Thursday, March 8, 2012

DIY: Sharpie Tie Dye

This is a great project for kids, or adults.  I first saw the idea on the blog found here.  
 All you need are some Sharpies, rubbing alcohol and something to drip it from (I had a syringe), and a t-shirt, or other clothing.  
I put a piece of cardboard in my tank top to prevent bleeding.
 Step 1: Use the Sharpies to make marks on your t-shirt.
 Step 2: Drip some drops of rubbing alcohol.  I did about 4-8 drops.
 Watch your design expand
 Step 3: Dry your t-shirt completely before washing.  I dried mine with a hair dryer and then washed it in the washing machine.  Here's the picture before I washed it:
After I washed it the colors faded, but I still like the look: 
TIP: After drying the shirt with a hair dryer, allow it to set for 24 hours before washing.  Then, wash in cold water.  I did this with my practice shirt and the colors stayed a bit better.  They still faded a little bit, but not as much.  
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46 comments:

  3. you can heat set the color by ironing it after you let the alcohol dry. it will be more permanent. use the recommended heat setting for the garment.

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  4. Thanks!
    I will definitely try the iron next time. Thanks for the tip!

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  5. YEP! Gonna try this.

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  6. dry and rinse in vinegar to set color? used to work with original tie dye

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  7. Add about a 1/2 cup of salt with the vinegar. It helps to set and keep the color longer. I did this with summer 4-H projects and it worked great.

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    1. I do the vinegar/salt trick with all painting on fabric projects. LOVE the rubbing alcohol idea--cann't wait to try it.

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    2. Cool! I'll have to try that.

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    3. How much vinegar?

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    4. My boyfriend and I just tried this out for St. Patrick's Day and they look awesome! I will definitely be doing this again, I'm going to try star-shapes next time.

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    6. Vinegar and salt? Make some potato chips while you're at it!

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  8. I am so excited to do this with my granddaughter!!!

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  9. Can't wait to try this one.

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  10. This looks great, will try this with my grandchildren, thank you.

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  11. Wow, that's so cool, I love your shirt!!

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  13. I don't have rubbing alcohol, which is crazy because it's a staple for pretty much everyone. I see some of you mention vinegar, is that a replacement? I have vinegar right now. I want to try this RIGHT NOW haha.

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  14. The vinegar sets the color... You will need the rubbing alcohol to make the colors bleed.

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  15. You could possibly rubber band the markers together and make the dots all at once. And if they didn't get close enough maybe you could use some superglue to make them all stay together but still close.

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  16. you do realize that Sharpies are toxic, right? Kids (and adults) can get a high off of the odor. Use wisely.

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    1. Yes, please don't sniff the sharpies. :)

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    2. ...and don't squeeze the Charmin!

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    3. While researching the toxicity of the ink in Sharpie markers I read that you would need one ounce of the ink on your skin before you might get a skin reaction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpie_%28marker%29. You state that kids (and adults) can get a high off of the odor. I would like to know just how many markers you are having to sniff in order to get intoxicated (high)? Note that Wikipedia is looking for a citation: that means there is no objective evidence for Sharpie intoxication. It seems to me that the effort to get 'high' on a Sharpie marker would require more effort than it is worth. Sharpie markers are not inexpensive. Odors can smell nice, but that does not make you 'high'. There were no references to intoxication by Sharpie markers on National Library of Medicine TOXLINE search http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?TOXLINE. The following is an example of authority without knowledge: http://www.9news.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=89333. Kid says, "oh, smells good". Teacher freaks out that the kid might turn to solvent abuse . . . Teacher and Principal have a drink in their own homes after the tough day at work (ethanol is a solvent you know) - maybe both of them should be suspended for this activity.

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  17. If you are worried about the sharpies, use Bic markers and do the same thing. They are non-toxic and acid free. Personally, I'm not worried about the Sharpies not for their toxicity, nor for their ability to make one "high". Being 40 years old and using Sharpies on a daily basis I've never, at any time, had one make me "high".

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    1. I've never heard of a Sharpie "high" either. :)

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    2. I've done these projects usings both Sharpie and Bic permanent markers. Just an FYI, the Bic ones faded every time. I don't use them for this type of project anymore!

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  18. i usually do this on my shoes using nail polish remover

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    1. What a fun idea! I'll have to try that.

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  19. I wonder if putting the shirt in a baggie and micto-waving for a couple of minutes would set the colour.....I do this when dyeing yarn and the colour stays permanent.........

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  20. Absolutely fabulous idea, I have shirts waiting to try it on. Perhaps washing the finished shirt in washing soda might fix the color better and using warm or cold wash and rinse.

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  21. Color management is the main factor for tie dye shirts. And it is the best way to improve your skills by different experiments. Thanks for the idea.

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  22. Great idea ..... Definitely going to try this!

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  23. I read on another post that 91% alcohol works best...

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  24. If you use Sharpie fabric markers it won't fade as much...

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  25. My best friend and her family are moving far away and her kids and mine are bff's also... we are doing friendship tie-dye shirts...so all this info is very helpful.... Thank you to all!

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  26. This is really fun and a good idea.I'll definitely have to apply this very soon.I love all designs all colors.I love to weartie dye dresses.

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  27. I like this.I will apply this idea on my younger brother shirt. tie dye shirts
     are looks awesome.

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  28. my daughter & I love your blog.
    we saw your post at pinterest..
    your new follower =)


    http://oc-craft.blogspot.com

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  29. That is so nice. Thank you. :)

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  30. Just so you all know, Sharpies are NON-Toxic. I know because I was doing some cake decorating and needed edible ink to make some designs on wafer paper for cupcaqkes. the lady at the cake store said use Sharpies since they are non toxic. I made sure to buy new ones and sure enough they say non toxic on them. I have those sharpies put away and are only used for my wafer paper when decorating.

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  32. Interesting tshirt with sharpie. Cool love it!!

    http://www.fayrealm.blogspot.com

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  33. ♥´¨)
    ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.
    (¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥ Love it! ♥

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  34. I just tried this and it worked great!

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