Sharpie Tie Dye

For the past two days Sissy and I have been working on the most fun DIY t-shirt craft ever!  It’s simple, the possibilities are endless, and the results are beautiful.  So without further ado… Sharpie Tie Dye!

What you need:

• White t-shirt (or other clothing item) 
• Sharpie permanent markers (any and all colors) 
• Rubbing alcohol 
• Dropper 
• Rubber bands 
• Bowls or cups 

Method:  

Place a bowl or cup between the layers of the t-shirt, and secure the fabric firmly across the bowl with a rubber band around the rim.  The tighter you get it, the easier it will be to draw.  

 

Draw a picture or pattern on the fabric.  Focus on outlines, not filling in with color.   

 







When the picture is complete, drip droplets of alcohol onto the picture.  The ink will spread and look like a tie dye pattern, but with the original picture still viewable.  

Before alcohol

After alcohol

You can experiment with which colors bleed the most (blue for us) and how much alcohol to add for the effect you want.   

Allow the picture to dry.  We used several bowls so we could do multiple images at once.  When dry, remove the rubber band and move on to another spot. 

Result:

Sissy's flower garden tie dye

The effects really are amazing!  My mom couldn’t believe that Sissy had made this by herself.  

Gigi's turtle.

We covered the whole front and back of one of Daddy’s undershirts with round images about 5 inches across.  In the spaces between, we drew hearts.  

 I will eventually make Sissy a bathing suit cover with this fabric, so more on that later.   

Our Sharpie tie dye fabric

 

Like I said, the possibilities of this craft are endless.  I am thinking the twins need some customized onsies next, or maybe a white sundress for Sissy with a pattern of tie dye around the bottom, or maybe an infinity scarf for me… whatever I pick, you know I’ll share it!

Happy summer!