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Sharpie Tie Dye: Dye T-Shirts Shirts With Sharpies (Video)

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This quick and easy Sharpie tie dye tutorial will show you how to tie dye a shirt with Sharpie markers. (Mock tie dye) Such a fun activity to make with kids and the best part is watching the ink bleed and transform into so many neat designs!

This quick and easy Sharpie tie dye tutorial will show you how to tie dye a shirt with Sharpie markers. (Mock tie dye) Such a fun activity to make with kids and the best part is watching the ink bleed and transform into so many neat designs!

Watch our step by step video!

We tie dye shirts every summer and the kids love seeing how their designs turn out. This year we had fun trying a new spin on getting those vibrant and funky colors on our shirts. We used Sharpie pens! The kids had fun designing their shirts and there was virtually no mess involved. That's always a bonus. Here is how to tie dye a shirt using Sharpie pens---although there's no tying involved. So we'll call it a "mock" tie dyed activity 😉

3 More Fun Summer Activities for Kids:

Nail Polish Washer Necklaces

DIY Pocket Fans

Gelatin Birdseed Feeders

 

supplies for sharpie tie dye

Sharpie Tie Dye: How To Tie Dye a Shirt With Sharpie Markers

Supplies:

Rubbing Alcohol

Eye Dropper or Small Syringe

Sharpie Pens

100% Cotton White T-shirt (pre-washed without fabric softener)

Iron

blank t shirt for sharpie tie dye
We liked the firework look of doing dots in a  circular motion. I got my inspiration for this project from Pinterest and saw many designs that would look awesome. Like bolder strokes and geometric shapes. Here are just some that I saw! 

sharpie tie dye designs

Source

sharpie dots on a tshirt before adding rubbing alcohol
 After you have filled up your shirt with as many designs as you'd like you simply use the eye dropper or syringe with rubbing alcohol and drip it onto the shirt. We started in the center of each design and the rubbing alcohol worked its way out from there. The more alcohol you drop, the more the color will spread across the shirt. It's fun to play around and see what each design turns out like!

dripping rubbing alcohol on sharpie designs on tshirt

 The ink bleeds and spreads into these beautiful shapes!

sharpie tie dye designs
kids making sharpie tie dye
We aired our shirts outside after we finished designing them. The hot sun dried them quickly, and the rubbing alcohol aired out quickly as well.

It is VERY important to heat set the shirts so that the dye stays in them. There is usually a tiny bit of fading, but if you just toss this in the wash without any sort of heat, most will probably wash away. Here is a quick guide for heat setting Sharpies into fabric.

I used an iron (set to the highest setting) and ironed over the shirts, going over every area that was colored a few minutes for each shirt. The next day I washed them in cold water and dried it in the dryer as normal.

Update: 2016- Our shirts held up to washings for a few months before fading considerably. Would we make them again? Absolutely. These are such a fun summertime activity and they can wear their shirts all summer, but our experience has been that Sharpies will eventually fade. Full disclosure!

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About Brandy

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

Comments

  1. MJP says

    I’m teaching a camp for 6-7 years old and I was going to Tye dye. I’m so glad I found this!!! This will be so much better.

    Reply

  2. Nina says

    My daughter and her friends just sharpie tye dyed pillow cases and they came out great! So fun and easy!

    Reply

    • Brandy says

      What a great idea! I love that!

      Reply

  3. Maryanne says

    I am looking for crafts to add to my birthday party agenda! This was an awesome idea! Super smart and creative! My friends will love it too!

    Reply

  4. Melissa says

    Just tried it. My sharpies didn't run! So sad, but glad I tried it before the Bible school kids.

    Reply

  5. Jojo Sewist says

    My 5y-o is going to adore this. Thanks for adding washing instructions. Jojosewist

    Reply

  6. Amanda says

    Just tried this with my three sons ages 4-10 and it was awesome! We gathered everything together in just minutes, used some rather tired t-shirts and now they have cool new summer duds. Thanks for sharing this great idea!

    Reply

    • Brandy says

      Awesome! Glad they had fun with them too! 🙂

      Reply

  7. Laurie Logan says

    We will try this. Thanks!

    Reply

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