Published Date June 09, 2020
Whether you’re looking for the perfect Father’s Day activity or surprise gift, or you just know a guy who could use some help in the wardrobe department, you’re in luck. Our friend Mikyla Creates came up with these awesome ideas for dressing Dad (or the special guy in your life) in the season’s coolest trend – tie dye! See how to easily make three different tie-dye men’s shirt designs, because dads can wear tie dye too!
- Tulip Two-Minute Tie Dye Kit of choice
- White 100% cotton button-up men’s shirt
- White 100% cotton long-sleeve men’s shirt or T-shirt
- Disposable plastic surface cover
- Scissors
NOTE: For the shirts, make sure fabric is 100% cotton, does not contain any metal and buttons are microwave safe.
Before starting, wash all of the shirts (without fabric softener) and leave damp. Cover your work surface with a disposable plastic surface cover and prep your dyes by mixing with water according to instructions.
You can easily create this bright rainbow stripes tie-dye look on a long-sleeve or short-sleeve T-shirt. Follow the same steps to create either version!
Lay the damp shirt out flat on your covered work surface, then follow the stripes tie-dye technique for creating horizontal pleats on the top half of the shirt. Bind your pleated shirt with as many rubber bands as you’ll need to section off the amount of stripes you want on the shirt. Example: this shirt has 3 stripes, so you’d need 4 rubber bands. Add a different dye color to each banded section, rotating the fabric so you get the portions on the underside as well.
Once you’ve finished adding your dyes, make sure your fabric is still completely damp. If any portion has dried, mist with a spray bottle to re-dampen before placing into your Two-Minute Tie Dye container. Process in the microwave according to instructions.
There is everything right about a man in a pink tie-dye dress shirt, but you can recreate this look with any color you choose! The Two-Minute Tie Dye containers work with any Tulip One-Step Dye, so if you want a different color than what comes in your kit, you can absolutely use it. Check out our 1-Color Kits for other options.
Lay the damp dress shirt out flat on your work surface and follow the crumple tie-dye technique to scrunch the entire shirt. Bind with rubber bands to keep the pattern tight and super defined, then add your dye color all over the entire crumpled shirt. Once finished, place in your container and process in the microwave according to instructions.
To create a half crumple tie-dye shirt, follow the same crumple tie-dye technique above, but on only half of the shirt.
When processing in the microwave, you’ll still want to make sure the entire shirt is damp before placing into the container, even the undyed portion. Try to keep the undyed half in half of the container and the crumpled, dyed half to the other side so as not to get any unwanted dye on the undyed half. Process in the microwave according to instructions.
With all of these fantastic men’s tie-dye shirts to wear, your dad (or the special guy in your life) will be super stylin’ in a colorful way all year long!
