By Gabi Schneider, Director of Communications

Bright colors, crazy patterns, camper’s apparel, oh my! It’s no wonder everyone flocks to the tie dye activities. Tie Dye is a camp staple; read below for step by step directions of how to tie dye like a pro.

1. Get your materials ready

Here’s what you’ll need:

• One [or more] white clothing items, we used a t-shirt for our project!
• Clothing dye
• Squirt bottles
• Rubber bands (these make the white lines that create the patterns)
• A faucet

2. Start the spiral

Find where you want the center of the spiral to be and pinch. Slowly turn your hand wrapping the shirt in a circle. Continue doing this until you have the entire shirt wrapped in a pie shape.

3. Place the rubber bands!

The rubber bands are responsible for the white lines that are on a tie dye shirt. These are what create the patters. The more rubber bands, the “skinnier” your spiral. Each section of the circle that is divided by rubber bands will be a different color. This makes it easier to create the spiral so you don’t put too much of one color.

4. Wet the shirt throughly

5. It’s dye time!

Once your rubber bands are tight and secure it is time to start pouring dye on the shirt. You can use squirt bottles, or prepare tubs of die and dip your clothing item in. For more accurate, easier and less messy tie dye use the squirt bottles. They allow you to direct where the dye is going on the shirt.

Make sure to get both sides of pie shape with dye so there aren’t any odd white spots.

6. Once the shirt is fully dyed (or dyed in the way you want it),place it in a plastic bag and let it sit for eight to 24 hours. The longer it sits, the more vibrant and bold the colors will be.

7. After letting the shirt sit, take it out of the bag and run it under cold water. There will be an insane amount of dye that comes from the shirt, so be cautious of this! Rinse under water until the water runs clear. 

8. Take off the rubber bands and admire your work!