It ’s right smart less mussy than traditional linkup - dye !

Tie - dye is aquintessential summertime activity , and it ’s always a fun stylus . But before you arrive at for the white shirts and messy bottle of dye , consider a rearward association - dye project instead . invert tie beam - dye is exactly what it sounds like . Instead of bring color to clean material ( and stain your hands in the physical process ) , you remove the dyestuff from a solid - colouring material small-arm of article of clothing with a mixture ofbleachand water .

We like this method acting because you may choose an clause of clothing in a colouration you know you care and turn that into a tie - dye founding by remove the color in some areas . No more wondering what color the dye powder will be , and no messy dye drip ! And the process could n’t be easier — throw on someprotective baseball mitt , rubber lot a colored shirt , and start spraying !

two blue reverse tie dye sweatshirts on blue background

Credit: Emily VanSchmus

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

How to Reverse Tie-Dye

Prep Your Work Space

Since rearward tie - dye requires bleach , be indisputable to work in a well - ventilated field — preferably out of doors . Lay down a protective credit card tarpaulin toprotect your terrace , sens , or other surface from the whitener mixture . You ’ll also need to protect your skin ; have a span of rubber gloves nearby as well , and do n’t test this project on airy days .

Prep Your Fabric

Before you start , you ’ll demand to piece out a shirt to reverse tie beam - dye . We found that darker colors respond considerably to this proficiency since there ’s more dye to get rid of , but any solid people of color fabric will ferment . We used this plain deoxythymidine monophosphate - shirt and this solid color sweatshirt . think of that the method works quickest on thin T - shirt cloth ; the bleach must pose longer on thick sweatshirt fabric .

Lay your shirt down on the plastic tarpaulin and use slender rubber bands to collect and bunch 3 - column inch fabric sections . For a classic sleeper - dye look , grab a plane section of textile and twist it in a orbitual motion before securing it with a rubber band . Repeat until the whole shirt is bunched and attach .

Make Bleach Mixture

The best part of the this method is that you could decamp the dozens of messy dye bottle and and invert association - dyestuff a whole hardening of shirts with one bottle of bleach concoction . To make the liquid , fill a plastic sprayer bottle with half water system and half bleaching agent . You wo n’t need much ; for one or two shirts , start with a cupful of H2O and a cup of bleach .

Spray Fabric and Let Sit

Once you ’ve filled the sprayer feeding bottle with your blanching agent and water mixture , don the plastic gloves and spray your shirt . Keep the headway of the spraying bottle tight to the material to avoid come bleach anywhere but over the plastic tarpaulin . ( If you ’re working outside , do this step on a day when there ’s little to no wind . Otherwise , the whitener nebulizer can bodge back onto you . )

You do n’t need to take too much of the original colour , so focus on spray each bunch of caoutchouc - banded fabric , and do n’t spray as much of the mixing between the Ralph Bunche . When you ’re done spraying , lease the shirt or sweatshirt sit for a few min until you notice a color change . We saw the thin shirt change colour immediately , but it take about 20 minutes for the bleach to affect the thicker sweatshirt stuff .

Rinse, Wash, and Dry

Once you ’ve note the bleach get down to deprive the color from your shirt , cautiously untie all the safety bands ( keep the baseball glove on for this footfall ) and wash out the shirt in a pail of water . You ’ll require to rinse your shirt a few times in a charge card bucket before take it indoors and launch the shirt through the washing machine . Be sure to thoroughly wash and dry out all wear before fatigue it to prevent any leftover blanching agent from chafe your skin . After that , you ’ll be able-bodied to lap and dry the sleeper - dyed habiliment as normal with the rest of your laundry .

blue sweatshirt on tarp for reverse tie dye

Credit: Emily VanSchmus

reverse tie dying sweatshirt

Credit: Emily VanSchmus

reverse tie dyed sweatshirt

Credit: Emily VanSchmus