Thank you to Tulip for providing the dye for this project, the ideas and experiences with this product are all mine.
It’s back to school time and that means team sports are getting ready to start. My kids are playing soccer and basketball this fall so we decided to take part in Tulip’s Tie Dye Your Summer campaign by making our own Tie Dye Spirit Wear. Garrett’s Basketball team are the crusaders and the teams colors are burgundy and grey. I made T-shirts for his dad, brother, and me and tie dyed some socks for him.
Tulip makes great one step kits with all sorts of colors. If they don’t have the color you are looking for you can do what I did, mix to make your own. These rich colored dyes are color-fast and only need cold water to activate them! The kits come with dye bottles, gloves and rubber bands to make your custom creations. The kit also includes directions for lots of great patterns with step by step instructions to create them! 
Here are the steps to tie dye and make sure you get a great result with color that stays!
Step 1: Make sure you are working with a fabric that will take dye. Tulip recommends 100% natural fibers like cotton, rayon or silk. Every cotton shirt is not the same as you can see mine turned out darker than the boys but that is what makes it one of a kind! Wash your items first then when you are ready to dye dampen the material. I just wet mine in my sink and wring them out really well. This will make the dye soak in easier.
Step 2: Place your rubber bands around the shirts to make your pattern. I made Matthew and my husbands shirt by accordion folding them and placing rubber bands at different intervals along the shirt. On mine I put 3 rubber bands together 2/3 of the way down the shirt.
With Garrett’s socks I twirled them into a ball and put rubber bands around it like the spokes on a wheel.
Step 3: Get your dye ready and put on the enclosed plastic gloves. To make the grey I took the black container, added water and then poured 1/2 out added more water then repeated that process one more time until it became grey. For the burgundy I mixed 4 parts red, 2 parts dark blue and 1 part black. I had an old undershirt of my husbands that I tested the colors on to make sure I had the right mix. I placed the plastic sheet they provided on my table and placed a metal cookie sheet and bowl on it to catch the dye. The dye washes right off the metal so it made for easy clean up!
Step 4: Apply the two colors of dye to every other section of the shirt and socks.
Step 5: On my shirt I dyed the top part grey and the bottom burgundy as you saw in step 3. The next part is VERY IMPORTANT! After you’re done, either put them in a plastic zip top bag or cover with plastic wrap for 6-8 hours so they dye really soaks in. This will also ensure darker richer colors and you will get less fading after you wash them.
Step 6: After 6-8 hours cut off your rubber bands and wash them in cold water till the water runs clear. Then wash in your washing machine and dry. Tulip recommends to keep your newly dyed items separate from other cloths for this and your first few washes to prevent any residual dye from ruining your other clothes.
After they were dry, I applied a rhinestone applique to mine and we are now all set to cheer on the team! These dyes are so easy to use and make for lots of family fun and one of a kind fashion masterpieces!
If you want to get in on the fun just visit Tulip by clicking on any of the links below!
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To learn more about Tulips Tie Dye Your Summer click here and check out this video!
Now get inspired by all these great fashion projects other bloggers have shared this summer!
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