding it like tie-dying with color. You can use bleach to take the color out of dark-colored materials like denim and fade them to a lighter denim color of your choosing.

Every so often, you will hear this technique called reverse dying, since it is the opposite of adding color to items. You can use this bleaching method to create some unique and cool bleach tie-dye patterns on denim.

Supplies For Bleach Dying Denim

• Denim (jeans, jacket or shorts)
• Bleach + Water Mixture (I did 2 tablespoons of bleach per 1 quart of water)
  • You can do a stronger mixture of 1 to 1 if you wish, but I preferred the lesser quantity of bleach for lightening denim.
• Rubber Gloves
• Protective clothing such as an apron
• Bucket or large bin for submerging the denim in the bleach mixture.

Now that you know all about what bleach dying is and the supplies you’ll need to get started, scroll on down to check out the bleach denim tutorials.

Easy to Make Bleach Denim Tutorials and Patterns

Use the tutorials below to learn how to lighten bleach on denim. Each of the bleached denim tutorials has detailed steps and are easy to follow. Read on down to explore all the bleach dying techniques on denim!

Bleached Denim Jacket

Follow along with this tutorial on how to bleach dye a denim jacket from Levi. You will learn a different dying technique using bleach splatters, which will make this jacket unique to you.

Find the DIY bleach denim jacket tutorial below from Levis!

Get the Tutorial

Lightened Denim Jacket with Bleach

This tutorial from Emily Belloma will teach you how to use bleach to lighten a jean jacket to make it look worn. It is also great if you have a denim jacket with a color you aren’t fond of because you’ll be able to change it with this bleaching technique.

Check out the bleached denim jacket tutorial below!

Get the Tutorial

Half Bleached Jeans

These bleached dyed jeans are a fun way to make a pair of jeans unique to you! This tutorial from now that’s peachy will show you how to make a pair of bleached denim jeans step-by-step!

Find the two-toned bleach jeans tutorial below.

Get the Tutorial

Common Questions about Bleach Dying

How Do I Bleach Jeans Lighter?

It is easy to lighten jeans at home by soaking them in a bleach and water mixture, checking every few minutes until the denim is lightened to your liking.

How Long Should I Leave Bleach on Denim?

When lightening denims, anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes is a good for a perfect fade. The amount of time needed will depend on the bleach to water ratio used in the reverse dye mixture.

How do I Wash my Bleach-dyed Fabric?

After completing the bleach dyeing process, it’s important to rinse the fabric thoroughly in cold water to remove any excess bleach. Then, you should wash the fabric separately in cold water with a gentle detergent. Avoid using fabric softeners or bleach during the washing process, as these can damage the color and texture of the fabric. After washing, you can hang or lay the fabric flat to air dry. It’s also a good idea to wash your bleach-dyed fabric separately from other clothes to avoid any potential color transfer.

More DIY Projects to Make

• 10 Summer Paper Plate Crafts Your Kids Will Love
• Easy to Make Money Lei Necklaces for Graduation 2025
• 15 Cool Tie Dye Patterns And How to Make Them
• The Best How to Tie Dye for Beginners Guide
• The Best Halloween Tie Dye Projects (9 Easy Ideas)

The post 3 Easy to Make Bleached Denim Tutorials (Reverse Tie Dye) appeared first on Making A Space.

Scroll on down to learn this easy DIY bleach dying technique and to see how fun it can be to make a reverse tie-dye sweatshirt!

What is Bleach Tie-Dyeing (Reverse Tie Dye)?

Bleach tie-dyeing is a technique that takes the color out of an item instead of adding it like traditional tie-dying does. You use bleach to take the color out of dark-colored materials, which is the opposite of what a colorful tie-dyeing would be like, since you add color to a white piece of fabric.

Every so often you will hear this technique called reverse tie-dying, since it is technically taking the color out of an item instead of applying it.

As long as you use a darker clothing item that is non-white, you can use this bleaching design to create some unique and cool bleach tie dye patterns.

Different Ways to Tie Dye with Bleach

There are a few different methods on how to do bleach tie-dye which I’ll highlight below that would all look good used on this sweatshirt design. You may find ways that I don’t mention which will more than likely work just as well too.

Bleach Tie Dye Design Ideas:

• Crumple Bleach Tie Dying – crumple up your fabric evenly and secure with rubber bands. (This is the one I used!)
• Folding Bleach Tie Dying – use different folding techniques to create a unique piece. Learn more about the Folding Tie Dye Technique with this video.
• Clipping Bleach Tie Dying – use one or multiple clips or clothes pins to hold the fabric in place to create a fun design
• You can also follow along with some tutorials to make some unique patterns, such as these Halloween Tie Dye ideas.

Learn more about the supplies need to make a bleach dye shirt designs below.

Supplies

To reverse tie dye (take the color out) aka bleach dying, you’ll only need a few materials! Scroll on down to learn how to tie dye with bleach!

• Dark Colored Sweatshirt (dark t-shirt, sweatpants, or hoodie works too!)
  • I used an Amazon Essential Sweatshirt in Charcoal Heather.
  • You could use a Dark Grey, Black or even could try bleaching red sweatshirt too!
• Bleach + Water Mixture (I did 2 tablespoons of bleach per 1 quart of water)
  • You can do a stronger mixture of 1 to 1 if you wish, but I preferred the lesser quantity of bleach for mine.
• Rubber Gloves (these are important)
• Protective clothing such as an apron (to keep the bleach splashes away)
• Rubber bands
• Spray Bottle

Ready to get started? If you have your supplies ready, then you are ready to start making your own bleached dyed shirt!

Follow the step-by-step tutorial on how to bleach dye a sweatshirt below!

How to Bleach Tie Dye a Sweatshirt

Step 1:

The first step is to gather supplies. First you’ll need a dark-colored material sweatshirt or hoodie, rubber bands (we are using the crumple method mentioned above), bleach mixed with water in a spray bottle, gloves, and bucket.

With spray bleach tie dye I highly suggest bleaching outdoors or in a well-ventilated area for your safety as well as wearing a protective covering to protect your clothing from splashes.

Step 2:

Place rubber bands in varying sizes all around the sweatshirt including the front and back of the sleeves, cuffs and the bottom ribbing. You can use more or less rubber bands depending on how much of the bleach dye design you’d like to show. I used many rubber bands, as you can see below. 🙂

Step 3:

Next, make sure you are in a well-ventilated area, outside is preferable. After putting on gloves, fill a spray bottle with 2 tablespoons bleach per 1 quart water bleach to create a bleach water mixture. You may also choose to get the sweatshirt wet before spraying, but I started with a dry sweatshirt in this example.

Step 4:

Lay the rubber-banded sweatshirt down in a bucket or on grass to begin. Spray around the sweatshirt sporadically with the bleach mixture. I sprayed some spots of the sweatshirt with more of the bleach mixture so that it would be more stripped of color or vibrant.

Step 5:

You’ll want to let it rest for a few minutes, making sure to keep an eye on the material you are bleach dying to see how the color changes. Once you’re satisfied with how much it has changed, you will then rinse out the sweatshirt by running it under cold water to get all the bleach out, taking care to remove all the rubber bands.  

Step 6:

Hang up your newly bleached sweatshirt outside to dry in the sun for about 6 hours or until dry. You may also like to put it in the washing machine and run it through on a cold cycle with cold water as the initial rinse alone, so it doesn’t stain other clothing. Hang to dry. Either way, If you decide to only rinse once or do the rinse and wash, it will work great.

Step 7:

Wear your new creation and tell everyone how easy it is to DIY a bleach dyed sweatshirt!

I hope you enjoyed this bleach dye tutorial! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at makingaspaceblog (at) gmail.com! Be sure to check out some common questions about bleach dying below.

Common Bleach or Reverse Dying Questions

How Do You Tie-Dye a Black Shirt (or any clothing) Without Bleach?

You can use toilet bowl cleaner and peroxide as an alternative to bleach when you want to reverse tie dye.

How Do I Get my Black Clothing to Bleach to White instead of Orange?

You will need to let the bleach and water mixture sit longer on the fabric to fully have it turn white and remove the black completely.

More DIY + Craft Posts You May Enjoy

• 10 Summer Paper Plate Crafts Your Kids Will Love
• Easy to Make Money Lei Necklaces for Graduation 2025
• 15 Cool Tie Dye Patterns And How to Make Them
• The Best How to Tie Dye for Beginners Guide
• The Best Halloween Tie Dye Projects (9 Easy Ideas)

The post Reverse Tie Dye With Bleach Sweatshirt Tutorial appeared first on Making A Space.

You can easily make tie-dye hoodies, bleach tie-dye shirt patterns, sweatpants, and more using these bleach tie-dye techniques.

What is Bleach Tie-Dyeing?

Tie-dye using bleach is taking the color out of an item instead of adding it like traditional tie-dying. Bleach Dyeing uses bleach to take the color out with the technique, which is the opposite of what colorful tie-dyeing would be like, since you add color to a white or lighter piece of fabric.

Occasionally, you will hear this technique called reverse tie-dying (aka reverse bleach tie dye), since it is technically taking the color out of an item instead of applying it.

Bleach Tie Dye Guide (Reverse Tie-Dye)

Learn all about the supplies, the recipe to make the bleach and some techniques to create some amazing designs with bleach dying.

Supplies for Dyeing With Bleach

You’ll only need a few supplies to make a tie-dye bleach clothing piece, such as a bleached sweatshirt. The rule of thumb is to always use a dark-colored fabric when bleach dying, such as black, burgundy or dark gray.

Take a look below at all the materials you’ll need to learn how to reverse-dye with bleach.

Supplies for Bleach Tie Dye

• Colored Hoodie, T-shirt, Leggings or Sweatpants (anything you’d like)
• Rubber Bands (different sizes and widths)
• Spray Bottle
• Bleach
• Water
• Rubber Gloves

With spray bleach tie dye I highly suggest bleaching outdoors or in a well-ventilated area on a flat surface for your safety. Wear a protective covering to protect your clothing from bleach splashes, which will strip any original color from a fabric that is exposed. You could also wear old clothes if you don’t have any protective gear on hand.

Bleach Dye “Recipe”

• 1 part bleach (any household bleach works)
• 1 part water

Pour the bleach mixture in a squirt bottle or a squeeze bottle, so it makes it easier to apply the bleach to the fabric of your choosing.

If you must bleach dye inside, use a table covering or protective covering for the table you will be using.

How to Bleach Dye

Follow these easy steps to Reverse Tie Dye (Bleach Dye) on fabric.

1. Pick the pattern you want to use for your fabric (see choices in the pattern section)
2. Use clips, strings or rubber bands to wrap fabric.
3. Use a squirt bottle or use a reverse dye pen to apply bleach.
4. Rinse shirt completely in cool water
5. Hand and let air dry for best results until dry or run in through a cold cycle in the washing machine then hang dry.

Bleach Tie Dye Techniques

There are a few different ways how to do bleach tie-dye and make bleach dye patterns (aka bleach dye techniques), which I’ll highlight below. You may find ways that I don’t mention which will more than likely work just as well too.

Bleach Dye Patterns

Once you pick your method of tie-dying, then you are ready to apply the bleach mixture to your sweatshirt, jeans (or fabric of choice, using the bleach mixture “recipe” above.

Scroll on down to look through a couple of fun ways to tie-dye with these tutorials. The first reverse dying tutorial is from us here at makingaspace.com, and the others are some great bleach dying techniques from other creators as well.

Bleach Tie-Dye Project Ideas

Bleach Tie Dye Sweatshirt Tutorial

This simple bleach dye sweatshirt technique is fun to learn and not to mention easy! It uses rubber bands and a mix of bleach solution to create unique and different patterns.

Once it is made, just throw into the washing machine separately (in cold water) and enjoy your beautiful finished product. You’ll love how easy it is to use bleach to tie dye.

Free tutorial from makingaspace.com.

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Reverse Tie-Dye Kit

With this kit from Tulip, you’ll be able to make either a spiral, crumple or bullseye bleach dye shirt! It can really create some cool bleach tie dye patterns.

Remember, the darker the fabric the better reverse tie-dying results you’ll have. This kit will make one black tie dye shirt.

Find the kit from amazon.com

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Half Bleached Jeans

Learn how to bleach jeans with this step-by-step tutorial. These bleached jeans are easy to make as long as you follow along with the photo tutorial.

Bleached denim tutorial from nowthatspeachy.com.

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Bleach Tie-Dye Tea Towel

This simple project of bleach tie-dying creates a DIY shibori textile as shown. This tutorial also includes various techniques to create multiple patterns and different designs.

Free tutorial from papernstitchblog.com

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Reverse Tie-Dye T-Shirt with Color

Learn how to reverse bleach tie-dye a t shirt, then add color back to the bleached areas with this fun tutorial. For best results, follow along with the step-by-step instructions for this bleach tie-dye shirt.

Free tutorial from chaoticallyyours.com.

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Reverse Tie-Dye Sweatshirt Top

This plain cotton fabric sweatshirt is transformed into a beautiful one of a kind design. Learn how to make your own with the reverse bleach top with this lesson.

Free tutorial from prettylifegirls.com.

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Easy Bleach Dye Video Tutorial

Common Questions about Reverse or Bleach Tie Dye Patterns

Can I use a Bleach Pen to Bleach Dye?

Yes, you can use a bleach pen to reverse tie-dye. It is a great addition to use along with one of the methods listed above to add a straight line or fun color change in a given spot.

How Do I Make a Spiral Pattern?

To make a bleach tie dye pattern in a spiral, start at the center of the shirt or fabric you are bleaching, pinch the fabric and twist in a clock like motion. Keep swirling the fabric until the whole shirt is in a spiral. Use 3 or 4 rubber bands to hold your item in place, evenly spacing out the bands.

How Long do you let Bleach tie dye Sit?

You should let bleach tie dye sit for just a few minutes before rinsing out.

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The post Easy Bleach Tie Dye Designs (Reverse Tie Dye Patterns) Plus Guide appeared first on Making A Space.