Tie Dye Designs

Think hippie movement, and one of the many things that comes to your mind is a fabric design that took over the fashion of the era, tie dye. It was a pattern that was used to the hilt on t-shirts, skirts, scarves, and almost every piece of clothing imaginable.

These designs are extremely easy to imitate. They are made by folding a cloth into the desired pattern, and then binding it strategically, either with strings or rubber bands. After this is accomplished, dye is applied only to certain parts of the material. This prevents the application of color to the entire cloth.

You can either have a monochromatic design, or opt for patterns that use many colors. Once you have dyed the cloth, you need to rinse it, and let the dye set. One of the most effective techniques is to always stick to tie dyeing a wet cloth, as compared to a dry one, as it is much easier.

If you are looking for tie dye design ideas in order to make your own fabric design, then information given here will tell you all about the different patterns that you can choose from. But before that, let us take a look at the history of tie dyeing.

The history of tie dyeing can be traced back to the 5th century CE, in Peru. This style of tie dyeing, that we recognize as pre-Columbian, had cool designs in shapes like circles or lines, and in bright primary and secondary colors like red, blue, green, and yellow.

Another historically famous tie dye pattern is known as shibori that originated in Japan in the eighth century. These designs include a lot of minute details and stitching before the actual tie dye procedure.

Another method that was used in this style was wrapping up the cloth around a log of wood, and dipping it in the dye. This way, the fabric that is close to the core would remain undyed. In Africa, a popular technique called Hausa, which is widely claimed to be the inspiration for the hippies, has been in prominence for several centuries.

Another country that was rich in tie dye traditions is Indonesia with its plangi and tritik methods of dyeing. India, especially the state of Rajasthan, has a long tradition of tie dyeing in colorful patterns, which is known as bandhani. Tie dye was first introduced in the United States in 1909, but it gained prominence during the hippie era.

There are many different designs that you can opt for in tie dyeing. Here are some tie dye design ideas for you to try out.

Fold a t-shirt in half, and then draw a semi-circle. Now, draw the center line and arm of the peace sign. Fold the t-shirt along these lines, and tie it using rubber bands or strings. The dye then needs to be applied to the outline of the sign.

If you are tie dyeing your cloth in random patterns, then each time you apply the dye, there can be different patterns having no connection with each other.

You can combine circles and stripes, and create your own psychedelic design. You can also have several random circles through the cloth. For this, all you will have to do is tie knots at different places on the t-shirt, and bind it with strings or rubber bands.

Pull the center section of the fabric towards you, and then tie the base of the fabric with a rubber band or a string. Now bind different sections of this clumped-up fabric with bands. Apply the dye in sections and let it set. Once you open the cloth, you will have a sun design.

Hopefully, these designs and instructions to make tie dye patterns were easily comprehensible. Try out these designs and flaunt your inner hippie.