How to Tie-Dye Pants in 6 Simple Steps - Quick & Easy Tutorial

Shanna yeh
by Shanna yeh
8 Materials
$25
1 Day
Easy

Everyone is tie-dying their shirts, but today, I am going to show you how to tie-dye pants! I will be tie-dying a pair of lovely Dickies pants in brown, and the result is so cool.


Brown is really on-trend at the moment, so I decided to give this neutral color a go. Plus, that means these DIY tie-dye pants will be easy to style as well. Let's get started!

Tools and materials:

  • Pants
  • Brown tie-dye
  • Paper
  • Tarp
  • Elastic
  • Spray bottle
  • Gloves
  • Plastic bag
Brown DIY tie-dye pants inspiration

These are the white pants I'll be using, as well as my inspiration for my brown tie-dye pants.

Prepping the work area before tie-dyeing

1. Prep your working area

Before getting into the fun part of creating your DIY tie-dye pants, it’s essential to prep your area so that the dye won’t get everywhere and ruin other things.


I think it's best to wear old clothes when working with tie-dye, as well as work outside on some tarp.

Scrunching the pant legs ready to tie-dye

2. Scrunch the pants

Scrunch your pants and secure them with elastic. This is what you call the scrunch ruffle technique, and it’s pretty easy to do; just scrunch the fabric in increments and secure each part accordingly. 

How to create tie-dye pants patterns

Continue doing this to the entire pants, as shown. Don’t forget to scrunch up the crotch and waist area, too. 

Making a spray bottle for the tie-dye

3. Mix the tie-dye

I didn’t have a spray bottle, so I used an old travel-size shampoo container. I recommend using a spray bottle as it would be easier to distribute the dye, but this will do if you don’t have a choice.


Add some water and dye to the bottle, tightly secure the lid, and shake!

Putting on gloves to work with tie-dye

4. Wear gloves

Put some gloves on before you start. And, a word of advice, dry your hands before; otherwise, you’ll struggle to put them on like me!

Pouring the tie-dye mixture onto the pants

5. Add the dye

Pour the dye mixture onto the fabric and rub it in with your fingers. 

How to tie-dye pants

Repeat this method on the other side until there are no white areas visible. 


For these tie-dye pants, aim for dark and light brown hues without any white parts. So, reach down into the cracks and add some tie-dye there as well. 

Rinsing out the dye using the tap

6. Dry and rinse

Place your new brown tie-dye pants in a plastic bag and let them dry for 24 hours. Then, go ahead and rinse it in a tub or bathtub. Make sure you rinse out all the excess dye.


Lastly, hang the pants to dry for a couple of hours. 


Tip: If, at first, the dye looks a little purple, don’t worry! Let it dry after the initial rinse, and it will go back to brown.

DIY tie-dye pants

How to tie-dye pants

This is the result! I am absolutely obsessed with these brown tie-dye pants. I hope you got some inspiration from this tutorial and let me know what you think in the comments below. Happy tie-dying!

Suggested materials:
  • Pants
  • Brown dye
  • Paper
See all materials

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