Tie dye is so popular right now.  Maybe because it's such an easy craft to transform a blank t-shirt.  We have tried several tie dye projects over the years.

Recently I shared a reverse tie dye project where I used bleach to dye a dark shirt. I've also done tie dye as a class party.

Today, I'm sharing a very simple tie dye project.  No complicated twists and turns of the shirt.  Just dip part in the green and part in the red!

This is a fun summer project to do with your kids.  Screen printing makes it easy to personalize all of the shirts with a fun saying or design after the tie dye process is complete.

Supplies Needed for Tie Dying

• Blank Shirts
• Tie Dye (I used Tulip One-Step Tie Dye and Rit Dye)
• Rubber Gloves
• Tubs for your dye mixture
• Rubber bands
• Water

Supplies Needed for Screen Printing

• Screen Printing Frame
• Squeegee
• Fabric Screen Printing Ink (I used black)
• Oracal 651 Vinyl
• Cricut Maker
• Cricut Mat
• My Favorite Transfer Tape
• Painter’s Tape
• Easy Press2 or Heat Press

How to Tie Dye Using the Dip Method

I'm definitely not a tie dye expert by any means.  But, this is one of the easier methods I have tried.  Rather than worrying about how to twist and bunch the shirt, I just used one rubber band.  This gave me a guide so I knew where I wanted to switch colors.

For this watermelon design, I wanted just the very bottom of the shirt to be green with plenty of red for the design and seeds.

I dipped the bottom of the shirt in green for a few minutes then squeezed the excess out.  I repeated the process in the red for the top of the shirt.

Some tie dye instructions leave the shirt in the dye for an extended period of time.  I wanted the colors to stay kind of light so you could see the black ink on top.

I dipped the shirts in the dye for a minute or two.  Then immediately rinsed them out in the sink.  Once the water ran clear through the shirts, I removed the rubber band and allowed them to dry outside.  I left them to dry overnight before washing and drying them.  Finally, they were ready for the screen printed design.

Screen Printing with Vinyl Cut on Your Cricut or Silhouette

If you are new to screen printing with vinyl, I have a step-by-step beginner's guide to help you get started.

I cut the design on Oracal 651 vinyl using my Cricut Maker, making sure to mirror the cut.  I transferred the vinyl design to my screen printing frame using Pigskins & Pigtails Transfer Tape.

I placed my screen printing frame on top of the shirt and squeegeed black fabric ink over the design. I repeated this process with the watermelon seeds on the front and back of the shirt.

Don't forget to heat set your screen printing ink

After the ink dries completely, be sure to heat set your Speedball fabric ink.  This makes the ink permanent and it will not fade in the wash. For more tips on how to heat set fabric ink using your iron or heat press, visit 6 Ways to Heat Set Fabric Ink.

Watch the Entire Process