If you didn’t tie dye, did you even quarantine?

Matching tie dye sets — joggers, t-shirts, shorts — seem to be all the rage in terms of quarantine fashion. And well, I’m all about it.

Last year, when tie dye was barely making its return, I bought a three-color kit and totally turned around a white sweatshirt that had coffee stains on the front.

I had so much fun with it! My only memory of tie-dying as a kid is at church camp, and who knows how those efforts turned out.

At the beginning of lockdown, several bloggers I follow started posting their tie dye sets… only these were purchased from various boutiques. And while I’m all about supporting small businesses, I’m also about being eco-friendly (no more fast fashion). So, I decided to make my own.

Find Your Color Inspo

I took screen shots of any sets I liked. One set was bright green, orange and pink, while another was more jewel-toned with touches of black.

Knowing the colors you want will help you pick a tie dye kit. When I bought the three-color kit last year, I went with the traditional pink, yellow, and blue set.

The sweatshirt I made then came out with all kinds of colors where the three core hues blended together. If you’re not sure what you want, I’d keep it simple.

Since I needed so many colors for what I wanted to make, I bought the 12-color set.

Gather Your Materials

I had two white t-shirts that were looking a little grungy, so I knew I was going to dye those. But in order to make a matching set, I needed shorts or joggers… I didn’t have either of those in white.

So, I turned to ThredUp — an online thrift store — and bought a pair of gently used white joggers. These things are so soft!

I also tossed in some old, white pillow cases I often use when I get my hair colored. Why not? Hey, I’ll just tie dye my whole apartment!

The tie-dye kit I got really has everything else you need: a tarp, gloves, rubber bands, bottled colors, and directions. It even tells you how to make different styles of tie-dye, although I stick to the classic swirl option.

Get to Tie-Dying (& Have Patience)

DIY projects always take longer than I anticipate and tie-dying is no different. It’s really a two-day job.

You have to prep your area and tie off your items. Then, get to coloring. I always add as much color as possible — more than you think you should — because it’s got to get to the center of the item and you want to make the colors vivid! This is especially true if you’re dying a sweatshirt or sweatpants.

Then, wrap the items in plastic and set them aside for at least six hours… I left mine for 12 just because I went to bed and then had to teach a class 🙂

But this meant everything turned out so bold! Then you rinse the items, and push them in the washer and dryer.

I honestly love cutting the rubber bands and opening up each item. It’s such a fun surprise.

Now I have a matching jogger set and a few other things… but I’m honestly just looking forward to lounging around this weekend in this bright, colorful and cozy set!

Have you tie-dyed anything while in the Q?

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