How To Make Patriotic Stripes Tie Dye Shirt Tutorial!

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The United States is ranked as one of the most patriotic countries in the world. Whether you’re looking for an outfit for the 4th of July or you wish to celebrate your patriotism all year round, it’s never too late to embrace white, blue, and red tie-dye crafts!

What is required from you? A plain white T-shirt. It can be long or short-sleeved, depending on your style, some creativity, and a handful of craft tools.

In this guide, we list a step-by-step tutorial on how to create patriotic stripe tie-dye T-shirts. All from the comfort of your home. This is a great activity to embark on with family and friends and one that won’t cost the earth. Read on to discover more.

What You Will Need

To embrace this arts and crafts trend, invest in the following tools:

• A plain white t-shirt: To create your american flag shirt, use a 100% cotton plain white tee. If it’s not cotton, the ink may bleed. You can choose a style, such as a v-neck, round neck, long, or short-sleeved. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, as you’ll be decorating it with a series of red, white, and blue hues.
• A tie-dye kit: You’ll need a blue and red tie-dye kit. You can purchase this online or at your local arts and crafts store.
• A cooling rack: You may already have one in your kitchen. A cookie cooling rack will suffice.
• A plastic tablecloth: This will protect the surface of your table, as tie-dye ink can stain both wood and plastic.
• A bucket: You’ll need to fill this with warm water. It needs to be big enough to fit your T-shirt in. A washing-up bowl will suffice.
• Grocery bags or plastic gloves: To protect your hands from ink. If you don’t have any plastic gloves, you can fashion them out of regular grocery bags. You’ll need additional grocery bags to store and set the finished product.

How to Make a Patriotic Tie Dye Shirt

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Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create your patriotic-themed t-shirt. You may even wish to host a tie-dye party to celebrate the fourth of July.

Step One

Pre-wash your 100% cotton t-shirt, but don’t dry it. Instead, take your bucket and soak it in warm water. Leave the t-shirt there until you’re ready to begin the dying process. Once you have all the arts and crafts tools to hand, wring your t-shirt out and you’ll be ready to begin!

Step Two

Cover the surface you intend to work on with the plastic tablecloth. Lay the shirt flat on the covered table and put on your plastic gloves.

Step Three

If you haven’t already placed your shirt in the bucket containing warm water, soak it and gather it now. The reason the water is warm is because the dye takes better. Gather your shirt in a diagonal line, beginning with the edge you wish to work on first, using the zip ties to separate each gathered area. These ties should be spread two inches from each other. This will allow you to create the tell-tale stars and stripes.

Step Four

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Place your zip-tied shirt on the cookie rack. This will prevent excess dye from pooling, which means your shorts won’t sit in puddles of dye, which could cause the colors to blend.

Step Five

Now, you’re ready to add the dye. Each dye is different, so it’s wise to read the instructions before mixing. Once mixed, add blue dye to the two ends of the t-shirt and alternate between red and white in the midsections. Repeat until all sections are covered. Flip the shirt over and repeat the same process.

Step Six

Taking your finished product, wrap it securely in a grocery bag. Take care when doing this to avoid the colors from running. Once wrapped, place in a warm area for six to eight hours. Avoid wrapping more than one tee in one bag. No grocery bags to hand? You can use cling wrap. Avoid removing the T-shirts from the bags early. Why? The dye needs enough time to set into the cotton fibers. Rinsing or removing the shirts too early will cause the dye to fade or bleed.

Step Seven

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Once the dye has set, remove your t-shirt from its plastic encasing and rinse it in the sink. Using scissors, carefully remove the zip ties and continue to rinse the shirt. Stop when the water runs clear.

Want to avoid getting any dye on your sink? Lay it flat on a clean surface outside and rinse it with a hose.

Allow the t-shirt to dry, and then team it with your favorite outfit! These tie-dye numbers look great when worn with denim shorts or jeans or layered under a distressed denim or leather jacket.

The Bottom Line

This American flag-inspired t-shirt is the perfect get-up for Independence Day, family reunions, parades, summer camps, fireworks, backyard BBQs, and more! It’s also a great way to celebrate your patriotism and values such as freedom, justice, nonviolence, and equality.

Follow the step-by-step tips, and you can create as many patriotic t-shirts as you want, all from the comfort of your home. You can even gift them to friends and family!