Tie-Dye T-shirt: The Diamond

The Diamond is a great looking, easy-to make tie-dye t-shirt!

Aug 13, 2008

The diamond is a colorful, easy-to-make tie-dye pattern that looks great when done properly. All you'll need is some dye, squirt bottles, rubber bands and a t-shirt!

What You’ll Need to Make Your Shirt

Dyes
white cotton t-shirts
extra chemicals, such as urea or soda ash: see dye instructions
rubber bands
drying rack
latex or plastic gloves
smocks
plastic squirt bottles

How to Make a “Diamond”

Mix up the dyes, following the instructions on the dyes you have chosen. Many dyes, such as the popular procion dyes, are generally used in conjunction with other chemicals such as soda ash. Mix the correct quantity of dyes in the colors of your choice for the number of shirts you intend to make.
Your shirt should be damp so that it is easier to pleat. Fold the shirt in half lengthwise, so that the sleeves line up.
Start at the bottom corner, straight down from the collar (where the middle of the bottom of the shirt would be if it were not folded up). Pleat the shirt, folding at a consistent 45 degree angle as you do so (see photo). Stop when you get about halfway up, or to the middle of the shirt.
Now start folding down from the collar, also at a 45 degree angle. Soon you won’t be able to go any further, because you’ll have reached the point where you stopped when pleating before (see photo).
Once the two parts you’ve been folding meet, close the shirt together so that the pleats all line up with one another. Your shirt should look sort of pointy, with a narrow point on one side where the center of the shirt is, which thickens as you move away from it (see photo).
Place rubber bands on the shirt at regular intervals. They should be tight enough to hold the shirt together, but not so tight that they make the pleats bunch up (see photo). You’ll probably want anywhere from 3-8 rubber bands, depending on the size of the shirt and how wide you want your color stripes to be.
Get out your dyes, which should be in squirt bottles. Apply the dye so that each “section” of the shirt, as divided by the rubber bands, is a different color (see photo). Color the whole top first, then flip the shirt over and put the same colors in the same segments on the bottom.
Set the shirt somewhere where it can sit and dry for 24-48 hours. Once the time is up, rinse well and dry before wearing.

Tips and Suggestions to Make Your Tie-Dye Shirt Look Better:

When applying the colors, be sensitive to how colors blend with one another. Put the colors in rainbow order if you can. For example, red next to orange or purple, green next to blue or yellow. Avoid combinations like purple-yellow or blue-orange. The reason is that when making the shirts, the dyes tend to seep into one another. If the colors are close to one another in the color spectrum, this looks good. If the colors are not close to one another in the spectrum, they’ll make an ugly brown when they mix.

T-shirts should be all cotton, not polyester or 50/50. Only cotton will take and hold the dyes. 50/50 shirts come out looking pale and faded.
Be careful not to get any dye on your clothes when making tie-dye t-shirts: it will stain!
Tie-dyeing is a fun activity to do with kids.