Tie-dye [1] is quickly becoming one of the biggest print trends for spring and summer. It's the perfect mix of trendy and nostalgic and adds playfulness to any outfit [2]. I have been looking for a new one for a while but couldn't find a colour combination I loved. About a week ago, a friend of mine posted an adorable tie-dye sweatshirt that she had made at home. After a few DMs, she explained that she used ice and powder dye to create the effect. I immediately got instructions and went on Amazon and ordered the following: Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit 15-Colour Party Kit, Standard, Rainbow [3] ($14), Hanes Women's V-Notch Pullover Fleece Sweatshirt [4] ($9), and Bamboo Ankle Socks [5] ($14).
I haven't ordered anything but groceries and essentials for the past month and was very excited to have a creative project lined up for the weekend — especially one that would result in something fun I could wear. Turns out, the process was really easy and not messy (which can be an issue with tie-dye projects). Here's exactly how I made my sweatshirt and socks.
Step 1: Wash and dry the sweatshirt and socks. I ordered a medium and it did shrink a little, so definitely size up.
Step 2: Scrunch the clean sweatshirt into a pyrex baking dish. The more folds and creases, the better the effect. I added three pairs of socks to the sweatshirt dish and then used a smaller pyrex for the remaining socks to create a different colour batch.
Step 3: Cover the top of the scrunched fabric completely with ice cubes.
Step 4: Place the pyrex on wax paper or something to protect your counters, and wear gloves (included in the kit).
Step 5: Choose your colours. I used teal, fuchsia, purple, and violet for my sweatshirt. The kit comes with dry powder in each bottle — DON'T add water. Use a small 1/4 teaspoon to scoop the powder out of the bottle and sprinkle it over the ice. I did an alternating stripe pattern with all four colours. Each time you switch colours, use a paper towel to clean the spoon. For my second sock batch, I used pink, coral, orange, and yellow.
Step 7: Wear your gloves, and place your pyrex into the sink. If you are doing two colour batches, make sure to rinse one at a time so the colours don't bleed together. Run cold water, and flip the clothing into the bottom of the sink. Rinse your pyrex, and set aside. Then rinse each piece until the water runs clear; make sure to ring it out really well. The socks rinsed out in under a minute. The sweatshirt is bigger, so it took a little longer.
Repeat Step 7 with your second colour batch.
Step 8: Speed wash on cold with a drop of detergent. Again, keep your colours separate so they don't mix in the wash. Once they are both washed, you can dry them together.