How To Tie Dye Jeans

Learning how to tie dye jeans is a creative way to breathe new life into an old piece of clothing. Whether dying light colored jeans with bright color combinations, or bleach dying dark jeans, tie dying offers a quick, easy and unique alternative to plain blue jeans.

Materials Needed to Tie Dye Jeans:

• A Pair of Jeans (either light or dark colored)
• Fabric Dye or Bleach (Use colors of choice for light colored jeans and bleach for dark blue or black jeans)
• Squeeze Bottles
• Rubber Bands
• Apron or art smock
• Rubber Gloves
• Eye Protection or Safety Goggles
• Tablecloth
• Plastic Bag
• Washing Machine

Instructions for Tie Dying Jeans:

1. Prepare the workspace. Cover the planned work table or countertop with a table cloth or plastic garbage bags. If you will be using bleach, make sure that you will be working in a well ventilated area to avoid inhaling the chlorine vapors.
2. Gather tie dying supplies. Prepare the desired dyes or bleach and place into squeeze bottles for easy use during the tie dye process. Gather several rubber bands and rubber gloves.
3. Create a tie dye pattern on the jeans. Grasping only one side of the jean leg fabric, pinch the denim, pull upward one to two inches, and secure with rubber bands at the base of pinched fabric. Repeat every few inches to create a pattern of color.
4. Protect yourself from the dyes or bleach. Use an apron or art smock to cover your clothing, and put on the rubber gloves and eye protection.
5. Apply the dye or bleach to the prepared jeans. Apply dye or bleach to the pulled bands of fabric. Remember that denim is thick and will require a lot of dye to penetrate the fabric. Be sure to completely saturate each pulled band of material. Take care to wipe up any spills immediately with paper towels.
6. Allow the dyes time to work. Place the jeans in a sealed plastic bag for a minimum of four hours or overnight.
7. Throw away leftover dyes and waste. Discard gloves, the table cloth and any leftover dyes immediately and thoroughly wash hands and workspace with warm soapy water.
8. Launder the jeans. Wash the jeans separately in hot water and dry as usual. For the next few washes, it’s best to wash the tie dyed jeans separately from other clothes to avoid dye bleeding or fabric damage.