How to Tie Dye a Black T-Shirt - Quick & Easy Tutorial

Tools and materials:

• Black t-shirt
• Bleach
• Plastic container like a bucket
• Disposable gloves
• Fabric glue (optional)
• Gems/gold discs/chains (optional)
• Iron (optional)
• Washing machine and dryer

1. Prepare the t-shirt

Take the black t-shirt and either twist it tightly or lightly crumple it. Place it into a sturdy bucket. 

2. Add the bleach

Pour over about 1-2 cups of straight bleach onto the shirt. With gloves on, press down on the shirt and turn it around in the bleach. Lightly massage the bleach through the fabric. Leave this overnight in the bucket.

3. Wash the t-shirt

The next morning, with gloves on, squeeze the bleach out of the t-shirt into the bucket. Immediately wash on a hot setting - 30 degrees Celsius - without laundry detergent. Place the shirt in the dryer when finished.

4. Embellish the t-shirt

Once the t-shirt is dry, you may want to embellish or add decorative touches. If using flat gems or crystals, attach them with fabric glue. 

If using heat-activated gold discs, lay a clean cloth on top of the discs and then use an iron on medium heat to attach them. If using jewelry-style chains, attach with glue. 

How to tie-dye a black shirt

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to tie-dye a black t-shirt. The beauty of bleach tie-dye is that no shirt will look exactly the same. Some may have sunburst patterns and others more of a mottled look.

The bleach creates a sepia-washed-out effect that is perfect with jeans, white pants, or even a long skirt. You can add any decorative elements that you love to make these shirts truly one of a kind. 

Let me know which t-shirt design you preferred in the comments below.