How to Do a Twist Tie Dye Shirt?

To do a twist tie dye shirt, often resulting in a spiral or swirl pattern, you will twist the fabric tightly and secure it before applying dye.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create a twist tie-dye shirt:

Materials You'll Need

Wash the Shirt: Wash the t-shirt without fabric softener. For most techniques, it's best to start with a damp shirt.
Prepare Dye: Mix your dyes according to the instructions on your dye kit. If using soda ash separately, pre-soak your shirt in a soda ash solution before wringing it out. Wear gloves to protect your hands.
Protect Your Workspace: Cover your work area with plastic or newspapers to prevent staining.

This technique is the key to the classic spiral tie-dye look.

Lay the Shirt Flat: Lay the damp, prepared shirt flat on your protected surface, smoothing out any wrinkles.
Find the Center Point: Pinch the fabric where you want the center of your spiral to be. This is often right through the middle of the shirt, but you can choose any point.
Start Twisting: While holding the center point, slowly begin twisting the fabric around that point. Keep the fabric flat as it gathers into a spiral shape. Continue twisting until the entire shirt is wound into a flat, circular disk.
Secure with Rubber Bands: Once the shirt is tightly twisted into a disk, secure it with rubber bands.
- Place the first rubber band right through the middle, wrapping it around the disk to hold the twist in place.
- Add additional rubber bands to divide the disk into sections. Your next rubber band is going to crisscross to create an X over the first band.
- Add more rubber bands to create pizza-like slices. These sections are where you will apply different colors of dye.
- Make sure any extra pieces of fabric on the edges are tucked in or twisted in the direction that you were twisting the main part of the shirt.

Now it's time to add color to your spiral design.

Apply Dye to Sections: Carefully apply dye from your squeeze bottles to each section created by the rubber bands. Use different colors in different sections.
Saturate the Fabric: Ensure the dye saturates the fabric completely within each section, front and back. Flip the disk over and apply dye to the corresponding sections on the other side.
Avoid Mixing Colors Prematurely: Try not to let adjacent colors bleed into each other too much during application, unless that's the desired effect.

The dye needs time to bond with the fabric fibers.

Wrap the Shirt: Carefully place the dyed shirt disk into a plastic bag or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. This keeps the shirt damp and allows the dye to cure.
Let it Sit: Let the shirt sit for at least 8-24 hours. The longer it sits, the more vibrant the colors will typically be.

This final stage reveals your design and washes away excess dye.

Rinse Thoroughly: Wearing gloves, remove the shirt from the plastic wrap/bag. Rinse the shirt under cool running water before removing the rubber bands. Continue rinsing until the water runs mostly clear.
Remove Rubber Bands: Once rinsed, remove all the rubber bands.
Rinse Again: Open the shirt and rinse under running water again until the water is clear.
Wash: Wash the tie-dyed shirt in the washing machine by itself or with a few other newly tie-dyed items in cool water with a small amount of detergent.
Dry: Dry the shirt as usual. For the first few washes, it's best to wash the tie-dye shirt separately to prevent any residual dye from bleeding onto other clothing.

Following these steps, including the specific rubber band technique mentioned, will help you create a fantastic twist (spiral) tie-dye shirt.