Saturday, August 4

summer crafting: olympic rings tie-dye t-shirt

Beyond the Aisle: Olympic Rings Tie-Dye Tee

Tie-dye has been really popular this summer, but so far I've resisted pulling the shopping trigger.  I've had my eye on the Mercer Pocket T at GAP and the Merona Slub Tee at Target, but every time I think about adding one to my cart a little voice in the back of my head says, "Heather, you know how to tie-dye.  You've been tie-dying since third grade."  At camp last week, a fellow adult volunteer named Amanda taught a tie-dye class and let me get in on the fun during one of my free periods.  With the Olympics now in full swing, a vision came into my head (that's how most of my best projects start- I can see them in my head before they exist!) of an Olympic themed tie-dye t-shirt with stripes in the colors of the Olympic rings.

I found a great DIY striped tie-dye tee tutorial by Sara at Short of Something and adapted it to fit the supplies that were available to me and my multicolored design idea.

Beyond the Aisle: DIY Tie-Dye Tee


I found this Tulip tie-dye kit which includes blue, red, purple, green, and yellow dye, and grabbed a pack of black dye.  I calculated that it would be more cost effective to buy the kit and use the bottle meant for purple dye with my black dye than to purchase individual dyes and condiment bottles.  Then I sent Mr. Q a text message convincing him that a tie-dye kit is AN INVESTMENT.  See where it says, "makes up to 20 shirts?"  We are going to be READY for football season, school spirit days, holidays, and 60's theme parties.

Someone, please, invite us to a 60's theme party.

Beyond the Aisle: DIY Tie Dye Tee
The text on the back of the package says that tie-dye kits are great for slumber parties.  Let's tie-dye, eat popcorn, and watch Clueless!  Sounds like a good night to me.  We can watch Bring it On if you're tired of Clueless.

Beyond the Aisle: Tulip Tie-Dye Kit
The Tulip kit includes 5 bottles with caps already containing powdered dye, a project guide, extra dye, rubber bands, and cheapo gloves like you get when you work in food service at a county fair.

Beyond the Aisle: Olympic Rings Tie-Dye Tee

I found a shirt for $4.48 at the local big box shirt that was a v-neck (my favorite) and 100% cotton (natural materials take the dye better than synthetic fabrics).  I bought a size larger than I normally wear because one of the last steps in the process is washing the dyed shirt in HOT water and I knew it would shrink.

I washed my shirt, accordion folded it, then adapted Sara's DIY striped tie-dye tee directions to fit the design in my head.  I wanted the top of the shirt to be a big red stripe, followed by green, black, yellow, and blue with a thin white stripe in between each colored band.


Beyond the Aisle: Olympic Rings Tie-Dye Tee
After double-checking Sara's directions, I covered my white stripe sections with plastic wrap and secured the wrap with more rubber bands.

Beyond the Aisle: Olympic Rings Tie-Dye Tee

It made me sad to pour out the purple dye that was already in the bottle.  What a beautiful fuschia shade it was going down the drain of my kitchen sink.  The red, green, yellow, and blue dyes were easy - just fill with tap water to the line printed on the bottle, and shake.  I did have to pound on the bottoms of the bottles a bit to get the dye to mix with the water.  

The black dye packet was intended for making a big pot of dye, so I adapted the recipe similar to what Sara did for a bottle- I put a little salt in the bottle, added as much black dye as there was powdered dye already in the other bottles, then added HOT water up to the line.  When I shook it up, it looked to be about the same consistency as the other bottles.

Beyond the Aisle: Olympic Rings Tie-Dye Tee

It was time to take everything outside.  I had an old shower curtain I'd been saving for messy projects, so I laid it out on the patio.  I don't think the rental company would appreciate me dying their concrete in Olympic colors.

Beyond the Aisle: Olympic Rings Tie-Dye Tee

I applied the dye really heavily because I wanted my stripes to be as solid as possible, then flipped my little t-shirt snake over and gave the other side a good soaking.  For more of a classic tie-dye look I would've used less dye.

Following the directions in the Tulip project guide, I kept my t-shirt wrapped in plastic wrap for 6 hours, then removed all of the wrap and rubber bands and washed it in hot water with a small amount of detergent in my washing machine, then ran it through the dryer.

Here's the finished product!


My tie-dye kit found a new home in a shoebox.  Amanda says the dye will keep in the bottles for quite a while.

This is what was really happening while Mr. Q did my fashion shoot :)

LINKING UP:

GO WORLD!  P.S. Tulip did not compensate me in any way for this post, but their dye is great!

11 comments:

  1. Your shirt looks great! Love the Olympic rings! Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party.

    Holly

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  2. Like it!! I've never tie-dyed anything.

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    1. Thanks Mrs. DiscoBows! It's easy but messy :)

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  3. Tutorial on your tshirt was so easy to follow,Thanks for sharing. Stopping by to say Hi from the blog hop. Come visit sometime, tea is cold and no shoes are required. Kathy B. http://www.southernmadeintheshade.blogspot.com New follower

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    1. Thanks so much Kathy! I'll definitely stop by :)

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  4. This turned out great, i've never done any tie die myself but i will have to give this a go
    i would love for you to join us at live love laugh and link up this amazing creation
    http://live-love-laugh-interiordesign.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. Thanks- I am going to be adding quite a few striped shirts to my own closet.

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  5. Heather,
    This is super cute! Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday last week. I appreciate YOU! Can't wait to see what you link up next :)
    Michelle

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    1. Thanks so much Michelle! Hopefully I can keep the crafts coming when school starts :)

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  6. What a fun idea. Thanks for sharing at my linky par-tay. Please do come back again.

    Warmly, Michelle

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