Revelrea's Easy Tie-Dye Guide

The perfect on-trend quarantine craft.

Tie dye is having a MOMENT.  

Hey rev fam, hope you're safe and well. If you're like me, you've drooled over countless social media ads lately with chic tie-dye lounge clothes -- but you don't want to spend your life savings on them. 

I needed to try homemade tie-dye (esp. to make a print for a hat!), so I started researching it, saving inspo, watching Youtubes, and finding materials. It was more complicated than I imagined, but my pieces came out terrific. I'm excited to LIVE in these while staying home in quarantine. Aren't they cute?! 

The piece that wasn't so hot, sadly, was the "Lisa Frank" inspired x Revelrea Yade Hat that many of you were excited about on Insta. It turned out more of a blurred pastel ombre than a dye look.  But, honestly, THIS IS GOOD because our hat material is not designed to absorb moisture like cotton - it's moisture wicking for your workouts. 

*If IF YOU WOULD STILL LOVE A BRIGHT RAINBOW DYE LEOPARD HAT, MESSAGE US - MAYBE WE'LL MAKE THE REAL DEAL*

Since I'm a tie-dye expert now, here's the quarantine TIE-DYE GUIDE I wish I had before starting. Prepare to screenshot. 

 

SUPPLIES

• Tie-Dye (obvs)
• Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit (My favorite color sets are "Carousel" and "Shibori" and "Ultimate"; kits come with gloves and bands; ships to home)
• Extra rubber bands 

• 100% Cotton Material Options (other fabrics don't absorb as well)
• Tie-dye ready revelrea "stay the f home ♥" Crewneck Sweatshirt
• Tie-dye ready revelrea logo Crewneck Sweatshirt 
• My favorite crop white tee (same fit as our "chase joy" crops, and what I used for the fuchsia dye crop shirts above)
• Plain white 100% cotton t-shirt- Bella canvas t-shirts 
• Plain white 100% cotton t-shirt- Gildan t-shirts (NOTE this t-shirt is more stiff than Bella canvas, but it absorbs dye really well. Great for indigo and shibori dyes)
• Cricut White Crew Neck t-shirt (NOTE this is NOT cotton and as a result most dye washes off leaving a pastel look, like the light blue t-shirt above.) 

• Medium-Large Bowl (for catching ink as you tie-dye)

• Workspace that can get a little messy

• Large towel or old sheet to ruin 

• Plastic bags or wrap (to wrap as you wait for dye to absorb) 

STEP 1: PREPPING FOR DYE

• Choose your garment.  If you want to cut a t-shirt into a crop top, try it on, mark where you want it to crop, and then lay flat and cut with scissors (it doesn't have to be perfect, but try to cut straight). Save excess material for a headband. (It's what I did in the photos above!) 

• Wash AND dry garments first, before dying.

• Wet garment again, then wring out excess water until damp.

• Follow one of the methods below. 

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR PRINT 

 

STEP 3: START THE TIE-DYE PROCESS

Bullseye 

Swirl (my fave) 

Crumple 

 

STEP 4: WAIT 

• If you have excess fabric from cutting a t-shirt into a crop, dye the excess using bullseye or similar method (pic at bottom). Wrap in plastic. 

• Leave rubber bands on and wrap in plastic bag or plastic wrap

• Store somewhere where it's ok if it leaks (e.g., bathtub or work sink)

• Wait 6-8 hours. For darker creations (e.g., indigo/shibori) leave overnight

STEP 5: RINSE & WASH 

• Take creations to bath/shower 

• Carefully cut or take off rubber bands 

• Unravel your masterpiece 🙌 the BEST PART! 

• Rinse under running cold or warm water, and in bath with a little laundry detergent. A lot of dye will come off - this is normal

• When water runs clear, set aside or put directly in laundry. Wash like colors together in cold machine setting. Dry like normal

• TIP: Laundry detergent is best for getting dye off hands, but you have to leave on and rub a while

STEP 5: ENJOY! SO CUTE. 

• Pair with biker shorts, leggings, or sweats 

• For headbands, fold the excess material from crops that you died 2x over, like an infinity symbol twice (see pic below) 

 Hope you love!