The Perfect Swirl: 4th of July Tie Dye

You will need: pre-washed cotton t-shirts, permanent dye, rubber bands, a clothes pin (or your fingers.)

Spread out your shirt, and with the clothes pin or your fingers, pinch where you would like the swirl to start …

Then gently twist in a circular motion until the entire shirt swirled…

Take a rubber band (or a piece of string if you have a large shirt) and place around the circumference to keep intact …

Then place a few rubber bands across the diameter …

Prepare your red and blue die baths according to package instructions…

And dip in one side (be careful, if your shirt is dry, the die will seep up,
so just watch to make sure it doesn’t go too high, you want there to be a strip of white around where the rubber bands are,wet shirts will not bleed as much)

This is just about the perfect amount of white, about an inch below the rubber band.

Keep in dye until desired color is achieved (the longer the better) and gently squeeze out any access and let dry a few minutes before dipping in other side.

I like to let the shirts sit for a few hours to really set in before rinsing under cold water until water runs clear (do one side at a time so the colors don’t mix).

Then the real fun begins! The big reveal is so exciting, at first it doesn’t look like much but as you unwrap …

It comes to life…

And Ta-Da!

On the 4th, there is no better compliment to your perfect swirl, than another perfect swirl…

But don’t worry your shirt matches any varietal …