The damp shirt is better at absorbing the dye. You can also dye long-sleeve shirts and tank tops! Make sure that the fabric is white or light grey initially, so the dye will be visible.
If you don’t care about your surfaces getting stained, feel free to disregard this.
If you have a lot of wrinkles in your shirt, they might affect the color placement when you go to add the dye later on.
If you’re folding a tank top or long sleeve shirt, try to match up the sleeves as best you can.
As the name suggests, the washable marker will come off once you put the shirt in the washing machine.
If the line is squiggly, there’s a good chance that your heart outline won’t come out very clearly. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t fold the fabric correctly on your first try. Feel free to start the folding and scrunching process over at any time.
If your rubber band is especially big, feel free to wrap it around the shirt twice. You can also use string to tie off the heart section. [8] X Research source
Create a stripe effect by tying the rubber bands horizontally along the length of the shirt. [10] X Research source
Use a craft store tie-dye kit if you’d prefer not to mix the dyes yourself. Use a plastic container or bucket to prepare the dye if you’re planning on making a large amount.
For instance, hot pink dye is a lot darker in the bottle than it is on the fabric. Feel to use both large and small bottles for the dye.
You can purchase dye and other tie-dye supplies at your local craft store. Adding this line of dye helps to separate the color of the heart from the color you’re using for the rest of the shirt.
The more dye you apply, the stronger and less spotted your design will be. If you’d prefer to have a speckled shirt with more white in the background, use less dye during this part of the process. Ideally, aim for the fabric to be almost dripping wet with dye.
If you’re adding multiple colors to your shirt, continue soaking both sides of the shirt with dye until you’ve created your design of choice.
The bag prevents excess dye from splattering around the rest of your home. The plastic in the bag won’t absorb the dye, which makes it a great vessel for your dyed shirt.
Make sure the water is cool, as extremely hot water can cause dyes to set in fabric.
Don’t be discouraged if the shape doesn’t look quite like a heart. Tie-dyeing a heart can be a difficult skill to master. You can turn the running water off while you’re examining the shirt.
Make sure that all excess water is squeezed out of the shirt. You only want the fabric to be damp to the touch.
The washer will also remove any residual magic marker sketches on the fabric.
