Tie-dyed T-shirts are synonymous with hippies and granola crunchies. They represent a style that has maintained relevance despite being more than 40 years old. The tie-dye look is so universally popular that there is an entire industry devoted to helping people dye their own T-shirts at home.
Have you ever wondered how the tie-dye T-shirt got its name? It is actually pretty simple. ‘Tie-dye’ refers to how the shirts are colored. There is a specific process involved. However, it is easy enough that anyone can learn. And once you learn how to do it, no white T-shirt will ever be safe again.
A Part of the Shirt
The first thing to understand is what makes a tie-dyed T-shirt what it is. If you were to buy a cheap T-shirt from a company like 5 Dollar T-shirts, you might be getting a product with an image that was silkscreen printed or heat transferred. If you buy something that is embroidered, the image is actually sewn into the shirt.
Tie-dyed T-shirts are created with strong and colorful dyes that actually become part of the fabric. The dyes soak into the individual threads to create permanent color. This is important to know. While a tie-dyed T-shirt can fade, its colors can last for decades if the shirt is taken care of.
How They Are Made
Learning how tie-dyed T-shirts are made answers the question of how they got their name. To make one, you start with a plain white T-shirt. You also need your dyes along with some rubber bands or string. You also need a tub of warm water along with some pot ash.
You start by soaking the T-shirt in a water and ash mixture for about 20 minutes. Soaking prepares the fabric to receive the dye. Next, you remove the shirt from the water and wring out the excess. Then you lay the shirt on a flat surface and begin to roll and gather it to create the particular pattern you are after.
Your rubber bands or string is used to tie off the shirt in key locations. When everything is gathered and tied together, you use the dye applicators to color the fabric section by section. Once you are done dying, you place the shirt in a plastic bag or plastic wrap to let the dye set for 6 to 8 hours.
The process is completed by untying the shirt, rinsing it out in clean water, and hanging it up to dry. If you gathered and tied off correctly, you should see a beautiful multicolored pattern emerge.
Learning to Create Patterns
Now you know that the ‘tie-dyed’ name comes from the process of tying up a T-shirt and coloring it with dye. Perhaps you want to try it yourself. Just know that you will have to learn how to create specific patterns. Learning is not hard, and there are lots of online resources showing you how it’s done. Video resources are perhaps the most helpful.
The wonderful thing about tie-dye is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Even if you get your chosen pattern wrong, you still end up with a gloriously colorful T-shirt with a distinct and symmetrical presentation. It is going to look beautiful one way or the other.
And now you know how tie-dyed T-shirts got their name. Do you have any in your T-shirt collection? If not, the tie-dye style is something you might want to think about. It is a style that hasn’t gone out of style in more than 40 years. You can embrace tie-dye and still hold on to your other T-shirt styles.