How to Make a Reverse Tie Dye Top
It's getting pretty hard to ignore the tie dye trend right now. Pajama sets! Dresses! Workout clothes! You're sure to find tie dye pretty much everywhere at the moment, and we love this iconic summer print. I mean, any trend that is easy to DIY is sure to be a hit around here. Currently we are seeing a monochromatic version in lots of boutiques that is a little more stylish and grown up, and we've found the best way to achieve a similar look isn't by drenching your chosen clothing item in dye, it's the opposite! Reverse tie dye is an easy method that uses bleach to remove the color from clothes, resulting in a stylish pattern that embraces the trend without looking like you are wearing something you made at summer camp.
Here is how you do it:
Step 1. Twist your top where desired and secure the twist with a rubber band. The more twists you do the more the original color will show through. If you want more white or washed-out color, do less twists or skip them altogether.
Step 2. Pour bleach into your squirt bottle (You can also do this without a squirt bottle if you don't have one. It just makes it a little easier to control where the bleach goes). In a sink or bucket, squirt the bleach all over your top. This part is where having a top that has a high cotton content is most important. If your top is not mostly made of cotton the bleach won't be able to pull the color as easily and you won't get a dramatic contrast of colors.
Step 3. Once you have achieved the shade of white/lightened color that you like (this will only take a few minutes with a cotton-based top), remove the rubber bands and rinse your sweatshirt.
Step 4. Wash and dry your sweatshirt and enjoy!
That's it! Time to raid your closet, find any solid cotton clothes you've got that are ready for a makeover, cover them in bleach and you're gonna be ready to look adorable in this summer's biggest trend!
Are you into the tie-dye trend right now? What methods are you itching to try? We'd love to hear all about them!
Happy making!
ox. Liz
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My daughter & I did this a few years ago with a black T shirt. Twisted the front in the more traditional tie-dye method. It came out awesome, almost like a sunflower!
Have been tie-dying for years, always such fun to unwrap your creations!!! :)
Definitely would dilute the bleach, but wonder how much? As mentioned above, bleach will eat through cotton at full strength, as well as other fabrics.